Breaking Barriers on Both Sides of The Lens.

Before embarking on this project, I had a few options on how I would tell this story: stay in my comfort zone with an online or magazine style piece, or push myself into the intimidating territory of creating a video piece.

Writing and online content creation has always been a passion for me and I think I have subconsciously stayed in that safe space throughout my whole time at Bournemouth University on my Multimedia journalism degree - if there was an option to stay behind the camera and write in my safe bubble I would choose that.

Filming, interviewing on camera and directing a whole documentary again felt like a project that I would have no business embarking on. I had never choose that option before so why now for my final university project?

In the lead up to the deadline day for choosing which story telling project I would take, the more I thought about what my documentary was actually about, women breaking into underrepresented roles in motorsport, the more it felt wrong to stay safe. How could I tell stories of women pushing boundaries if I wasn’t willing to push my own?

The truth is I didn’t feel like I had the skill set. I didn’t feel confident enough. I didn’t feel “ready.” But that feeling is exactly what so many women in motorsport experience. The “I’m not qualified enough” voice. The “someone else could do this better” mindset. The pressure of stepping into a space where you don’t often see people like yourself.

So I made a decision, if I was going to tell a story about women stepping boldly into spaces they’re not expected to be, then I needed to do the same behind the camera.

Creating this documentary forced me to learn on my feet and re-learn some skills I have picked up across my past two years on my course. I had to figure out camera work, sound, framing, interview structure, directing, all things I hadn't done for a while.

Despite some minor stresses that I expected to face when creating this documentary, while I have been piecing together all my footage and thinking about my scripting etc. it has reminded me exactly why I chose the harder option. No risk no reward. Although my final documentary is nowhere near done I am already feeling the rewards of pushing myself.

And in this process, I have realised something important representation doesn’t just happen on screen, it happens behind the scenes too. Women in motorsport talk all the time about how powerful it is to see someone like them in the paddock, in a workshop, behind a strategy computer. The same applies here. Being a woman behind the camera, shaping these stories, matters too.

This documentary became more than a project, it became practice. I am proving to myself that confidence isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you create by doing the things you’re scared of, even when you feel unprepared.

Breaking into a male-dominated industry isn’t just a motorsport story. It’s my story too. Making this documentary allowed those two narratives to meet in the middle. It reminded me that stepping outside your comfort zone isn’t just part of the process, sometimes it is the point.

So yes, I could have played it safe. I could have picked the option that came naturally, but choosing the harder path reinforced my message.

Believe in your ability, back yourself loudly, do the things you’re scared you’re not ready for, because that’s exactly how you open doors for the next girl who comes after you.