VietNamNet Bridge – The filmmaking world is massive in every sense of the word and growing by leaps and bounds in Vietnam, says Dang Tuan Phong, co-founder of Epic Music VN.

Dang Tuan Phong, co-founder of Epic Music VN.

"From the sheer number of people working in the industry to the size and scope of the films being produced, the silver screen has never been bigger than it is today,” said the lead music editor.

Mr Phong, an architect by university training, said he is passionate about the genre of epic music, “for its ability to radically change the audience’s perception and emotions towards a film.”  

“For me, epic is an acronym for emotion, power, inspiration and courage. It sounds heroic, magnificent and inspires and motivates people. Most importantly it engages the audience with the characters of the film.”

Epic music tells the audience what to feel. It may seem simple, but without music an audience isn’t always zeroed in on what’s important and what’s less important, said Mr Phong.

Music will tell the audience when to get on the edge of their seat and when to lean back and relax a bit.

His first piece ‘The Best of Epic Music 2012’ proved to be of good quality and received tons of good ratings and comments from fans, which he said encouraged him to continue his creative efforts.  

To date it remains the most popular work of Epic Music VN, having received an amazing record setting 31 million views on YouTube and set the stage the ‘Silver Play Button’ award from the network.

Epic Music VN now boasts they have fans and viewers from all parts of the globe, with over 300,000 subscribers on YouTube and 25,000 on Facebook. Not bad for a Vietnamese YouTube channel.

“A good video for use as a trailer in a movie is all about contrast,” said Mr Phong such as good vs evil, internal vs external or love vs logic. “I simply got hooked on editing and epic music and it became my passion.”  

“During the three years since joining the organization full time, I have never looked back, regretted it or thought for a second about quitting— and I never will,” said Mr Phong.

Finally, in 2015, Mr Phong made a life changing decision to leave his architectural career behind and focus entirely on producing videos at Epic Music VN. It was the beginning of a whole new chapter in his life’s story.

“During the three years since joining the organization full time, I have never looked back, regretted it or thought for a second about quitting— and I never will,” said Mr Phong recently.

In a recent interview with a VOV reporter, composer Agus González-Lancharro from Barcelona, Spain echoed Mr Phong’s sentiments when he said, “the epic music genre keeps growing exponentially, particularly in Vietnam, gathering extremely passionate fans.”

“I consider it to be a modern day expansion of classical or orchestral music,” said the Composer, adding that he believes the energy of epic compositions can help connect audiences with the essence of classical music.  

Composer Agus González-Lancharro from Barcelona, Spain.

Meanwhile Dan Graham, composer and founder of Gothic Storm Music, from Yorkshire, England said his company is forever finding new possibilities and new ways to express emotions on a big scale through epic music.

It’s a scientific fact that music can change the way an audience perceives a film, said Mr Graham. Epic music is the metaphorical lens that adds drama to a film and through which audiences watch it.

“Epic music is like the best classical music with all the boring bits removed. New genres will be combined, and more deep and artistic works will develop from the current epic music” said Mr Graham.

Dan Graham, composer and founder of Gothic Storm Music, from Yorkshire, England.

Mikkel Heimbürger, creative Director of Colossal Trailer Music company from Copenhagen, Denmark agreed with Mr Graham. “Epic music is most certainly here to stay. In fact, I don’t see it ever going away,” he said.

Regarding the impact of epic music on the Vietnamese film market, Mr Phong of Epic Music VN believes it will continue to develop strongly over the next years, helping to revitalize and reinvigorate the nation’s bustling industry.

At the end of the day epic music is all about motivation and is indispensable to a film, said Mr Phong. Each element of a film, from cinematography to music, must all progress the story and capture the audience’s interest.

To be certain, epic music is shaking up the Vietnam film industry, and most likely will for generations to come, said Mr Phong.

VOV