Mego Lin: Captured the marriage equality movement with ‘Same Love’
Born in Taiwan, Mego Lin came to ArtCenter holding a degree in fine art with an emphasis in still photography. But some multimedia experimentation sparked within her a curiosity about filmmaking, so she decided to visit the College’s campus.
After meeting with the graduate Film Department chair, she came away believing her ability to capture moments of people’s lives through imagery would translate nicely to cinematography.
As part of the two-term class taught by television director and DGA executive board member Victoria Hochberg, Lin wrote a short film and then directed an on-campus shoot that needed to be completed within six hours.
A powerful network of industry contacts and alumni helps provide access for students and recent graduates to mentorships, internships and jobs.
Students took turns directing and performing every other on-set job, an experience that gave Lin a strong understanding of the entire filmmaking process. Beyond providing her with ample opportunities to hone her experience behind the camera, that course also proved important for Lin because it’s where she met her classmate Jon Jon Augustavo.
The following year, Augustavo asked Lin if she’d like to accompany him to Seattle during a break between terms to shoot a few music videos. One of those videos? Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love,” a song which transcended pop music and became a rallying call for marriage equality, garnering millions of views on YouTube and winning MTV Video Music Awards’ 2013 Best Video With a Social Message.
Since graduating, Lin has shot music videos for The Knocks, Mike Posner, Tori Kelly, Tinie Tempah and Scott Stapp.
