Recently we Interviewed Vincent Chan a YouTuber, actor and producer from England. He has been making videos since 2004 and most of his content is now on YouTube. And he is running a very successful channel on YouTube. So our conversation was based on his experience and his work. We are sharing the conversation here with our readers.
Pro Media Mag: First, tell us about the start of your professional career.
Vincent Chan: It started back in 2004 when I was still in school. My friends and I decided to make one short film and we made a few more within the next few years. Since then, I’ve developed a passion for filmmaking and only turned professional in 2013 when I was approached to document a ceremony in Hong Kong.
Pro Media Mag: What was the inspiration behind making your own videos and starting your YouTube channel?
Vincent Chan: My friends and I were fans of Jackie Chan movies and we wanted to do a film similar to his older martial arts films. That’s how I got into making videos. As for the YouTube channel, I had an older one which I deleted in 2013. I started that account just to share my short films with some other friends and I kept adding to it over the years. I was getting good responses but I couldn’t make any money from YouTube’s advertising because my older films contained copyrighted music. I deleted that channel in 2013 and started another which eventually got partnered with the AwesomenessTV Network.
Pro Media Mag: Is there any story behind your nickname “Dragon”?
Vincent Chan: I made a short film called “Fierce Tigers Flying Dragon” and my character in that was called “Dragon”. Also, my friends think I’m fairly agile and when I move in the air they say I’m flying. So, that’s how I got the nickname “Dragon”.
Pro Media Mag: “Eye of the Dragon” got an excellent response, any plans for more sequels to the series?
Vincent Chan: I had thought about it before but I don’t think I will. “Eye of the Dragon” ended on a positive note and I can’t think of a good enough reason for my character to come back and fight bad guys again. Instead of making a sequel to that series, I might just make something similar in tone.
Pro Media Mag: What kind of boost did you get when your YouTube channel was partnered with AwesomenessTV Network in 2013?
Vincent Chan: There wasn’t much of a boost at first. I had to grow my channel from scratch after I deleted my old one and it took a few months before my views started to increase. AwesomenessTV Network then encouraged its YouTubers to collaborate and create videos based around given topics. So, I participated in some of those and the network promoted those videos. That’s when the boost came.
Pro Media Mag: What has been one of the biggest achievements in your career so far?
Vincent Chan: I am involved in a feature film right now and I’m one of its executive producers, director, and actor. The film is called “Breathe Easy” and it was created by Paul Mackie. He is aiming to break two world records which are most countries filmed in and most number of directors. We’ve already beaten one but it isn’t official yet!
Pro Media Mag: In your 12 years long career, what’s your best venture so far?
Vincent Chan: I think it would have to be making “Eye of the Dragon.” It was great travelling to different countries to film one series so, I really enjoyed that. It was fun to make and I particularly liked the action scene in the final webisode.
Pro Media Mag: What are your upcoming projects?
Vincent Chan: As I mentioned previously, “Breathe Easy” is a feature film I’m involved in about clouds of an unknown origin which, suddenly appear and have strange effects on the population. I’m also working on some short films of my own but these look like they’ll be pushed back a bit because I’m currently doing regular reviews on my YouTube channel for comic book reviews. Once I’m done reviewing those, I’ll get back to making martial arts action films.
Pro Media Mag: Looking over your career, one can easily say you are a very hard working and dedicated person. What’s the motivation behind your work?
Vincent Chan: I guess I was inspired by people I look up to. When I started making martial arts films, I wanted to be like Jackie Chan so, I choreographed all the fight scenes and I did my own stunts. I worked hard in that sense, trying to make the action scenes look good on screen. I became friends with Amy Jo Johnson who was the actress who played the original pink Power Ranger from the children’s TV show in the 90s. In the last few years she has turned to writing and directing which inspired me to work on other kinds of projects, not just martial arts films.
Pro Media Mag: Are you active on Social Media? How you can be followed online?
Vincent Chan: I’m on Facebook and I’m also on Twitter. There is of course my YouTube channel as well if you want to keep up-to-date with my videos .
