Studying TV and film production at college gave Alex Henderson the ideal foundation to launch a thriving media business.
It’s been three years since I took the lifechanging decision to start my own venture with my business partner, Justin Edlagan, and what an amazing three years it has been! Not only have I had the opportunity to work on well-known TV shows including Downton Abbey, Dickinson’s Real Deal and Beowolf, I’ve also won commissions from a host of great businesses, such as Motel One, Sodexo and Harley-Davidson, and created a short film that was showcased at the recent Newcastle Film Festival.
Justin and I started out making eye-catching video and social media content for clients but as the business grew, we branched into other exciting areas including 3-D virtual reality walkthroughs of hotels, offices, shops and leisure venues.
Our business, NewGen Creative, has started to win recognition in the region. Last year we were shortlisted for a North East Business Award and voted one of the top three digital and social media firms in Northumberland & Tyneside, omething which gave me a huge sense of personal pride.
It’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be where I am today had it not been for Gateshead College, where I studied TV and film production. The course gave me the skills and confidence to start the business and I’ve not looked back since.
Although I already had a background in video production, the college gave me invaluable experience of further editing skills and preproduction workflow and logistics. More importantly, they encouraged me to develop my entrepreneurial spirit, making me president of the Northern Stars enterprise society, taking me to business events and talks and even organising an incubator scheme with Gateshead Council so we could get NewGen off the ground.
I wouldn’t have achieved all of this at any other college. My teachers were so supportive and took a genuine interest in my new business, which I launched while still at college. Probably the best thing they did was encourage me to surround myself with like-minded people who are running successful businesses. Through the enterprise society I learned more about what it takes to start a business, how to look after the finances and how to network effectively with potential customers.
I also discovered how other entrepreneurs tackle day-to-day challenges. They say it’s a lonely life being an entrepreneur but it doesn’t have to be, not if you talk to people who’ve been there and done it. Without the college’s help, I wouldn’t have known that these opportunities existed.
I still keep in touch with my tutors at Gateshead College and, in a strange quirk of fate, they’re now one of my valued customers! I’ve been commissioned by the organisation to produce VR walkthroughs of facilities at the Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics in Team Valley. Students will soon be able to take a virtual tour around the academy and see 3-D visualisations of driving simulators, spray booths and other modern equipment.
I’m a firm advocate of getting an education; it gives entrepreneurs the best preparation for starting a business. And my future goals? Ultimately, I want to create a company that can be seen and recognised as a place that genuinely helped North East filmmakers to begin their career. If one day someone told me that NewGen Creative changed their life for the better, I’d know I’d achieved what I set out to do.
