Today we’d like to introduce you to Chaewon Suh.
Hi Chaewon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Before I moved to California, I used to work in the video/film industry in South Korea. Since I was very interested in music and performance, I mainly directed K-pop-related live shows or videos. Then I decided to focus on narrative filmmaking and applied to MFA program in Chapman University.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Since I’ve lived my whole life in South Korea and I’ve never been to America before, the language barrier was my biggest concern. However, I found that Chapman students/professors and people in California overall are very welcoming to non-English speakers, and they even appreciate diverse cultures. It really helped me to adapt to this place quickly, and it has been a smooth road ever since.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in directing. I used to direct choreography videos but I try to direct more narrative films these days. Before I got into film school in California, I majored in Film, TV, and Multimedia in college, which gave me opportunities to dabble in various types of video-making fields such as commercial, animation, film, documentary, TV series, etc. Moreover, my interest in learning different skills related to filmmaking helped me become an all-round player on set. My goal is to be a director but I can take on a role as an editor, cinematographer, photographer or anything that I’m needed to be. In other words, because I have some amount of understanding in every department on set, as a director, I am able to run a set a bit more smoothly and practically.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
You’ll never know until you experience it. I hope people don’t waste their time hesitating.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chaewon.pb.studio/
- Instagram: @suhchae
