The Journey So Far

So here I am, in Bristol doing EVERYTHING I think I possibly can to reach the finish line.

I'm lucky enough to have the great support of my partner meaning that I'm able to work part-time in order to carry out my creative pursuits and I feel that I've done an awful lot in the past year as a result.

I began the student after-life with a couple of months of freelance, voluntary work and internships which proved to be a great foundation for the months to come. I volunteered at the Screenwriter's Festival in Cheltenham (SWF) where I was fortunate enough to work in the Green Room meeting Oscar Winners and BBC Figureheads and generally just getting a little giddy from all the contact with film industry VIPs.

Following this was an internship in London for Little Bird Film & TV who co-produced Bridget Jones's Diary amongst several other well known titles. This was thanks to my University who had set up these opportunities months in advance for those that wished to apply.

Little Bird was an exciting experience but one which also taught me that I was in no way shape or form ready for the big smoke. The commute is one thing - crammed into commuter trains like an over crammed tube of smarties in the height of summer is not an experience I'd like to repeat day in day out. The other aspect I found hard to adapt to (having just spent 3 years living in a sleepy Cornish town) was the sheer pace at which everyone travels, not only is there the pace but somehow the women seem to be able to walk at warp factor 9 in the most ridiculous high heels! Is it all a front? Do these people actually have a ridiculous amount of health problems and numb feet or are they really capable of such a fast-paced and suffocating lifestyle? If so - please tell me your secret.

Anyway, London rant aside - Little Bird itself as a company was a fantastic experience. I was taught how to write script reports and given the opportunity to crit various drafts of screenplays by established writers. I was sent on many a courier mission to various studios around London. My most memorable trip was to Working Title. It was really only a "simple drop off the tape at the front desk" job but I couldn't help feel a flutter of excitement as the elevator doors opened to the shiny metallic logo on the wall opposite which glints as if giving you a knowing wink - I soon got snapped out of that little daydream but I hope to be back some day with a more exciting purpose.

On my return to Bristol I hooked up with a contact I'd made at SWF who was in the midst of developing a romantic comedy feature-length screenplay. I worked with the writer/director on this project for a period of around 6 weeks in a script editor/ assistant producer role which really threw me into the Bristol film network head first which was perfect. I knew virtually no one in Bristol at this point so being introduced to such a large volume of industry professionals and wannabes like me was of great significance. The group which really helped me in the long run was BAFTA sponsored networking group Cineformation. If you're Bristol based check out their website at www.cineformation.com and try to attend their next meeting. It was through this group that I met the filmmakers I would eventually end up collaborating with for the best part of 2009 which I shall tell you about in my next installment in which I hope to catch you up and from then on provide more 'live' installments as I continue my journey.