“I Can Wear What I Want But My Hats Will Differ”
I live my life in fast forward; that distorted flash of colour you think zoomed past you, it was probably me, racing to the next page. At the moment, I’d say I experience more than those who follow the average speed limit, that’s how my life is lived, like a tornado ripping through towns, leaving a creative trail behind.
At 20, I had graduated from Greenwich University with a HND in Television Production Technology. As the third year was theory based, I decided against the degree and instead, flew to New York to become a Media Counsellor for Camp America.
By 23, I was living in Prague, training to gain a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), through The Cambridge University. This was a back-up I’d tactfully put in place to ensure I’d always be able to support myself should I live abroad in the future. By way of funding the course, I worked work as a runner for TV shows, always keeping one foot in the creative industry.
At 24, I began to climb the television ladder by religiously researching production companies and their upcoming shows, seeking out the production managers and sending them CV’s. I started to swing from branch to branch landing roles looking after celebrities and eventually becoming a Production Secretary.
A few years later, through networking, I landed a job in Ibiza, Spain, so I flew out for the summer after backpacking in Thailand. This was a mixture of business and pleasure, working for a production company and in a night-club, helping to produce a fly on the wall series. This is where I got to brush up on my University skills through pre-production, editing and filming, reminding me of how much I enjoyed this area of production.
Returning to England at 27, I picked up where I left off and got two job offers on shows with the word, “party” in the working title. I couldn’t help but think my stint in Ibiza was to blame, however, this wasn’t complaining.
What I decided to do next, after a lot of thought, was to film and edit my own footage. The creativity that pumped through my veins was finally being donated to something useful, my brain. I researched the best camera in my price range, a Canon 70D, and decided to use Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Premier Pro 6.
My trip, created through months of networking and constructing emails to television companies all over world, began in November 2015. My calls to the universe were heard mainly by South East Asia so I planned my departure.
I was offered three jobs, two video assignments in Bali and in Malaysia, I was casted as a body double for a French reality show which I snapped up instantly. The journey progressed exactly how I had planned and the videography began.
In 2016, with a new found motivated sense for my existence, I chose to lock away a percentage of my entity; I had a plan, a plan with a precise focus with no time for my beloved social life – my ultimate sacrifice. I chose to move to London away from the temptation created impressively by yours truly to work on my videos, photography and website content where I found a love for writing. What I did then was to book my next flight – money was saved, website running, my plan accomplished, next stop was Australia.
I landed in Gold Coast and began applying for media industry jobs and was pleasantly surprised that I was getting attention for the writing on my blogs and website. I was offered a position as a writer and photographer for a lifestyle magazine and was responsible for visiting new bars and restaurants and writing reviews to be published in the magazine. I soon became the top contributor and was given my own section to head.
Just under 3 years later, I’m back, that journey has hit the pause button for now because nothing is ever over . Landing with so much more knowledge and drive, I decided to put this into creating a T-shirt range which I have just launched so please check out my mission and intentions by visiting my page here and website, Intrinsic Tees.
Katie Babb 