Alexander Cole
Runner
About Me
I have a passion for the film and TV industry and extensive experience in TV production. My degree in film and TV production provided me with skills in content writing, technical abilities, such as camerawork and sound; and software skills in video editing and pitching. I also explored film movements such as experimental filmmaking of the 1920s and... Read More
I have a passion for the film and TV industry and extensive experience in TV production. My degree in film and TV production provided me with skills in content writing, technical abilities, such as camerawork and sound; and software skills in video editing and pitching. I also explored film movements such as experimental filmmaking of the 1920s and 1930s, driven by post-war politically-motivated art backgrounds like dadaism, cubism, and futurism. Additionally, I studied the cult status phenomenon often associated with low-budget independent films in the US and the anti-commercial filmmaking movement Dogma 95, created by Danish filmmakers to prevent cinema from becoming solely commercial. These explorations sparked my interest in left-of-centre media that challenge norms and offers realist perspectives on contemporary issues. I believe film and TV is the most compelling way to convey such complex notions.
Graduating with first class honours, I fulfilled my dream of travelling the world. I worked in numerous hospitality jobs to self-fund trips to Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa. Combining my passions of travel and storytelling led me to volunteer in Tanzania, where I curated a digital marketing strategy for Savvy Brain Academy, and Solidarity for Her Education and Empowerment Organisation. Faced with the challenge of being the only volunteer, I adapted quickly, becoming solely responsible for their online content. I collected as much footage as possible, taking photos and videos of students, teachers and other workers in order to create several daily social media posts amongst other content. I returned all my footage to each charity on a hard drive for their continuation of content creation after my return to the UK.
I have made films both as part of university and externally, usually out of pleasure but also to increase my portfolio, as I believe experience gives the best lessons. Shown in my creative portfolio, I have made a neo-dadaist experimental short, relating to my aforementioned interest as well as a completely self-funded cinéma vérité documentary-style film centring on four teenagers on holiday in Greece. Containing psychedelic imagery and a nostalgic soundtrack I wanted to both express my filmmaking style as well as explore my interests and inspirations with no deadline or brief in mind.
I'm also interested in cultures, languages, and diplomatic relations. I studied French at A level and currently speak well at a conversational level, hoping to become fluent in the future, and learn more languages once this is complete. Cultures also have a big effect on food and cuisine, which is why I chose to work as a chef rather than a barista or waiter, for example. I worked as a chef in a French bistro whilst at university and in a Levantine restaurant after graduation, picking up interesting information about such cuisines and how they have become shaped by culture. Combining my two loves of films and travel, I'm a big fan of travel documentaries and videos on YouTube. Inspirations include Simon Reeve, as well as YouTubers Drew Binsky, Paul Barbato, and polyglot Arieh Smith. My dream would be to have a similar job – combining content creation with traveling the globe. Furthermore, it interests me how different, lesser-known cultures are full of stories which never reach mainstream media and how bringing them to screen can bring attention and awareness to disregarded issues, movements, and backgrounds.
Like all those with interests in filmmaking and content creation, I am an avid photographer. I am mainly interested in photojournalism – using photos to tell a story without any words, and it is a skill I aim to attain. I love reading, and as a film fan, I particularly love adaptations and I will often read a book and watch its film adaptation to compare the two. Like with cult films, I chose a related module at university, where I wrote an essay detailing adaptation fidelity and whether source text creators should be credited in film adaptations.
Overall, my main passions mentioned of films, reading, cultures, and photography all have one thing in common: storytelling, which in a broad sense is my utmost interest, especially how it can be used to convey important messages. This is what drives my ambition for a career in visual media such as film, TV and content creation. Read Less
Graduating with first class honours, I fulfilled my dream of travelling the world. I worked in numerous hospitality jobs to self-fund trips to Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa. Combining my passions of travel and storytelling led me to volunteer in Tanzania, where I curated a digital marketing strategy for Savvy Brain Academy, and Solidarity for Her Education and Empowerment Organisation. Faced with the challenge of being the only volunteer, I adapted quickly, becoming solely responsible for their online content. I collected as much footage as possible, taking photos and videos of students, teachers and other workers in order to create several daily social media posts amongst other content. I returned all my footage to each charity on a hard drive for their continuation of content creation after my return to the UK.
I have made films both as part of university and externally, usually out of pleasure but also to increase my portfolio, as I believe experience gives the best lessons. Shown in my creative portfolio, I have made a neo-dadaist experimental short, relating to my aforementioned interest as well as a completely self-funded cinéma vérité documentary-style film centring on four teenagers on holiday in Greece. Containing psychedelic imagery and a nostalgic soundtrack I wanted to both express my filmmaking style as well as explore my interests and inspirations with no deadline or brief in mind.
I'm also interested in cultures, languages, and diplomatic relations. I studied French at A level and currently speak well at a conversational level, hoping to become fluent in the future, and learn more languages once this is complete. Cultures also have a big effect on food and cuisine, which is why I chose to work as a chef rather than a barista or waiter, for example. I worked as a chef in a French bistro whilst at university and in a Levantine restaurant after graduation, picking up interesting information about such cuisines and how they have become shaped by culture. Combining my two loves of films and travel, I'm a big fan of travel documentaries and videos on YouTube. Inspirations include Simon Reeve, as well as YouTubers Drew Binsky, Paul Barbato, and polyglot Arieh Smith. My dream would be to have a similar job – combining content creation with traveling the globe. Furthermore, it interests me how different, lesser-known cultures are full of stories which never reach mainstream media and how bringing them to screen can bring attention and awareness to disregarded issues, movements, and backgrounds.
Like all those with interests in filmmaking and content creation, I am an avid photographer. I am mainly interested in photojournalism – using photos to tell a story without any words, and it is a skill I aim to attain. I love reading, and as a film fan, I particularly love adaptations and I will often read a book and watch its film adaptation to compare the two. Like with cult films, I chose a related module at university, where I wrote an essay detailing adaptation fidelity and whether source text creators should be credited in film adaptations.
Overall, my main passions mentioned of films, reading, cultures, and photography all have one thing in common: storytelling, which in a broad sense is my utmost interest, especially how it can be used to convey important messages. This is what drives my ambition for a career in visual media such as film, TV and content creation. Read Less