I'm James McConnell, sometimes MC_Onnell, and I make films. I'm currently 19, but if I forget to update this I was born in October 1997 and you can work forwards from there. I use this blog to show people like you my best work, including the films, pre-production, research, evaluations, volunteering and portfolios.
The earliest film you'll find is from 2013, a small film project I got involved in at my school in Norfolk. In September 2014, I started at East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Gorleston, Norfolk. My classmates and I made several films over the following two years, from animations to adverts and documentaries to a short film. You can see all of these, and the work that went into making them, using the navigation tabs on the right.
Right now, I'm studying at City College Norwich in (you'd never have guessed) Norwich. There's fourteen of us all working as a production company just a brisk fifteen minute walk from the city centre. Throughout the year, I'll make sure to post the work we make on here too, as well as posting my portfolio entries too.
As well as all this study lark, I like to keep myself busy volunteering. You can often find me editing a film for BBC Voices in the BBC East basement at the Forum in Norwich, or supporting young people on courses at The Garage Arts Centre just down the road.
My ambition for the future is to work on live productions, as a director/vision mixer. Being on air and making impulsive creative decisions really excites me. I also have an interest in the news and politics, so I think that would be a great area of broadcast to work in. Also there's always been something about the New Year's Eve fireworks on telly that gets me hyper to work on live broadcasts.
Finally, here's a few quick facts about me so you can get to know me a little better:
- My favourite film is Saving Private Ryan
- My favourite colour is orange (can you tell?)
- My favourite YouTuber is Casey Neistat
- My three cats are called Cleo, Alfie and Tom (the fact their initials spell 'CAT' was purely an accident)
- My editing software of choice is the Adobe CC suite
- My favourite song is Year 3000 by Busted
- My favourite breakfast cereal is Weetabix, I've eaten 4 a day since I was 6 months old
There we are, all acquainted. If you'd like to contact me, the best place to do so is on my Twitter: @mcconnellmedia
