In the second edition of our new Vine interview series, we talk to full-time Viner and #6SECFILMS shortlister Khoa Phan on the methods and inspirations behind his work - and his tips for succeeding with Vine.
This weeks interview with a Pro Viner features Khoa Phan, a stop motion designer and Viner who hails from San Diego and, like last weeks interviewee Meagan Cignoli, made it to the shortlist of our TFF 2013 #6SECFILMS Vine Competition. His work on Vine has sparked interest and collaborations from the likes of Peanuts Worldwide, Chevrolet, CNN, Samsung and MTV -- something he never dreamed would happen. Khoa is getting opportunities he never thought possible because of his work on Vine, and his message to all the creative thinkers out there is to "unlock your imagination and let it take flight!"
Tribeca: Your Vines use paper in really beautiful and innovative ways. It seems to be your preferred medium why is that?
Khoa Phan: Well, it all started with the whole "use what you have". I had construction paper around and thats what Ive just stuck with. Paper is very easy to use and manipulate, and I can also always use some pieces for future Vines.
Tribeca: How long on average does it take you to complete a Vine? And how do you come up with and execute those flawless transitions?
KP: I like to take about 45 minutes to an hour and a half on my Vines. I want things to be very fluid, so with animation you need to make it flow nicely. I spend some time thinking how I can make the transition look smooth. Small subtle movements are key. Sometimes things happen like glitches where Vines dont show up, which may lead to a 3 hour Vine
Tribeca: You've also done Vines for various causes such as (RED) and Livestrong. What other charities do you think could benefit from a Vine competition?
KP: There are just so many that could benefit from Vine I wouldnt know who to name! I think, from the top of my head, UNICEF could use Vine to help spread awareness of their cause.
"I spend time thinking about how I can make the transition look smooth. Small subtle movements are key."
Tribeca: How much planning do you do before making a Vine? Or do you spend some time experimenting with camera angles/lighting/etc until you form an idea? (Essentially, what's your process usually like?)
KP: Thinking of an idea is usually the harder part for me. After that, I try to roughly frame how I want the Vine to look, which I draw out in my sketchbook. Once thats done, I set the angle of the camera and build from that. Compared to most Viners, I dont have the most traditional "tripod", so I cant easily change my setup. Whatever cut-outs I make are specifically meant for that camera angle.
Tribeca: Were you actively making videos before Vine?
KP: Before Vines, I just made GIFS but not videos. Thats probably how I started doing stop motion on Vine.
Tribeca: Who are your favorite Viners?
KP: There are so many because the Vine community is like my family now!
For comedic purposes I enjoy: Nick Mastodon, Nick Confalone, Nicholas Megalis (a lots of Nicks huh?), RED_6, Rudy Mancuso, Ry Doon, Rob Johnston, Marcus Johns, Michael Lopriore, Brittany Furlan, Jordan Burt, Marlo Meekins, and oh boy, probably missing some there ...
For the artistic side of Vine, I love Meagan Cignoli, Jethro Ames, Matt Willis, Pinot, Ian Padgham, Adam Goldberg and thats all I can think of right now.
Tribeca: If you could change one thing about Vine, what would it be?
KP: I personally think there should be more sections than just Popular Now and Editors Picks. Id like there to be more creative and artistic content on Vine. Dont get me wrong, I love all the comedians there; theyre truly hilarious. But it just doesnt seem like Vine is that keen on the artsier users. Also, it seems like the Popular Now section is set to a certain algorithm of likes/followers ratio, so its harder for new fresh content to be noticed. There is so much unseen talent waiting to shine a bit!
"You can do all kinds of things with the tap-to-record function, so just tinker with it."
Tribeca: What is one piece of advice you'd give to beginning Viners?
KP: Just have fun with it! Theres so much you can do with 6 seconds -- its all about exploring the possibilities. You can do all kinds of things with the tap-to-record function, so just tinker with it. And no one likes a spammer. Lastly, dont be those people that follow and then unfollow for followers
Tribeca: Now that Video on Instagram is an option, do you plan to experiment with the new app?
KP: Well, I think Instagram video for my purposes is much harder. The tap-to-record system on Vine is so great. But I will be using it for stop motion from time to time. I am also partnering up with Peanuts Worldwide to run the #snoopygram on Instagram too!
Julia Pugachevsky is Tribecas Vine Correspondent (among other things). Check out her round up of the Weeks Best Vines every Friday morning on TribecaFilm.com, and come back next Wednesday for another interview with an expert Vine user (and see last weeks, with Meagan Cignoli).
--
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
17/07/2025
Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the act...
17/07/2025
GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions across IBC2025 (12 15 September, RAI Amsterdam) feature a remarkable 34 companies, each providing unique, innovativ...
17/07/2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...
17/07/2025
ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...
17/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-three Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
16/07/2025
TV SIM, the SBT affiliate serving Esp rito Santo state in Brazil, has launched a transmitter upgrade initiative with the installation of a Rohde & Schwarz R&S T...
16/07/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, is turning its vision to the future of automation with its demonstrations ...
16/07/2025
Ikegami announces a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the introduction of the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera: The new version has the same f...
16/07/2025
Today, Amazon Web Services added TwelveLabs as a new model provider to Amazon Bedrock, delivering what could be the most significant breakthrough in enterprise ...
16/07/2025
NEW YORK Streaming platforms continued to dominate TV viewing patterns in June, with data from Nielsen's 50th monthly report of The Gauge showing that strea...
16/07/2025
MAHWAH, NJ Ikegami has introduced the the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera, a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the same feature set, operatio...
16/07/2025
LONDON IBC2025 organizers said global attendees will have access to a new feature that will integrate Amsterdam's GVB public transport pass into the officia...
16/07/2025
July 16th, 2025
Tribeca Films to Release the Acclaimed LARPing Doc WE CAN BE HEROES by Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons, Alongside a Slate of Festival-Favori...
16/07/2025
Deltatre Acquires Endeavor Streaming in Major Streaming Industry Move The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 By Brandon Costa, Direc...
16/07/2025
SVG Regional Sports Production Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch ...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...
In the second edition of our new Vine interview series, we talk to full-time Viner and #6SECFILMS shortlister Khoa Phan on the methods and inspirations behind his work - and his tips for succeeding with Vine. 
