Behind the camera at a gymnastics workshop with former Team GB gymnast

Zoe Fountain, a BA (Hons) Film Production student at Southampton Solent University, has been working as a paid videographer for former Great Britain gymnast and Solent alumnus, Kelly Simm, who is also now the Athlete Support Officer for Solent University’s Sport Excellence Programme and the universities TASS network.

The commission came through Solent Creatives, the University's student talent and freelance network, which booked Zoë to film a media day for the Sports Excellence programme, where she and Kelly first met.

"She was just talking about how she wanted a video for her company," Zoë explains. “I said I would love to help you make that. We exchanged phone numbers, and then a couple of weeks later we started having meetings, arranging when I'd be free and what she wanted me to do."

The result was a paid commission: a day-in-the-life film capturing the energy of a Frags and Simm gymnastics workshop, shot, edited and delivered entirely by Zoë herself.

"It was quite nice to see Kelly teaching the kids. It's one thing for her to say she's a very talented gymnast and it's another to see her teaching those skills and still having it. The workshop was really upbeat and fun, and it was nice to capture that atmosphere, which is what she wanted."

The coaching venture, Frags and Simm, run by Kelly alongside her teammate Claudia. delivers gymnastics workshops to clubs across the UK.

Kelly said: “I first worked with Zoe during a photoshoot with our Sport Excellence athletes, and again on a behind-the-scenes content day showcasing the athletes’ training and experiences at Solent University. When I asked Zoe if she would be interested in supporting the filming of one of my external events, she immediately jumped at the opportunity, showing the enthusiasm and willingness to get involved that will be so valuable in her future career.

“Despite being thrown in at the deep end, Zoe handled everything brilliantly, from the initial conversations and planning, through to filming on the day and creating the final content. She was professional, creative, and reliable, and did an incredible job!”

Zoë puts her ability to handle a brief like this down to the training she's had at the University.

"Solent taught me how to use the equipment. I didn't know that before coming to Solent, the camera, the sound, and just the general practice of how to film things. I've developed my skills in framing and what to film to create a compelling narrative, and those soft skills have transferred over. I know how to converse with a client, how to plan my shoots, and how to work to a brief."

That practical grounding, paired with three years of building a portfolio of real commissioned work, is what she credits for feeling ready to step straight into the industry.

"I'm proud of myself for being able to network my way into this," she says. "I took a job, talked to someone on that job, and they offered me another job. You don't come out of the womb knowing how to do that. I think universities definitely helped with that, and just getting older and more confident. That's what I'm most proud of, getting the opportunity in the first place, because that will then lead to another, and another, and another."

Zoë is currently applying widely across the film industry, with an interview lined up for a role in Milton Keynes. But freelance videography remains firmly on the table and is confident she's ready for the industry ahead of her.