Telling Stories Without Limits: How Dropbox Is Empowering Vietnam’s Young Directors
Xem Tiếng Việt 
Vietnam’s film, music video, and creative content industries are experiencing a vibrant renaissance—fueled not only by acclaimed directors, but also by a rising generation of passionate, devoted young creatives who pour their hearts into every frame. Among this new wave of talent is director Nguyen Ngoc Phan, a film director with over a decade of experience and an unwavering love for the craft. For Phan, filmmaking is more than a profession—it’s a means of connection. What draws him most to the art form is its power to move audiences through authentic, emotionally resonant narratives, often captured through real-life settings rather than CGI. His work reflects a deep commitment to honesty in storytelling and a belief that the most powerful stories are those grounded in truth.
For Phan and many of his peers, the biggest challenge is not creativity—it’s managing the massive amounts of data that modern filmmaking requires, while keeping it secure and accessible to collaborators. This is where technology, and particularly Dropbox and Dropbox Replay, have become indispensable.
Industry experts echo these concerns. According to Filmsupply, the world’s leading platform for premium stock footage, the risk of footage leakage or data loss can occur at any stage of production. From financial setbacks caused by reshoots to marketing disruption or compromised premieres, even a single misplaced or leaked file can threaten the success of an entire film.
“As camera quality increases, so does the size of our footage,” Phan explains. “Today’s audience demands better visuals and storytelling, which means our production files—from pre-visualization and treatments to post-production cuts—are heavier than ever. Managing that data securely is one of our biggest concerns.”
Specifically, to put things into perspective, Phan shares that producing a single TV commercial or music video can generate anywhere between 500GB to 1TB of data. With such volume, relying solely on external hard drives presents risks of file corruption, damage, or misplacement. “That’s why having a secure, cloud-based storage solution is essential,” he says. “Dropbox has made that part of my workflow incredibly seamless.”
Thanks to Dropbox’s smart file organization and permission management features, Phan can easily structure his data by task and production phase while controlling exactly who has access to what. In an industry where transferring massive raw files is often time-consuming and problematic, Dropbox Transfer stands out as a game-changer. It allows Phan to send files up to 250GB with just a few clicks—eliminating the headaches of file size restrictions. Paired with advanced permissions and expiration controls, Phan has full visibility and authority over his project assets at every stage of production.
But beyond storage, Phan says the real game-changer has been Dropbox Replay—an integrated media review and approval tool that allows collaborators to give frame-accurate feedback on video projects without needing a Dropbox account.
“Before Replay, we would go through pages of vague notes—sometimes three A4 pages of edits,” he recalls. “Now, every comment is timestamped directly on the video. No confusion, no back-and-forth, no missed changes. It’s faster, clearer, and more professional.”
Security remains a top priority. Replay automatically adds visible watermarks—such as the recipient’s email and timestamp—to shared files, so Phan can immediately trace any leak. “That watermark gives us peace of mind,” he says. “We work with multiple collaborators, and now I know exactly where my footage is going.”
The benefits aren’t just technical—they’re creative. With a streamlined workflow and reduced admin time, Phan says he has more space to focus on what matters: storytelling.
“Technology is no longer just a support tool—it’s part of the creative process,” he says. “Dropbox and Replay help me protect my work, work faster, and collaborate better, so I can focus on telling real stories that move people.”
Despite the pressure of deadlines, rising production standards, and tight budgets, Phan remains optimistic about Vietnam’s filmmaking future. In the first eight months of 2025 alone, Vietnam’s total box office revenue surpassed 3,000 billion VND, up nearly 270 billion VND from the same period in 2024. Notably, nine domestic films have each crossed the 100 billion VND.
His advice to aspiring directors? With tools like Dropbox giving him the confidence to protect and share his work; and thanks to Dropbox’s Version History, they were able to recover the latest video version within five minutes – saving an entire day of post-production, as they accidentally sent an outdated draft to a client. It’s moments like these that reinforce his belief in mastering the tools that empower creativity. “Observe everything. Learn every role on set. Master the tools that help you create. And most importantly—don’t wait for permission to tell your story.”
