For a simplified personal statement below 500 words, please find my about page but for the longer version, please find the below:

Ever since I was young, I have always had the fondness for film and making pieces for the public eye. Not the type of videos where you would be the little actor in the movie, but the one recording and then going on Windows Movie Maker and adding every effect under the sun. Though now it has been quite a few more years since then, I believe that was a starting part for a huge passion in my life, thus what inspired me to follow my dream. Now I am 23 and currently am finishing my final year of higher education for creative media level 3, consistently and proactively improving my portfolio more & more.

My dream is to be able to travel the world, indulging in every culture possible in the world & expand my knowledge of every little thing I can whilst capturing to help teach others the beauty of the world. Of course there’s always going to be set backs & challenges to overcome, especially in hard times just after a pandemic which completely ruptured any semblance of a travel dream for several years and will definitely for years to come. Yet even with these setbacks, I still believe that, even if you can’t travel the world, there’s still beauty in everyone’s backyard. Henceforth I wish to travel around the UK before I start travelling the world, exploring that backyard before going further!

Right now I currently work as a videographer, photographer, video editor, digital marketer & media executive for Midlands Managed Properties, which is something I truly enjoy and am very passionate about. Previously I have worked alongside Peterborough College, TedTalk & Real Estate companies to promote commercial properties, alongside those positions, I have volunteered as a Teaching Assistant, Brother Through boxing & Princes trust. Through these many experiences I believe I have achieved many different skills and feel like my work has really shown everything that I worked on, but even still I know I can do more and want to push myself further than ever before!

I have achieved Level 1 Business Administration, Level 2 in Travel & Tourism, currently achieving my Level 3 in Creative Media, accumulating over 5 years of college courses behind me, including my passed Functional Skills Level 2 Maths & English, all achieved at Peterborough College. Through following my passion, including all my hardwork I put in, I was able to achieve Best Student Short Film at the Gateway Film Festival 2022, this was such an unbelievable moment for myself. It truly solidified that all my hardwork and passion which I had put into each of my pieces was getting seen and appreciated.

I have experience working with both Sony & Canon cameras, these are including but not limited to: Sony FX3, Sony A6100, Canon EOS 7D MARK II, Canon 700D, Canon 2000D. Throughout the usage of these cameras, I believe that this allows me to feel comfortable with the majority of cameras handed to me, given enough time to learn the in’s and out’s. I also have experience using many of DJI’s kit, including the DJI OSMO pocket, DJI s and DJI RS3, with the DJI s being one of my favourite pieces of equipment for how it works but closely followed by the OSMO for how small it is for its size but the utility for a film makers that it allows.

In the future, I really want to be able to expand my knowledge and library of work with cameras, one of the biggest ones is to get my hands on a Red camera. Knowing that the majority of movies are shot on these, having hands-on experience would be invaluable to my future endeavours within the industry, whatever I wish to do. One of the biggest things which I wish to do is definitely work alongside someone from National Geographic or someone who has worked with them, the first person that comes to mind is definitely Will Nicholls, someone that I look up to within the photography industry.

I have done quite a lot of research into different roles and careers to follow in my future, though I do wish to go into the photography industry and work within the conservation sector and do stock photography, I making sure to leave a lot of my options open to make sure that I am available to many different options whilst still having a lot of opportunities available for me. I have previously done a Digital Marketing course which has allowed me to learn more about online marketing and creating a presence on social media and online in general. This has allowed me to really put myself out there with a lot more confidence, learning more about SEO’s, Slugs, ETC…

I have also volunteered and done a short course within the radio industry, with hosting my own online radio show with the help from a small radio station called Hereward Radio. With this I was able to build my communication skills & confidence to help me make a presence online and allow me to really experience how it felt to be part of a production, though it also made me realise that I don’t particularly enjoy being the one in front of the camera, it did help me realise just how much pressure it can be to work live in front of many people.

Whilst I have volunteered for different organisations in the past I believe that my most invaluable experience was definitely that of working as a director of a lot of my larger scoped pieces. I do have experience working on personal projects with me finishing a large majority of them, but I don’t think any really reach the scope of my trial documentary piece. Throughout working & planning as a director for that piece I believe I really got to learn what it really takes to plan to lead a small team, making sure everyone knows their roles and what they need to do and focus on, especially with the consideration of what it is like working in public areas and dealing with members of the public. One of my biggest takeaways from the piece is to always be willing to be flexible, as I had a pretty lenient plan for the piece with a lot of it storyboarded but allowing for flexibility allowed me to get some shots which I would not have thought of at the time thanks to my cameraman at the time. Even though I was the director and had a specific vision for my piece, I believe being able to listen to those around you, is something everyone needs to learn & work on.

Though I might not be going to university for many different reasons that I have explained within my 1 year, 5 year, 10 year plan, I still believe that everyone has their own dreams and should think about what they need and want to do before going ahead. For my dream, I don’t need a degree, though the networking and connections I would make would be invaluable to my future endeavours. I believe that going out there and proactively working as a photographer whilst keeping a social media presence and building a credible portfolio is exactly what I should be doing.

Going forward, I will always think back to my younger years of dragging and dropping every single effect onto the timeline on Windows Movie Maker, maybe that young lad is still dreaming of space and the stars. Whilst that boy dreams, I will do everything in my power to achieve that dream I had, going forward with constant improvement and making sure I always learn from my last mistake.