Industry Engagement
Throughout the academic year, I have tried to reach out to more people in the film industry to gain experience on sets and in different environments, including professional media departments, student films and industry talks.
BFI 'Presenting Oneself' Talk
During early university, I attended an online Zoom talk, put on by the BFI and presented by people in the film industry. They spoke about their own experiences with breaking into the industry, how they network and make connections with others, and answered questions. From this, I learnt just how important it is to keep up a professional portfolio and liaise with as many people as possible to get your name out there with your work. The speakers were from a few different sectors, including editor Ahmad Swaid, consultant/manager Yen Yau, writer Nicole Davis, and actor Nathan Bryon.
Make Gosport, Media Studio
From a new contact, I decided to reach out to the owner of the Repair Cafe and media studio in the Make Gosport workshop to see if I would be able to jump on any upcoming projects they might be thinking about. Turns out, they are somewhat new to large media projects but were open to some camera operating help for their upcoming project: Make Gosport/Makers’ Central live stream in April/May 2022.
I was able to visit and talk to the leader, David, about his plans, share my ideas and confirm that I would be assisting during the livestream in May at Make Gosport, with two others. I think this is a great opportunity as I have not exactly reached out to creators outside of my studies; I have also been able to learn about and use completely new equipment to me, including a smaller version of the Sony FS7 camcorder, rode microphones and receivers and a lot more. It’s definitely a new experience for me and has made me push myself to talk to completely new people and be confident in myself to share my ideas and collaborate in a professional environment.
Aspex Portsmouth Ambassador Programme
Aspex Portsmouth hosted an Ambassador Programme, requiring applicants to send in a paragraph talking about why they would like to attend. I was able to do so, learning from employees at the gallery about marketing and working with contemporary art. At the moment I am working towards a proposal for a marketing and audience engagement outcome for their current exhibition, ‘Journey Through Dots’ by the blind braille artist (who I am also shooting a documentary on), Clarke Reynolds.
I’ve been able to meet students from other creative courses, such as creative computing, architecture, etc., experience multiple contemporary exhibits (which was all a completely new way of viewing art), as well as ask professional artists and gallery employees about their processes of producing their modern, usually interactive pieces.
University/Student Work
Level 6 Showreel
I am a part of the BAFP discord group, allowing film students to advertise roles for their shoots. This is where I heard about Jojo’s short film – I ended up helping as a 2nd AC, which involved me helping out the DoP with lens changes, lighting and just overlooking the camera in general, as well as being an assistant to the 1st AC.
This was my first experience on a higher-year set, and being around the Arri Alexa camera. From this shoot I learned just how long a process it is to perfect lighting, especially while working with or recreating natural light. Some thumbnail shots can be seen on my Instagram highlights ‘Uni Shenanigans’ here.
'Bubbles', Level 5 Fiction Film
As there are a lot of higher level films advertising throughout the year for help, I put my name down to help as a camera assistant on the film ‘Bubbles’. This was the second film I helped out on of a higher year, allowing me to shadow Emily, the DoP as her 1st AC. It has taught me that cinematography is definitely the area of film I would like to end up in and that camera assisting is probably the way I would like to start off. Working with new equipment and seeing how each production role works together on set has me excited for further years and
'My Friend', Level 5 Fiction Film
From working with a classmate on a documentary as the DoP, I was invited by him to act as his 1st AC on a Level 5 Fiction Film he was DoP for. The filming lasted for three consecutive days in which I met so many great people in the crew and cast. This has been the second budgeted film I have been a part of and have been able to make a whole new group of contacts. This production used World War II replica props for costuming and weapons, which was interesting to learn about the way in which you have to go about organising them with rental places and the police.