Hey Isla, how’s things?
Things aren't too bad at all thanks!
For those that don’t know tell us about yourself
I'm a 34 year old Video Editor who has been in the creative industry for around 12 years
I want to start by talking about you when you were younger, were you always a creative person?
Yes 100%. I was brought up in the theatre. My Mom is an actress and I showed an interest in what she did, joining amateur dramatics and performing alongside her when I was just 8 years old. My Mom and I would also make comedic sketches to shoot on our Hi8 video camera and so my love of moving images and being creative has always been there from an early age.
I first discovered video editing after taking a career quiz at school and ‘video editor’ was the top match, so I gave it a go using software called Pinnacle, putting together something for my school mates from our last day at high school.
You worked at Red Bull Media House initially as an intern what drew you to the role?
I've always had a love for extreme sports, I grew up in the 'emo' era where everyone owned a skateboard and Red Bull was the hub for this kind of content and still is so at the time this was the ultimate dream job.
You were later made permanent after 6 months, you must’ve impressed them!
Haha I guess I did! I was persistent with my boss at the time.. kind of always been quite ballsy, you have to be in this industry and I pushed myself into the biggest projects I could, I spent time really learning the craft from other editors and one of the things I'm most proud of was cutting a 6 part web series about a Swedish musician travelling the world, building a story from about six different unorganised hard drives all while I was still an intern.
What do you think were the biggest lessons from transitioning from an internship to a permanent role?
Never stop asking questions! Never be afraid to hold your hand up and say, 'I'm not quite there yet can you teach me how to be?' Throw yourself into the deep end too because actually sometimes that's the best way to learn. Observe and soak everything up, take every opportunity to learn more skills and progress.
This role was in Austria, what was your experience of living and working in a different country than your native?
It was an incredible experience to have at just 22, scary at first but I welcomed it with open arms and embraced everything about the people, culture and language. It most definitely changed me for the better. I mean no one understood my thick Yorkshire accent at first and I had to speak with this mad Germanic English accent to get by until I learnt a bit more German! But the working laws in Austria are so good.. It’s actually illegal to work more than 40 hours per week, so the work life balance was, as you can imagine, incredible!
Did you enjoy your time there?
Without a doubt the best time of my life. I learnt so much about myself, about editing and the industry, I met so many wonderful people there, including my now partner and I was able to live in a stunning part of the world surrounded by mountains.
Let’s talk about working at Televideo, where you worked with some big name clients. Did you have a favourite project?
Oh that’s a tough question.. There were so many great projects and I worked with the best team there. I enjoyed covering Ice Hockey, creating opening titles, features and then editing a highlights show every week for FreeSports. I travelled to Dubai for the first time to cover an MTK boxing event and also my last job was really up there, operating the graphics for the Women’s World Cup in France for BBC Alba.
In this role you continued to learn new skills and climb up the ladder. What do you think drives you in your career to progress?
The fear of being left behind and somebody younger coming in and doing a better job… Partly true.. But I do also have a passion for what I do and it’s an industry that is constantly changing with technology and new trends, so it’s a part of the job to stay up to date and to always make time to learn new skills. But ultimately the more you push yourself to learn, the more of an asset you become to a company and can therefore carve out the career path you want.
This again was a sports related role. Was this coincidence or an aspect that drew you to the role?
Definitely an aspect that drew me in, I mean also kind of a coincidence too, there’s not many companies around South Yorkshire that do what Televideo do! I worked a job in-between Televideo and Red Bull only for around ten months and this was quite a corporate agency and the closest thing they did to sport content was betting adverts. Safe to say it wasn’t my bag and I realised just how much I missed creating sporting content.
Talking of sports I know you are a keen footballer. Is that an important aspect to your life?
Absolutely. Football brings people together and it’s a massive community, one which I love to be a part of, especially at the rate in which Women’s football is growing. The team I play with every week have become really great friends because we all share the same passion for the sport.
You now work at Manchester United which is where we met, are you enjoying your time so far?
I really am, it’s been a rollercoaster for sure. It can be demanding and tough but I have been a part of some incredible projects - the kind you dream about!
What do you enjoy the most about your position?
I have the freedom to be creative, room to expand my skill set and I get to edit some great content for the biggest football club in the world. For a football fan, it probably doesn’t get much better. Not to mention I'm working with some incredible creatives who I've learnt so much from in the past 3 years, I don’t think I could do my job without them. We always support and inspire each other to do our best work.
You are an experienced member of your industry, what lessons or advice could you give to others wanting to do the same?
Believe in yourself and your ability, never stop learning and expanding your skillset, find a way to stand out from the crowd. Create, create, create - in other words practice makes perfect. Keep an up to date showreel or website to feature your best work and your colleagues or other people in the industry will become your biggest asset. Every place I've worked I've asked a million questions and learnt so much from the people around me which has shaped me into the editor I am today.
Do you believe the creative industries have areas they need to improve on?
Yeah definitely, I think there’s a massive burnout culture in the creative industries. I don’t think covid helped the situation as companies discovered the job can be done just as well at home but I really don't think creatives do their best work when under so much pressure with no time for a personal life.
Who are your standout creatives?
Oh this could be a big list! I think everyone at United and everyone I've ever worked with, they’ve all inspired me in some way. Maybe I should share my Linkedin network with you?
For my final question, what's next?
At some point in my career I would love to edit some more documentaries. Sport of course. Storytelling is definitely my strength so editing long form would be a challenge I would really enjoy.
But currently I am pretty happy where I am, I think there’s still more for me to achieve at United.
