Q&A: Dan Wong & Rob Thorogood

For our latest Q&A we decided to catch up with our studio – Dan Wong, Senior Content Producer, and Rob Thorogood, Creative Producer.

They say that the strongest teams include people with differing opinions – so Dan and Rob may be the strongest team there is…

I can tell content will be a hit when…

DW: I can show someone an initial cut and they get it straight away. They don’t need the backstory, or the concept explaining – if it works, it works!

RT: It’s hard to pin down one thing… I love a good soundtrack, so if the piece has good music/sound design I’m normally sold.

I keep up with the latest trends by….

DW: Avoiding Instagram as much as possible. Owning a style is more important than following a trend, right?

RT: Watching Vimeo Staff Picks – tonnes of great video content on there.  I also try to follow as many filmmakers and creatives that I like on Instagram, say what you want about it, it’s a good place to see what’s happening in the world!

I eat…

RT: Vegan…. Best decision I’ve made in 2020!

DW: Egg fried rice, far too often.

The worst thing anyone has ever said to me is…

RT: Hard to pick between “the deadline is today” or “just a few small amends”.

DW: “There’s a YouTube tutorial on how to draw eyes, you should check it out“… I was on a train trying to sketch a portrait and some random guy decided to give me some help with my technique. It cut deep. The worst part was I had already been following that exact tutorial.

This time next year, I’ll be…

DW: In my darkroom, printing photographs from a recent trip to Hong Kong – fingers crossed!

RT: I just converted a van, so hopefully lost somewhere in that, preferably South West France on the beach.

Tea or coffee?

DW: Definitely tea.

RT: Coffee! (Recipe here)

My favourite design/video/social trend of 2020 is…

DW: It may sound boring, but I’ve really enjoyed these simple videos of people making things, especially during lockdown. It can be anything – bike mods, knives, books, wooden drawers. It’s a very liberating feeling knowing you can build or fix something yourself, and it’s very satisfying watching someone good at their craft go about their business.

RT: I definitely think the resurgence of shooting analogue is great, although it’s not just a 2020 trend – it seems to be growing even more popular which is epic!

Where do you see the future of video production and photography?

RT: Outer space? Literally right now there are so many places it could go.  My guess would be that everyone soon will have access to a decent camera for film not just photography, whether that’s on their phone or through other equipment meaning everyone will be creating video!  Better tech has definitely changed the way we consume content, nearly everything that happens is now captured on video!

DW: Hopefully a return to longer form, more thoughtful content, but also content that becomes genuinely useful to people rather than just being entertaining. For example, earlier this year I posted the process on how I develop film. I had so many people asking me about it after! It was a nice surprise seeing people who I didn’t expect would be interested, were asking me about all the details. Also, 10-second clips of people dancing surely can’t last forever…can it??!