Angel Nkomo is one of the participants on our fifth BFI Film Academy. With the course in full swing, we asked Angel to share some thoughts about directing for the first time…
During the training session we were given the opportunity to choose a first, second and third choice within the field we wanted to explore. I knew that directing film was an area I was particularly interested in and wanted to learn more about and so I decided to plunge deep into the unknown and add directing as my first choice. I was unsure as to whether choosing this as my first choice was a good idea or not. I had experienced directing before but directing as a group and not as an individual. I knew that this would be a huge step out of my comfort zone.
The day of filming came and I started with sound. At the beginning, I was a bit shaky with how to collect sound to a high standard. I was holding the microphone in the wrong direction and shaking the boom whist holding it. After working with the industry professionals I learnt about how to collect clear and high quality sound. It was then time for me to have a go at directing. All of a sudden the nerves that had been loitering around in my head had ceased to exist. Everyone was so helpful and reliable that I felt confident in directing. We managed to capture the shots we needed and I felt like my passion for directing was growing.
Over the two days filming I was given a chance to try more departments of filmmaking out and loved every single one of them. As a group we supported each other and whilst stressing to make sure we kept up with the shooting schedule and time limit, we also managed to have a lot of fun whilst doing so.
Find out more about our BFI Film Academy, head here.
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