Ben Varley Personal statement

For me film has the power to summon all the emotions, from edge of the seat excitement to heart
wrenching sadness. It’s leaving the cinema with a thought-provoking new perspective or brilliant
imagery imprinted on my mind. I love the balance of story vs excitement vs entertainment and find
this equilibrium truly fascinating. Film has always been a big part of my life from being addicted to
those family friendly films, ’Toy Story’ to now being slightly more discerning on story, feel and genre.
My hands-on experience started with experimenting with stop-motion filming and endless news
reports with my brother being the reporter. More recently I have really enjoyed filming music videos
as part of my college work.

Film Production would be the ideal course for me to study at university as it contains both the
practical side to filming as well as backing it up with theoretical elements and aligns with my
experience and passion to date. Although I have been using a video camera from an early age, my
interest in film and media was only awakened after a GCSE options evening when an enthusiastic
teacher described a course which presented the excitement of making films which had me captivated.
I signed up there and then.

At school I studied Media Studies at GCSE, which lead to me studying Creative Media, TV and Film
Production at College where currently I am really enjoying my second year. This has given me a well-
rounded knowledge of film production, which includes topics like; editing, short films, music videos,
advertisement campaigns, radio, camera work, pre production including script writing, story boarding
and location planning. I have really enjoyed my course at College but directing has a particular
resonance with me and I see the directing part of film making as something I really want to be part of
in the future.

With the explosion streaming services my list of watched films is ever-increasing, from classics like
‘Shawshank Redemption’ to more recently Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a time in Hollywood’. I am also an
avid film podcast subscriber with The Qwipster Film Review podcast being my favourite at the
moment.

From my experience at College and completing projects in groups, emphasises the importance of
teamwork, which extends to outside of my college life. I am a keen sportsman, playing regular
football, from the age of 4, as part of a local team (Holmer Green FC). For 10 years, I have also played
hockey for Wycombe Hockey Club, at junior and senior level, at least 3 times a week. Also, as a county
hockey player, I was part of the team representing Buckinghamshire that won the Southern England
County Championship. I am really looking forward to playing hockey at university. I have completed
my Silver Duke of Edinburgh award where I had great fun and a sense of satisfaction volunteering at
the local Scout group.

Currently I am enjoying working part-time in the local post office, serving customers on the till or
helping deliveries and arranging stock. This work gives me great experience in dealing with people
especially remaining calm and polite while under pressure, as queues get ever bigger. I am also
hoping to start seasonal work with a large department store.

I am passionate about film and will endeavour to give 100% to ensure success.