Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Truong.
Hi Peter, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My creative journey has been very random. Before I became a videographer, I started out as a DJ by being exposed to DJ Hero and DJ Grandmaster Flash when I was ten. I would get VHS tapes at my local library and study DJ battles from the DMC World Championships. I thought the craft was the most amazing thing in the world. Eventually, when I turned twelve, I exposed myself to music production because of The Glitch Mob. Their music was unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Because of them, I had a goal, play at big music festivals and to simply play music. I didn’t have my first gig until I was fourteen, where my mom bought me a Pioneer DDJ SB II. I was obsessed with DJing. Every day after school, I would watch videos from DJ Angelo to A-Trak, learning how to properly scratch and tone play. As I went to college, I wanted to be known as “The DJ.” And I got just that. I finally played at music festivals, established residencies at college bars and clubs, acquired 3000+ followers on TikTok, but something didn’t feel right. I was on track on getting almost everything I ever wanted, and I decided to walk away. I was living a lie. I was doing things that I wasn’t comfortable with, becoming a person I didn’t like, and felt empty with what I was doing.
During my break, I was helping to take care of my grandpa. It was extremely draining and sacrificed a lot of my time and sleep, but I would do it again. My grandpa was the most creative person I’ve ever met. He made a lamp post out of a tire, that’s how innovative he was. While I was struggling to discover myself, he asked me what I really want to do with my life. I told him I wanted to tell stories. He told me, “So tell stories.” I didn’t know how other than to write. So I became a food journalist for two different platforms. While it was fun, that spark wasn’t there. So I decided to explore so many activities, until one thing stuck out to me, making music videos. I already had experience with music videos because I was exposed to my first music video shoot that I helped out with was in 2018 for an alternative R&B group called ‘The Internet.’ To this day, I don’t know what makes it so special. Maybe it’s the nostalgia from waking up every morning before going to school and watching music videos from VH1’s Jump Start could’ve been the start, but to me it makes me more fulfilled.
In 2022, I was tasked with making promotional videos for the Michigan State University Esports Program. My first promo video for the university was my very first professional video ever created. Little did I know, the video gained a lot of traction within Michigan and before I knew it, it got me my first video award from the Grand Rapids Film Festival. Three years later, I wanted to chase after my second award. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, all I wanted was to prove to myself that I can truly create. So I wanted to tell a story that resonated with me. I decided to make a video focusing on Stop AAPI Hate by highlighting accomplishments that my five year old self wouldn’t believe. With the help from a few of my friends that were included in the video, we were awarded a second award. Since then, I’ve contributed videos for the West Michigan Asian American Association, weddings, to many more projects that I can’t wait to share to the world. How I started may not be perfect, but I’ve sure learned a lot from my previous adventures.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t been the smoothest road. Cost is one of the things that I’ve struggled with. A camera isn’t cheap, a good computer or laptop also isn’t cheap, along with the video editing software, and of course time. My first video was made by an iPhone. I didn’t have my first camera until I was 24. Even then, I truly didn’t know what I was doing. As a matter of fact, I’m still learning how to properly use it.
I’d say another struggle I have is I worry too much about how other people think of me or what they’ll think of my videos. I worry about if someone would get offended by my videos, make fun of it, or tell me that I suck. I have so many ideas in my head and most of the time I don’t have the time or resources to make the videos I want to do, so I don’t want to release something to me that seems unfinished and therefore receive a ton of criticism for it.
Most of my struggles stemmed from my early childhood to teen years. Being bullied pretty frequently to some teachers having low faith in me can take a toll on any kid. Trying to seek out that attention to showcase what I can do or attempt to do for them to either tell me that I sucked, or to give up, it hurt. So I didn’t really know what I was truly good at. I took a video class in high school. I’ll admit, I wasn’t great at it, but I enjoyed video editing and wanted to learn how to get better at it. My teacher had other plans. They excluded and prevented me from taking the advanced class and didn’t like me at all. My heart sank and I was angry. For years I never wanted to touch a camera or any other video editing software. Eventually the spark came back when I was in college, gave it a shot, and since then I’ve accomplished more than my 15 year old self would’ve ever thought.
What helped the most is being surrounded by people who challenge you and want you to grow. My biggest challenger has always been my brother. It’s not a bad thing at all. I like that he challenges me. Sometimes I wish I can get him to agree with me, but on the things that I might not have confidence on, he’s always there to either keep me in check or show me that I was fine all along. He doesn’t know this yet, but I hope when he reads this or hears about my story that he’s always been the greatest and most honest critic.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I tell stories, that’s all I’m doing really. I’m just telling stories through videos. I think you can tell a great story within thirty seconds and that challenge excites me. For me, I’m trying to get back into music videos because as right now I’m mostly doing promo videos either for organizations or for other people. I eventually would like to get to a point where I can be versatile to any type of video: Music, ads, or even film. I think it’s important for a creative to not be in a specific niche because you might not know what you could be missing out. That’s why I’m also trying out acting because it’s a hidden art that I didn’t know I liked.
I’m mostly proud of the fact I’m even making any videos. I had a lot of hesitation on making videos for people in the first place. It’s like cooking for people and not knowing if they like it or not. I still have that feeling when I share an idea to a client. The fact I got any awards at all actually shocks me because I didn’t think I’d ever attain any. Hopefully one day I can attain a Grammy.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Stay yourself. Stay curious. Stay humble. And most importantly, stay bored. A lot of people who are already established in their field is probably extremely good at something else, they just don’t know it yet. If you restrict yourself to only things you’re comfortable with and stay narrow-minded, you will never know what good is to come. It’s like being picky about food. If you go to a restaurant and order the same thing every single time, how will you know if the other dishes are good or if you really like them? If I stayed in DJing and making music, I wouldn’t have found out about making videos, acting, or learning about the world of culinary arts. That’s why being bored is sometimes a good thing, you discover more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.peter-truong.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petertruongmusic/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-truong-ma-2509941a2/
Image Credits
Image 1: Jordan Lampley and Jeffrey Siarto
Image 2 and 3: Sang Tran
Image 4: Thien Phan
Image 5: Lingyuan (Amy) Shen
