So That Smiles Are No Longer Hidden Behind Face Masks
An emotionally driven storytelling film created during the Covid-19 period to capture collective challenges, resilience, and human connection across the organisation and its member companies.
The project aimed to move beyond traditional corporate communication by creating a cinematic narrative capable of emotionally resonating and spreading organically throughout the wider group.
​Company: TNG Holdings (ROX Group)
Developed and produced by: Killian Pham
Delivered in collaboration with the Group Marketing & Communications team
Year: 2021
Challenge
The biggest challenge was creating an authentic and emotionally impactful story around a highly sensitive global moment without making the film feel overly corporate or performative. The narrative needed to balance fear and uncertainty with hope and optimism while maintaining emotional engagement throughout a short runtime. Another key challenge was ensuring the message could resonate universally across different teams, audiences, and companies within the organisation.
My Role
I independently led the entire project from concept to final production, including storytelling development, narrative structure, creative direction, motion design, cinematic editing, visual storytelling, pacing, typography, and emotional synchronisation between visuals and music.
The project required both strategic thinking and technical execution to create a film that felt emotionally authentic, visually cinematic, and internally meaningful.
Approach
The project was built around the central insight that although face masks could hide smiles, they could not hide kindness, resilience, or human connection. Using a cinematic storytelling structure, the film guided viewers through an emotional journey beginning with chaos and uncertainty before transitioning towards compassion, unity, and hope for the future. Documentary-inspired visuals, close-up emotional framing, atmospheric pacing, and carefully synchronised music were used to create a more human and immersive viewing experience rather than a conventional internal corporate video.
Solutions
To strengthen emotional connection and engagement, the storytelling intentionally focused on ordinary people and shared human experiences instead of directly positioning the organisation as the hero. The visual language gradually evolved from darker tones and tense pacing into warmer, brighter, and more optimistic scenes, mirroring the emotional transformation of the narrative itself.
This approach helped create a film that felt sincere, emotionally relatable, and highly shareable internally.
Outcome
The film received exceptionally positive internal feedback and became recognised as one of the organisation’s most meaningful and emotionally impactful communication projects. It was widely appreciated across the wider group and member companies for its inspirational storytelling, emotional sincerity, and cinematic execution.
As a result of the project, I was awarded Employee of the Year in recognition of creating a deeply meaningful and inspiring video experience that emotionally resonated with employees during a challenging period.
