Daisy Thor-Poet - Graduate, Bachelor of Screen Arts

From the tender age of eleven, Daisy Thor-Poet was mapping out a future in filmmaking. She  started making films and entering them in competitions, winning national awards, long before most children think seriously about what they want to do when they grow up. By the age of sixteen, she had travelled to Singapore, Vietnam, Paris and New York for her films, and had won international awards.

“I had a passion for film well before I decided to study it” she said. “Entering into film competitions provides a great way to raise your profile, film festivals create that wider exposure to a larger, and often international audience”.

The SIT Bachelor of Screen Arts graduate was schooled at Garston Primary School in rural Southland, then attended Mount Aspiring College in Wanaka. During her final year at high school, Daisy said she did a lot of research, looking at where to study next.

“I really wanted a degree in filmmaking, From memory, there were only two degree courses available, Invercargill or Auckland, and SIT was the most logical choice”.

She said SIT was a natural  progression for her, as she wanted to continue to grow and learn the professional craft of filmmaking. Daisy enrolled at SIT in 2016, and graduated with her degree at the end of 2018. Her choice to study and train at SIT has paid off in a variety of ways.
 
“Everything I had researched about the SIT course proved to be true. It is a very well-respected course, providing students with top-quality industry gear. The course also gave me opportunities to work and gain experience on professional film sets, which has been one of the most valuable aspects for me”.

“During the three years I was studying, I got many opportunities to work and gain experience on different professional film sets. Because of this, one of the most valuable things I took away from SIT was a growing network of industry professionals that I had opportunities to work with. A lot of my future work stemmed from this, including working on a Netflix show!”

Freshly graduated, in December 2018 Daisy gained a position as a Camera Trainee on the Netflix series ‘The Letter for the King’, being filmed in Queenstown. It’s an example of doors being opened, from the amazing networking connections she gained in the industry by attending SIT.

Choosing to study at SIT with Zero Fees has been hugely beneficial for Daisy. Obviously, having a very small student loan is great! Another payoff was she enjoyed a good standard of living during her time in Invercargill.  

“Working a job as well, enabled me to save money to go on international holidays to Bali, Malaysia, Borneo and Rarotonga, all over the course of the three years while I was a student at SIT”.

Another plus from her time as a student, was the chance to move to a new city and meet new friends with the same passion. It was definitely a highlight, said Daisy.

“I still stay in contact with them now, and occasionally we get to work together as professionals, which is cool”.

As for her course, Daisy says it was invaluable because of the freedom she had to pursue her interests, creating content she was passionate about.
  
“SIT caters very well for a variety of people, not trying to confine us all into a box. Also, the industry-standard gear, facilities and opportunities that were made available to me were great! The SIT course offered much more than others across NZ and I would definitely recommend it”.

Post-graduation Daisy settled in Wellington. As she’d been making films and releasing them for a while, she set up her company Tinted Productions, she said “to create a platform for myself to make films and share my work to a wider audience”.

Then Covid-19 hit. They say every cloud has a silver lining, and for Daisy, lockdown facilitated space for her to plan the next project. She created a 6-part documentary series, focusing on NZ companies who are championing sustainability.  

“Lockdown gave me the time to plan production schedules, liaise with companies and organise filming. They’re the first docos I’ve produced under ‘Tinted’ ”.

Each doco has an important message about ethical sustainability, and reflect Daisy’s desire to create films that have an important message or positive impact.

“That’s the niche I want to be in” she said. “The more people that see the videos, the better”.
 
Daisy has provided self-funded series back to businesses to use for their own marketing, and since their release, she said they’ve led to quite a lot more work.

Aside from being hired as a camera operator around Wellington, she’s done filming for Will&Able, promo videos for social media and websites, and was recently hired by Roxy Cinema to film and photograph the legendary Jon Landau at a Q & A session.

“Jon is an Oscar-winning American film producer, who is most well-known for producing Titanic and Avatar, two of the highest-grossing films of all time”, said Daisy.

“It’s very cool to meet someone of that calibre in the industry, he was very down-to-earth”.

And she’s proud of the connections she’s making within the industry that indicate her professionalism and drive to be there for the long haul.

“Tinted Productions has just been sponsored by Aputure Lighting and Deity Microphones”. She said  it’s great to have high-quality, industry gear to work with from reputable companies.

For the future, Daisy wants to continue to grow her company - Tinted Productions.

“NZ has a big reputation in the film industry, but I guess what I’m trying to create is outside the box – something new for NZ and international audiences”.

“Creating video content that has a positive impact is my drive and passion. If I can do this, I believe I have achieved my goal of becoming a filmmaker with a purpose”.