GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL (NOW THE DEWEY SCHOOLS)
This promotional video was created during the institution's previous iteration as Gateway International, before its evolution into The Dewey Schools. The project marked my return to corporate filmmaking after a period focused on education.
Handling all aspects of production – from scriptwriting and direction to shooting and post-production – I worked to create a narrative that captured the school's essence. The project naturally bridged my experience in education with commercial work, allowing me to approach the content with familiar insight.
This piece represents a full-circle moment in my portfolio, combining both educational and corporate storytelling elements.
THE DEWEY SCHOOLS - CAMPUS TOUR
Directed and produced a comprehensive campus tour video for The Dewey Schools' state-of-the-art facility in Hanoi, Vietnam during the Covid-19 pandemic. The project presented unique logistical challenges that required careful planning and strict safety protocols. Leading a production team and managing all aspects of the shoot, I handled everything from scheduling and call sheets to hands-on technical execution including camera operation and drone piloting. The video follows three engaging faculty members as they showcase the campus's impressive facilities, from its 981-seat theater (the largest in any Vietnamese school) to innovative learning spaces like Cloud9 and the Roots and Shoots rooftop garden.
The final piece combines dynamic camera movements with aerial footage to capture the architectural grandeur of the campus, while maintaining an energetic yet professional tone, complemented by carefully crafted sound design that enhances the viewing experience.
Client: The Dewey Schools
Role: Director, Cinematographer, Drone Operator, Editor & Motion Designer
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Duration: 7:47
Equipment: Sony a6300, DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Software: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition
Key Challenges: Covid-19 Safety Protocols, Complex Location Management
Role: Director, Cinematographer, Drone Operator, Editor & Motion Designer
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Duration: 7:47
Equipment: Sony a6300, DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Software: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition
Key Challenges: Covid-19 Safety Protocols, Complex Location Management
Event coverage
A vibrant documentation of The Dewey Schools' inaugural English Extravaganza, this piece captures the intersection of academic disciplines and student creativity. Rather than following a traditional event coverage format, the video takes viewers on an immersive journey through various learning celebrations - from science experiments with lasers to student-produced news broadcasts.
What makes this project special is its focus on authentic student voices and experiences. By letting the students and teachers tell their own stories, the video maintains an engaging narrative while showcasing how English language learning is integrated across all subjects - from Mathematics to Social Studies.
What makes this project special is its focus on authentic student voices and experiences. By letting the students and teachers tell their own stories, the video maintains an engaging narrative while showcasing how English language learning is integrated across all subjects - from Mathematics to Social Studies.
Key moments include:
•Interactive science demonstrations
•Student-produced news broadcasts
•Creative presentations across multiple subjects
•Parent and community engagement
•Behind-the-scenes glimpses of student preparation
•Student-produced news broadcasts
•Creative presentations across multiple subjects
•Parent and community engagement
•Behind-the-scenes glimpses of student preparation
STEAM IN ACTION: THE SAILBOAT PROJECT
Documenting this STEAM project presented a unique opportunity to capture both the technical learning process and the pure joy of creative discovery. While filming, I intentionally kept the camera at desk level, getting close to the students' workspace to capture their hands-on engagement with materials and their spontaneous problem-solving discussions.
I chose to structure the narrative around three key elements:
1. The initial planning and material selection
2. The trial-and-error process
3. The final testing and reflection
1. The initial planning and material selection
2. The trial-and-error process
3. The final testing and reflection
What made this project particularly engaging was the chance to document those 'eureka moments' - when students discovered why certain designs worked or failed. My approach was to maintain a fly-on-the-wall presence, letting the students and their teacher naturally explain their thinking while they worked. This resulted in authentic reactions and genuine expressions of both frustration and triumph.
The editing rhythm deliberately alternates between focused close-ups of boat construction and wider shots of collaboration, helping convey both the technical precision required and the social learning aspects of STEAM education. The culminating boat launch sequence, complete with student reactions, brings a natural conclusion to their journey from concept to creation.
Some of my favorite captured moments include the earnest discussion about air pockets for buoyancy, the proud description of the pirate skull design (and its eventual fate), and the matter-of-fact inventory of materials by the students. These unscripted moments help tell the larger story about how hands-on learning fosters both creativity and critical thinking.
Roots & Shoots
When documenting this student-led initiative, I deliberately chose a storytelling approach that would let the students' natural enthusiasm and understanding shine through. The project beautifully merged several educational elements - environmental awareness, business skills, and community service - and I wanted the video to reflect this organic integration.
My filming approach focused on three key perspectives:
•The students as environmentally conscious farmers
•Young entrepreneurs managing their first business venture
•Children understanding and articulating complex environmental issues
•Young entrepreneurs managing their first business venture
•Children understanding and articulating complex environmental issues
I kept the camera work simple and unobtrusive, often positioning at the children's eye level to capture their genuine interactions with customers and authentic excitement about their organic produce. This helped maintain the natural feel of their sales pitch and environmental messages.
What makes this piece special is how it captures the students' clear understanding of organic farming, demonstrated through their confident explanations about chemical-free agriculture and environmental protection. The authentic transaction sequences and enthusiastic product presentations weren't staged - they emerged naturally from the students' engagement with their project.
The ending, featuring the students' gratitude to their garden caretaker, was an unplanned moment that perfectly encapsulated the community aspect of the project. These are the kinds of genuine moments I aimed to preserve throughout the editing process.
New Beginnings: An Unplanned Documentary
What began as an impromptu documentation of a faculty tour evolved into a compelling time capsule of an institution in transition. Recognizing the historical significance of the moment, I transformed candid phone footage into a full documentary piece by methodically layering additional production elements over several weeks.
Production Evolution:
•Initial capture: Spontaneous mobile phone footage of authentic teacher reactions
•Secondary elements:
- Drone footage of the campus captured during weekend visits
- Supplementary a6300 coverage of key spaces
- Carefully constructed interview booth sessions
•Technical Innovation: Created a consistent interview setup in the school's sound studio, using static framing to enable seamless cuts between subjects, transforming technical limitations into creative advantages
•Secondary elements:
- Drone footage of the campus captured during weekend visits
- Supplementary a6300 coverage of key spaces
- Carefully constructed interview booth sessions
•Technical Innovation: Created a consistent interview setup in the school's sound studio, using static framing to enable seamless cuts between subjects, transforming technical limitations into creative advantages
Debate Club
Fostering Critical Thinkers: A Year with the Debate Club
This documentary-style project captures the journey of middle school students as they develop essential critical thinking and public speaking skills through competitive debate. Shot over multiple sessions, the piece intentionally balances formal debate moments with intimate preparation scenes, revealing both the structured and organic aspects of learning to argue effectively.
Key creative decisions focused on:
Key creative decisions focused on:
•Interweaving student reflections with actual debate footage to show both process and outcome
•Using natural lighting and unobtrusive camera placement during debates to maintain authenticity
•Capturing spontaneous moments of discovery during research sessions
•Following multiple debate topics (from Moon colonization to school detention) to showcase topic diversity
•Using natural lighting and unobtrusive camera placement during debates to maintain authenticity
•Capturing spontaneous moments of discovery during research sessions
•Following multiple debate topics (from Moon colonization to school detention) to showcase topic diversity
The documentary serves multiple educational purposes:
Demonstrates the debate program's methodology to parents and administrators
Provides a teaching tool for future debate clubs
Shows student growth from initial preparation to final presentations
Highlights the social-emotional benefits of structured argument
Provides a teaching tool for future debate clubs
Shows student growth from initial preparation to final presentations
Highlights the social-emotional benefits of structured argument
CIS Accreditation
Campus Safety: Visual Documentation for The Dewey Schools
Key Production Decisions:
•Employed dynamic b-roll sequences to maintain visual interest while the narration covered technical details
•Created motion graphics to illustrate complex traffic patterns and facility layouts
•Used subtle transitions between interior/exterior spaces to maintain flow
•Balanced wide establishing shots with detailed safety feature close-ups
•Maintained consistent color grading across varied lighting conditions (outdoor spaces, fluorescent hallways, natural light areas)
•Created motion graphics to illustrate complex traffic patterns and facility layouts
•Used subtle transitions between interior/exterior spaces to maintain flow
•Balanced wide establishing shots with detailed safety feature close-ups
•Maintained consistent color grading across varied lighting conditions (outdoor spaces, fluorescent hallways, natural light areas)
Educational & Institutional Impact:
•Serves as both a parental communication tool and staff training resource
•Effectively demonstrates the school's commitment to safety protocols
•Provides clear visual documentation of safety features for accreditation purposes
•Creates a reusable resource for new staff orientation
•Effectively demonstrates the school's commitment to safety protocols
•Provides clear visual documentation of safety features for accreditation purposes
•Creates a reusable resource for new staff orientation
