During the start of 2024, I was chosen to take on the role as writer for one of QUT’s green-lit documentaries: Life After Deaf. The short film explores the life and journey of Angus McLeod, a Brisbane born-and-raised individual that became profoundly deaf after being critically assaulted in Fortitude Valley on a night out with friends. His story of of perseverance and gratitude was immensely inspiring to hear first-hand and I am so honoured to have been able to work on this beautiful project with an even more beautiful family. I wish nothing but the best to Angus and the McLeod family.

Writing for a documentary was wildly different in comparison to writing a script for a drama. I was given a template which my Producer, Phoebe McLeod, was kind enough to start for me which was in the form of an Audio/ Visual table. Alongside this, I constructed several documents entailing questions specific to each family member on the topic of Angus and his story. I continued developing these documents over the course of pre-production and after a number of rigorous iterations phases, we found ourselves on shoot day. Having already worked on the project for weeks alongside my Producer and Director, I was eager to continue helping out where I could, and given my background on set with my skillset, I was put in charge of a majority of the equipment, carried out daily tasks as a best-boy and data-wrangled at the end of each day. 

The whole experience was highly rewarding as I learnt an overwhelming amount and kindled several new friendships. I consider this a core memory for my film career which I will cherish and reminisce going into the future.