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Vanessa Pellegrin, alumna, MA Creative Media Arts: Digital Film
Vanessa came to LSBU to develop her skills and pursue creative freedom; now she's running her own production company and producing a feature-length documentaryBefore coming to London Vanessa was working as a journalist in Morocco and Spain, but she found herself getting frustrated with the limitations placed on her creativity; she wanted to explore alternative angles and have more input into the stories she was covering.
She decided that she needed a further qualification to learn more before she could go it alone, and moving to London felt like a good next step in her adventure, thanks to excellent career prospects in media and journalism. LSBU's central location made the university an obvious choice, and the course suited Vanessa perfectly.
New skills
"I was looking for a course that built on my previous knowledge, but bridged the gap into something new", she explains. "This course was perfect as it related to my industry but I could develop my skills in digital film, too."
I learnt some much needed digital skills; I had learnt the basics in my first undergraduate degree but at LSBU I learnt much more about software like Final Cut Pro, and how to make journalism for the screen. I also learnt so much more about documentaries, their history, strengths and how to produce them."
Teaching support
A real strength of the course was the teaching, says Vanessa. "A lot of my course was almost on a one-to-one basis; my tutor really guided me through the course and was always making sure I was progressing well on to the next stage of the degree."
Vanessa completed a documentary as her final project, and has since founded her own production company Frog and Roast Beef Films, and is producing and directing her first documentary as a professional creative producer.
'The Trouble with the F-word'
Her new film, entitled, 'The Trouble with the F-word', is an examination of the state of feminism in Britain today, and features No More Page 3 campaigner Lucy-Anne Holmes.
After being in front of the camera, it's very different to move into producing. There's so much more you have to think about, like all the legal requirements, all the organisation. It's a challenge but I'm really enjoying it.
Vanessa Pellegrin
To support her project Vanessa has also worked on producing corporate and promotional videos, but has recently been able to focus on her project full-time after securing funding from several different backers. She's also continued to raise money through her crowd-funding campaign.
Vanessa hopes to complete the film this year, and continue her work in production to support and explore issues she is passionate about.
Watch the trailer, or follow the project on Twitter or Facebook.