Lily has always been fascinated by films and the conversations they spark. She is passionate about using film to create projects that generate meaningful discussions. Her interest in film was nurtured through phone calls with industry professionals arranged by her father, podcasts, and her creative media course. The course exposed her to different media and taught essential skills like camera operation, editing, planning, and teamwork. Outside of school, Lily runs a social media photography account showcasing her hobbies and takes photos to promote local bands. She ultimately wants to pursue a career in the film industry.

1. Personal Statement – Lily Ajaib
My fascination with film always is the conversations afterwards. Watching stories being told about a
subject that you haven’t ever thought about until an hour and a half ago. Films that create different
pathways and possibilities in worlds that are too farfetched to really believe in, or the worlds that
are too like reality. The films that create conversation. My fascination started with if the filmmakers
behind the camera intentions were to create certain impacts or questions. As my passion for film has
grown, it is now more about having the opportunity to be able to create projects myself where
people have meaningful conversations afterwards.
I’m very thankful to my dad for pushing me to choose the Vocational Creative Media B-Tech at York
college. He is the person that noticed how curious I was with film back in early secondary school and
set up phone calls with people that worked directly in the industry. The phone calls were with an
assistant director in UK Film and Television, which helped me give an insight on the positives and
negatives of working on set and shooting. After the phone calls, I started listening to lots of podcasts
and YouTube videos on the behind the scenes of different films. My GCSE art teacher noticed I was
more interested in the cameras during the photography unit of my coursework, which he allowed
me to explore more in throughout my final secondary school year. With the phone calls, starting
creative media at college and countless amount of “TheGoCreativeshow” and “THR Roundtable”
podcast episodes, it is certain that going into this industry is what I want to do.
The York College Creative Media Course has allowed me to engage and learn about different media
like Audio, Gaming, Photography and Film. Some projects I have created over the years are Music
video, audio stories, animation video games, app creation, posters, magazine work, and a final
project where I chose to work in Film and Photography. For these different projects, I used different
software’s like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe XD, and Adobe Audition. The course
has taught me how to work with cameras, how to edit videos and photos, planning schedules, story
boarding, time management, making sure the projects are for the right target audience and working
with a team efficiently.
Outside of college, I have a social media photography account where I post some of my photography
I like to take in my free time. I try including my hobbies outside of film in my photography. For
example, I enjoy live music, so I take photos of a local young band that want to build their music.
These photos include practise sessions and band photos that they can use for promotional purposes.
This account has allowed me to have some creative freedom outside of the college work, as well as
learning about what cameras I like to use and how to get the most out of them. When I’m not doing
that, I am working at Point Zero Trampoline Park where I am apart of a team of multiple job roles.
This includes a barista and waiter in the café of the facility, a court runner which is where we work
with the kids to make sure they make the most out of their hour on the trampoline, and I work with
parties which is all about organising.