Finding My Voice: A Creative Journey

I was born in rural New Zealand in 1975. From a lineage of five generations of farmers, my destiny was pre-determined, until one fateful day in 1982 whilst watching Saturday afternoon television, I watched a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Return of the Jedi. In this excerpt, I saw people creating worlds from their imagination and immediately felt a connection to the potential of visual storytelling.

Years passed, as they often do in stories like these, and I was the kid who every weekend would be rounding up the neighbours to shoot a short film on VHS. Limited by analogue technology, these shorts would be shot in sequence and edited in camera, but these restraints honed my writing style and direction. I went from strength to strength, but as it was only viewed as a hobby by my parents and there was no scope within the confines of school for it to be recognised, I was just that awkward kid who did that movie and animation stuff. Yes, I was asked to film the school musical and partook in sound mixing and editing a documentary on the making of the production, and was the go-to guy when you needed help on something, but beyond that...

At the tail end of 1992 (my sixth form year in NZ, equivalent to Year 11), I had the opportunity to attend a tour of South Seas Film and Television School in New Zealand on a visit to the big smoke (Auckland). The tour evolved into an interview which resulted in me externalising for the first time ever all the creative initiatives and endeavours I had undertaken over the previous ten years. I was accepted on the spot and left home at seventeen to pursue my creative career.

In the first week of class (which was a fully vocational hands-on 42-week programme), we were asked to do pieces to camera talking about our background and history (designed to be a top and tail that they would then record the follow-up at the end of the year to show our growth). I nervously spoke about my interests and passions and my love for writing and directing, but played ever so nervously as if what I was saying would pale in comparison to all others in the room – for here was I, this kid from a small town whose entire life was driven by visual storytelling, but I myself felt I had no voice. I had been told to sit down and shut up (get a haircut and get a real job was a mantra often spoken) for such an eternity that I was beyond humble and willing to compromise for the sake of anyone else in the room.

As I concluded my abysmal and muted journey-to-date, the head of the school stopped the class and addressed me. He said, 'But Andrew, you forgot to mention that you've been shooting short films for over ten years – that's ten years' worth of camera experience, writing, directing, and editing.' I had to do a double take – is that what that meant? That all that time playing and creating wasn't in vain, or a waste of time? For the first time in my entire life, I saw passion translate into tangible skills.

This was the day my creative journey truly began. The first day I felt validated.

Thirty-plus years have passed, and I stand on the other side of that chasm as someone who has traversed both the peaks and valleys of the creative arena as well as tertiary and VET teaching. Part of what drives me is the opportunity to support and nurture the raw energy and vitality that comes from embryonic creativity, to empower that first validation of a creative output – that hopefully will spur them forward. Which is why when I stepped into the role as Head of Learning for Creative Industries at IVET, one of my goals was to take the existing Certificate II in Creative Industries and restructure it in such a way that not only provides tangible real-world applications of skills within a vocational framework, but also an opportunity for soft and hard skills already undertaken informally by volunteering for school productions or musicals, with a mechanism not just to be acknowledged but to be validated with a recognised qualification.

Because after all, it can be that first recognition that defines the stepping stones of a career.

Andrew McKenzie