Alys Harrison

About Alys

Film, I feel, is a combination of all my fascinations. Creative writing has been a strength of mine from the moment I learnt to employ a pen. Then, at the age of eleven, I came across the art of photography with my Mum’s unused DSLR. Through sheer determination, and the refusal to use automatic settings, I discovered I could not only tell stories through my words, but the light around me. Initially my whippet was my main subject. I trained her to the camera, and shared the images online everyday. At fourteen, I fell even deeper into my love of literature and character. I’d spend countless nights peeling apart plots and characters from my favourite films and novels, trying to understand actions to the deepest extent. I would study the techniques and manipulations used by the author or director, taking note of how they would bend the audience’s perception. (I recently finished reading The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri, which has heightened my love for the artistry even further) At sixteen, I began work experience as a groom for a shire and carriage horse team. They supply horses for heritage museums such as Blists Hill Victorian town, Beamish, and Acton Scott working farm. We work in Victorian costumes for the public, and it always makes me feel like I’m on a film set, and then one day we actually were! The cast and crew for Belgravia: The Next Chapter came and shot at Blists Hill and also hired the shire horses for several scenes. I was there for part of the filming, and was able to see first hand how a creative vision collectively comes to life for the screens, and it gave me such a thrill! Not long after that, I began further experimenting with video on my DSLR. I had limited equipment but I used what I had. I shot a few videos for various people and businesses, such as the Field Studies Council and the Shire and carriage horse’s youtube channel. At seventeen, when watching a Masterclass episode on directing, I realised that film and cinema was everything I loved in one. Everything from crafting the characters and the premise to the cinematography. I began emailing a few directors, and that is how I came across the BFI Academy. It has been a game changing experience but I’m so hungry to learn more.

Skills & Experience

Education