My journey

I am not a writer. I am a visual creative. But I am going to do my best to share my story. I never thought I would be where I am today; I don’t think I even thought it was a possibility. I was always a creative at school from art and graphic design to photography and media but I was convinced I would be a fashion designer. When everyone went off to University I went straight into work. Learning the front and back ends of the retail world. The goal was to spend 3 years gathering fashion business experience and knowledge and at 21 I would have my own fashion line. As you can see that didn’t happen and life took me on a different path. Unfortunately my dad passed away shortly after, it was a real wake up call. Going back to work wasn't the same. I needed an escape so I packed a suitcase and headed to Miami.

When i was in Miami I linked up with a London friend of mine, who happened to be there shooting a music video. He invited me on set to see the end-to-end process of creating a music video. Within minutes I was hooked, it was fascinating. The amount of organisation, fast paced work and creative vision that formed a 3 minute visual montage was incredible. I left that experience intrigued and hungry for more.

So, I returned to London and immersed myself in researching the film world; from music videos and fashion commercials to short films and campaign ads. I stayed in touch with my friend and we bounced ideas back and fourth till one day we decided to open up a production company, I would deal with client relations and video shoot productions and he would direct – and just like that I left my day job to work full time within this captivating world of film.

Learning on the job, I would spend hours on YouTube doing research and constantly asking more questions - I always wanted to learn more. On sets I began to fiddle with things before the camera started rolling and understanding frame compositions more and what needed to go where. Whenever my friend directing listened to my thoughts and ideas and executed them I was so excited and inspired, I really felt like I was adding value by helping to shape and execute a vision. A year on, my confidence grew as did my knowledge, I felt ready to step up, so when my friend asked if I would be interested in directing a video, I jumped at the chance. Then fear of the reality set in, I started to think it was a crazy idea, the film world has always been male dominated with a few exceptions and even more so with music videos. I had never seen anyone who looked like me directing videos or had any other female directors to really look up to. But in the end my excitement outweighed the negatives and I directed my first music video. With support from my friend I directed a video for one of the biggest rap duos in the UK; Krept & Konan – the track was called ‘Falling’. That’s where my career really began and I’ve loved every moment since. 5 years later and I still love my job. Things can be stressful and this industry defiantly has its challenges but whats a great job without hard work.

I haven't reached my end goal but I am forever grateful for the journey I have had so far and I want to inspire and encourage more young women to get into film because now is the time. Things are changing in the entertainment industry as a whole and women can do the job just as well if not better!