At BALANCE Studio, based in a four-storey apartment in District 1 – Ho Chi Minh City’s economic, cultural, and historical centre – even a small, hands-on team makes a big impact. During our overseas internship, we saw how every individual contributes to a project’s success.

 

Contributing to a Cinematic Release

One of our most significant projects was producing the Title Sequence for Út Lan: The Vengeful Spirit, a 2025 Vietnamese horror film. Unlike a school exercise, this was a professional cinematic release with global expectations and firm deadlines.

Samuel:

"The storyboard and styleframes were completed by my mentor. My task was to mainly animate the styleframes that were given to me and to make changes to assets to fit what I want to animate better. There would be a meeting held every Monday and Wednesday where my work would be shown to my coworkers. With a lot of feedback from my coworkers, I would then make changes accordingly."

 

Taemin:

“I felt a great sense of accomplishment as I was in charge of the whole animation process, from scene planning to execution. After transferring Photoshop files into After Effects, I used 3D layers and camera movements to build a haunting atmosphere. I also developed an animatic using sketches and music, established precise guidelines for typography, and designed a custom ink drop transition so the sequence stayed visually consistent from start to finish.

 

"This project taught us that motion design is about more than movement. Motion design requires a good sense of timing, strong typography, and the ability to build a believable visual world. Most importantly, it showed us what it feels like to work on something meant for a real audience."
 

 

 

The Precision of Netflix Localisation

As part of localising Netflix shows for the global audience, we also replaced subtitles and text for trailers in different languages – including text graphics, credits, and end cards – to prove that BALANCE studio could meet Netflix’s quality benchmarks. 

 

Samuel:

"Before this, we rarely thought about the technical side of subtitles. But we quickly learnt that every placement, timing, and format must follow strict global standards. I was surprised by the level of detail required, as everything was calculated perfectly. I did not expect to learn so much about something I had previously taken for granted.”

 

Taemin:

"I even completed a localisation test from Netflix to BALANCE Studio, aligning text graphics, credits, and end cards to brand guides for the show MOONRISE, so that we could receive actual localisation projects. This experience gave us a new respect for global media distribution, as we experienced how high-quality post-production is as much about structure and discipline as it is about creativity."

 

Post-Internship Reflections: Discovering a Professional Path