Meet Kaitlyn Pham

Well, it all started when I was running around the house as a four-year-old little girl with a mini-dv camcorder in my hands and a strong curiosity to record and capture moments. I am a first generation Vietnamese American — my mom and dad traveled a long way from Vietnam to get here to America. My dad owns an engraving business with my mother. They both grew up poor, and so having 3 girls and a wife was enough motivation for my father to work 12 hours a day, then come home, cook, clean, and repeat the next day. Every device, every car, every new piece of tech was through rigorous hours of manual labor. It was because of my parents that I learned at a young age what it means to not only believe in your own path, but to work extremely hard to get there. So, my dad had a nice collection of cameras growing up, as it was his side hobby. I quickly picked up on this as a kid and loved the idea of being able to capture memories. So that’s where it started. With a father who recognized my passion at a young age and with a fire within myself, I learned how to use Windows Movie Maker when I was 9. He saw the excitement I had to learn more about creating and editing videos, so he bought me my first video editing software the following year. I was editing at-home movies, music videos, and skits at the age of 10 years old. And from there, the light never dimmed. In fact, it was the only consistent thing in my ever-changing life. I am now in my final semester of college to receive a bachelor’s degree in Media Production with a focus in Digital Cinematography and minor in Business Marketing. Throughout my college journey, which began in 2017, I had the opportunity to truly dedicate myself to honing my cinematography. I juggled some jobs in between, but the passion to create was always there. From that point, I have started my own freelance business / small production I call Self Demise Productions. Self Demise is a brand I have thought of for myself since I was in high school. Self Demise is the shedding of skin to unveil a vibrant canvas of new, beautiful scales. It is birth, death, and rebirth every day. While at UH, I gained valuable experience by working on sets for companies such as VH1/MTV, Nike, Capitol Records, and Lifetime Network, which I later applied to my own business venture. I juggled all these production gigs, freelance jobs, and part-time jobs, all while trying to finish school and try to still make a living for myself. I am extremely blessed to have found my calling. My long-term goal is to become a renowned director of photography and at some point, director as a whole.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

I wouldn’t say smooth, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Because without the lows, you will never truly know how great the highs feel.

One struggle that I dealt with in particular was knowing my worth, especially in this industry that is male-dominated. Being young and naive will really allow others to walk all over you and take advantage- and I mean that in multiple aspects. In that time of naivety, I quickly learned how to build tough skin and know my worth for my pricing and for my time. And I will add that there is still so much for me to learn in this industry. I am sure there are far worse struggles that others may have experienced, but there were probably some smooth shortcuts they have learned as well. That’s what excites me about it.  In production life, you build a little community of people for 28 days, or 90 days, or however long the project is, and if you pay close enough attention, you’ll learn something from each and every individual you make friends with. They all have their own lesson to teach you.  Whether rough or smooth, every experience is a lesson in and of itself. And the biggest lesson I learned so far was on the first set I ever PA’ed for. It is that, truly,  nothing ever goes according to plan, and that the show MUST ALWAYS GO ON! Sh*t always hits the fan on a production set. You’ll spend hours setting one thing up just to be told to take it down in an instant. You got to learn how to think on your toes, and fast. Not only did this lesson apply to my work life, but it also applied to my personal life. No matter how structured your plan is, something is bound to fall askew. But you learn to make it work, and in the end, you thank the universe later for the way things turned out the way they did.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Houston-based videographer that specializes in documentary filmmaking. I am known for my online YouTube series called “Video Diaries,” where monthly, I show a new chapter of my perspective on life through my lens. I am most proud of the documentary I shot last year called Depth of Field: A Documentary about Film. What sets my work apart from others is the ability to evoke raw emotion from real life events. There’s so much beauty in the lives of the faces you walk by every day, and I feel as if it’s my job to highlight them. I believe what sets me apart from the rest is not being afraid to be on either side of the camera. After all, it started as me being a kid with a passion to create videos. So I had to play the part of actor, director, videographer, editor, etc. And with my experience in working in all of the above have I been able to truly grow confident in myself and my abilities. Once you are truly confident in yourself and no longer rely on others to make you feel that, the world will see it too. And from there, you can inspire the world.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Huge shift, especially in Houston. I am hopeful. There have already been so many productions I have been a part of for BIG networks too, all here in Houston. As the world and society advances with technology and social media, Houston will, too. I love being a big fish here in the tiny pond that is Houston, and I’m excited to see where that propels me in the next up and coming years. But talking specifics, I think taking a look at where we currently stand is what we will excel at in the next 5-10 years. The film industry will in fact expand far more than we have ever seen it, probably being one of the largest industries to be a part of. The demand, as we already know, will continue to rise for more at-home streaming content, but I am hopeful for more box-office hits that encourages viewers to visit a movie theater. The resurgence of analog film has already begun, and I believe there will be more new and efficient tools innovated to aid in its rebirth. Perhaps a new film style or genre will come about in this span of time, who knows?