Let Me Introduce Myself…

Hello and welcome let me introduce myself.

My name is Kate; I am a proud Northerner and a lover of TV and Film. The creative industries have always been a great way to bring people together; they capture our imaginations, they have a fantastic capability for broaching complex political and social issues in an accessible way and through the power of storytelling, they can connect people through "Water Cooler Moments". And ever since I realised it was possible to create what I love for a living and be a part of the process of creating captivating storytelling I have enjoyed for others, I have dreamed of seeing my name in the credits.

Although I loved drama at school, once I discovered it was behind the camera where the real magic happened, I was hooked and wanted to learn more. After high school, I enrolled at a college specialising in TV and Film, UTC@mediaCityUK. Studying there was fascinating; it was my first experience creating content in a specific way, learning about the processes from pre to post-production, working in different formats, from short films to marketing campaigns and the first time I experienced true creative teamwork, which I couldn't get enough of. The two-year course taught me a lot, but at that point, I had only begun to think about specialising in producing and chose to go on extending my creative education by studying film at Edinburgh Napier University. The four-year course in Edinburgh was fantastic; I got a more in-depth education about how each department works, professional processes, set etiquette and more time creating projects, mainly short films, to allow myself to fail and figure out my creative voice. Now graduated, I am a well-rounded creative individual, prepared to enter the industry and deal with whatever it throws my way.

In my final two years at university, I specialised in producing.

Short film production, especially at university, means being a creative producer and production manager. I like both sides of the job. I am a tremendous creative conduit to the production, helping work through problems with plotting and structure, camera and production design choices, etc. Having your boots on the ground in development, involved in those creative conversations, and watching them flourish into the final production is an exciting perspective. However, most of my time producing was the production manager side of things, sorting out the logistics, leasing with cast and crew, sorting out schedules, location scouting and managing budgets. When discussing my work with my peers, people often would awe that producing was my specialism as they couldn't understand my desire to deal with paperwork or deemed it a none creative role. But production management, although less creative than a writer or cinematographer, nestles itself between the creative and organisational processes. I need a creative mind to understand the creative vision and what is required of each department to allocate resources appropriately and manage the project successfully to completion. I have a creative mind that is detail oriented, great at problem-solving and highly organised. What I love most about production managing is starting with a big jumble of schedules, budget considerations, transport, catering, accommodation and location needs and, during pre-production, slowly chipping away at each. Ultimately, you have fitted the last piece of the puzzle, and it all comes together, knowing all the stress you had to deal with was worth it. That whole process scratches a piece of my brain that I love. Currently, production management is the route I am pursuing, and I want to do my best work on some fantastic projects.

My future:

Now that I have bored you with all that, I want to give you some insight into what you will find on this blog.

Having graduated, I am making my way into the industry; I will post updates on my progress every month. It may include things I have applied for, musings on the industry and how I am finding it as a new entrant, projects which I may have in production or work experience I am undertaking. This part of the blog will be like a diary to track my progress.

Additionally, I will be posting reviews. I have always written things about what I watch; I find it hard to be articulate and have opinions about Film and TV. Others can immediately speak about what they watch, having intricate analyses and conversations about it. In contrast, when I enter those conversations, my mind goes blank. I know I liked or disliked something, but I can't say why. Therefore, I take my time to understand my thoughts and write them down. But, I want to start sharing my thoughts to feel less intimidated by this type of discussion and to be less afraid of people judging my opinions. So each month, I will share what I watched, my thoughts, and archived reviews I have written. I aim to create a safe space for myself creatively and for others if they feel the same way.

So this is me. I hope you like what you see and read. One day we may work together to create unique stories; if not, keep your eye on the credits because I will be there someday.