What. a. summer. As we begin to move into the best season (Autumn) and my second year at university begins, I’m taking the time to reflect on my Summer and look at all that has happened. When I came up with this idea to do a blog post, I blanked on what exactly I did this summer, It felt like when you start a new class and you’re doing some crappy ice breaker to which the teacher is saying “tell everyone something about yourself” and your mind goes blank. Yeah.

Fortunately, I can look back at all the pictures and goals I wrote, and remind myself…

BEFORE ANY. CELEBRATIONS.

It’s safe to say that my summer began by receiving the grades for my final project in my Year 1 Film Degree. Tasked with being a Director and Producer on two short films for about 5 months, was by no means easy. It was probably one of the most challenging endeavours I have ever taken in my life, but I’m so grateful I was able to fulfil this experience as it has given me a lifetime's worth of memories.

However, once it came to the final submission week, I found myself in a horrific state where I hadn’t documented much of my work AT ALL, and for submission, we had to provide endless amounts of documentation with a reflection, evidence proof and an essay. So, for about 2 weeks I was crunching everything I could, sleeping next to zero hours, just hoping i could scrape at least a merit. Once I received my grade, I had a mixture of emotions. Whilst relieved because I still did well, I wish I spent more time working on the written assignments as I believe I could have achieved a much higher grade.

Moving forward, I’m going to force myself to start my written work as soon as it’s given to us… will I still procrastinate? Probably.

LET IT BEGIN

So now, with Summer 2023 truly underway, you’d think I’d be on a very much-needed detox from filming for at least a year… that wasn’t the case. Hurling straight into another short film titled ‘June’ (expected to release Spring 2024) I took upon the role of Producer, 1st Assistant Director and Script Supervisor, this shooting schedule was intense and sometimes gruelling. But to have the opportunity to work on a project with my friends, new and old, was completely unpassable. Whilst challenging, the memories we made were great and I cannot wait to share this project with the world, once it’s completed!

I wrote more about this in my blog post.

THEN. Harry Styles. Need I say more? I saw the Harry Styles at Wembley on the 14th of June, and I’ll just say it was a euphoric experience. Dressing up in a fire outfit, losing my voice by SCREAMING with 90,000 people, was just unforgettable. Most memorable though was me and my friends not having a way home after all the hotels were booked, so we stayed at an overnight pub and played Monopoly until the early hours of the morning for the first train. Yeah. It was one for the books. One of my favourite memories of this summer.

THIS WEBSITE

My most significant endeavour regarding my career I would say is establishing an official Website/Portfolio. For forever, I wanted to have a hub where I could house all of my content, a place to have insights into all of my work as well as my life (hence this very blog post). And I made one! My website is a great way to promote myself as I move forward into my creative career. If you want to see more of my work, check out my ‘Work’ Tab, you can click here to see my most recent projects, details on the crew and where to watch the content.

BRIGHTON.

I also visited Brighton! Myself and my best friend went on a week-long trip there, a well-deserved break and retreat from our busy lives. We stayed in this quirky loft room which it’s entire floor was made of AstroTurf, a unique choice but it somehow worked perfectly. My highlight of the entire trip though was visiting this Immersive Van Gogh Experience.

This entire exhibition was a powerful and emotional journey as we followed Van Gogh from his early entrepreneurial years as a young artist, and we watched his mental health deteriorate rapidly to the point where he took his final breaths. It was a breathtaking experience as it combined fully immersive visuals surrounding you, stretching as far as the eye can see, with beautiful classical pieces of music that complemented the motions of his life perfectly. It was both an inspiring and melancholic experience, if you ever get an opportunity to see it, I would encourage you to go.

Also, Brighton, your food? Divine. We stopped off at this beautiful Italian restaurant ‘Al Forno’ where they just had the best pasta and pizza I’ve ever had.

What else did I get up to this summer?

CHICAGO! (the musical)

My local theatre company, of which I am a recent alumni, is holding a production of CHICAGO. I saw auditions were posted up around mid-July and thought I would give it a shot as auditioning for the slimy lawyer that is Billy Flynn. I felt confident going into the audition after I spent weeks preparing the monologue and wailing the song to the point where my neighbours could hear me. And thankfully, the hard work paid off and I scored the role!! We’ve been rehearsing for the past couple of months now and it has been great. Working with a close group of people for a final product is an atmosphere that I just thrive in, everyone is so hard-working, and we’re all having fun. If you wish to come see the show click the link here, to get your tickets!!

MY BIRTHDAY

Of course. The biggest cultural event that could ever happen. My Birthday. My 19th! I spent it at the zoo with my family and best friend. And it was such a great time! The Zoo we visited was ‘Banham Zoo’ and it was so great to see all the animals and the birds of prey display we went to was just stunning! Seeing parrots fly in sync along the stunning blue sky was truly captivating. However, the display did make me feel incredibly empathetic towards Vultures, I didn’t know how critical they are to our ecosystem and how endangered they have become in recent years. ‘From 2002 to 2011 White-rumped Vultures suffered a 91% population decline in Nepal” - that’s just insane! But don’t take it just from me, do your research online and you will see how much of a backbone these birds are to our ecosystem… (we all know they’re not the prettiest animals but let’s look past that!! 🙃) Donate to the Vulture Conservation Foundation here.

OH! And finally,

Myself and my peer Sophie Reeve-Foster were nominated to be part of the East Royal Television Student Commitee! This shocked me. Completely unexpectedly, Liam Wells emailed me asking whether I’d be interested in joining the committee alongside 6 other members from various other colleges/universities in East Anglia, and of course, I accepted as quickly as I could! At the minute, I’m not totally sure what this is going to entail but we have our first meeting happening in the coming months and I am so excited!

My summer was spent on self-growth, reflection and focusing on becoming more in tune with myself and the present. I find when life is busy and I’m completing so many tasks a day, I forget my true passions, and my hobbies, one of which is Drama! I love Performing and have done so since I started from the ripe old age of eight. Whether that be serious Shakespeare, or hitting them notes in musicals, I’ve realised it’s something I wish to further pursue, whether that be it continuing as a hobby or seeing it as a potential side quest in my career, I’m not sure! But I know I wish to pursue it further. So watch this space, I guess? As I hope to undertake more ammeter production work.

For more regular updates don’t forget to follow me on my Instagram and Linkedin, where you can see my Uni and Film-related shpiel!

WELL.
That’s been my summer, from working on film projects to going on trips with friends and progressing my career presence, I’m incredibly pleased with how it went when looking back. Whilst I wish I completed more on my list (like filming unofficial adverts for experience) I can still complete this at some point in the year! I’m incredibly grateful to be in the position I am today and can’t wait to see what the forthcoming year holds. Bring on Year 2 of Uni!