The Work That Made Me: Tash Tung
Tash’s Malaysian-British heritage influences a lot of her work and she always delivers a confident, pleasing and memorable visual aesthetic which has attracted brands from the worlds of fashion, lifestyle and technology. Delivering well received work for Miu Miu, Rexona and Virgin. Her work to date gives an exciting insight into her future potential.
The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
Tash> I miss the days of MTV, mtv2 - I would watch music videos all weekend as a teenager! Bjork ‘All Is Full of Love’ by Chris Cunningham - a beautifully visual, nuanced and emotional video with VFX that still holds up 15 years later. I love the detail and musicality of it, and how there’s both compassion and lust where you wouldn’t expect it.
The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Dougal Wilson’s ‘three pony’ came out in 2014 when I was a runner. The creative is so good - it’s very true that the internet was made so we could share funny animal videos. It’s such a memorable ad, and Dougal always uses music so well in his commercials.
The creative work (film/album/game/ad/album/book/poem etc) that I keep revisiting…
Tash> ‘Boogie Nights’ by Paul Thomas Anderson is a summer classic - PTA has such an incredible ability in creating and casting unique characters, who are funny, flawed and unforgettable. He captures a time and a place so completely. Although we’re in the real world, there’s something magic and tragic about it - the highs are really high, and the lows are really low. I’m always brought in by his use of long tracking shots.
My first professional project…
Tash> It was a music video for a band that doesn't exist anymore! I was signed after my first DIY music video (which was the first video I ever directed) and I went straight into this project for a major label. It was a £5k night shoot on a beach in England in February - a pretty difficult first shoot to say the least. The video was about the weight of guilt and forgiveness in a relationship - it turned out well, but the experience was a fast learning curve for me.
The creative project that changed my career…
Tash> Meduza ‘Piece of Your Heart’ brought a commercial and cinematic scale to my work that I hadn’t really shown before, and people really responded to it. I wish we had more time to prep and develop the video (from sign off to delivery we had just over one week!) - but it’s still such a memorable project for me and for sure helped me win my first UK commercial for Virgin Red.
The piece of work (ad/music video/ platform…) that still makes me jealous…
Tash> Hiro Murai’s video for Flying Lotus - Never Catch Me ft. Kendrick Lamar is such a simple idea so well executed. Such strong, memorable visuals, joyous use of choreo, and a really emotional scene. I actually love all of his music videos.
The work that I’m proudest of…
Tash> My recent music video for Lucinda Chua’s single ‘Golden.’ It’s a film exploring who we turn to in the absence of a role model, especially for me and Lucinda as South-East Asian diaspora. It’s incredibly stripped back, conceptual storytelling, of Lucinda trapped in a mosquito net adjacent to her mini-me, an arena in which they learn to accept and forgive each other. It’s a slow and meditative piece, in contrast to a lot of my other short form work.
Lucinda is a close collaborator and friend, and we speak a lot about what it feels like to be carving our own paths in our respective fields. As the film reflects the complexity of growing up in a time without a lot of ESEA representation in the media, in front or behind the camera, we wanted to work with a lot of talented ESEA cast and crew, and it was very special to not be in the minority in our work environment.
