Profile: Alex Shaw

Alex's film Dad: A Personal Journey describes a meeting with his estranged father.

Why did you pick this subject for Fresh?

I created this film to help others in the same situation decide whether it is worth the emotional risks

Meeting my Dad again was something I had intended to do for a while. I’m often annoyed at how this subject is sometimes portrayed in films and programmes so I decided to shoot a film in which viewers could get the full truth of it all and BBC Fresh seemed the perfect platform for it.

What motivated you to make this film?

It took me a while to decide to contact my Dad and even longer to meet him. The lack of open and mostly unbiased documentaries on the subject, to my knowledge, caused me to create this film to help others in the same situation decide whether it is worth the emotional risks.

What equipment did you use to shoot and edit the film?

I shot the film using nothing but my very own (and very handy) Canon 650D. I edited the film using Final Cut Pro on a Mac, the first 7 minute draft took me nearly two days, with a finalised 3 and a half minute cut coming out after another day of work. I tried to display the entire story as openly as I could using a reflexive approach. The music came from a very useful site I’ve used many a time, it was something I nearly used in another project but it knew it would be better suited for this one.

Who/what inspires you?

I’m a big fan of Louis Theroux. His doc America’s Most Hated Family is what started my fascination with documentaries. A director that has influenced me and inspired me the most would be Guillermo Del Toro for his obvious passion and dedication to his films.

What are your plans for the future?

I intend to carry on creating various pieces of work. I’m currently working on a short film with a zero budget limitation and hope to eventually make it in the industry mostly writing and producing fiction, and directing and shooting documentaries.

What is the most important thing you have learned so far?

Learn from everything and anyone you can, but you should always learn the most from your mistakes. A totally obvious one I know, but it's surprising how many times I’ve seen people make the same mistakes again and again. A failed project failed for a reason - discover why and write every one down on a checklist and always refer to it when beginning a new project.