What Defines a Career Highlight in Filmmaking?
In the world of filmmaking and animation, a “career highlight” is often assumed to be a prestigious accolade, a high-profile client, or the moment your work appears in a museum or cinema. And while those moments are wonderful, like seeing your work projected at Tate Britain, sometimes the true highlights arrive in a quieter, more personal form.
For us at Plume Films, the real magic often lies not in the limelight, but in the collaborations that spark trust, respect, and genuine creative freedom.
Trust, Respect, and the Creative Process
At the moment, I’m working on a new documentary called The In-Between with my long-time collaborator, Byron Vincent. And without hesitation, I’d call this project a career highlight.
Why? Because the collaboration itself feels rare. There’s a synergy at play, an unspoken trust that allows us both to grow our ideas without fear of losing control.
When I first approached the film, my instinct was a neon-soaked, 1980s-inspired aesthetic. Byron, however, envisioned something entirely different: rawer, more textural, glitch-based. At first glance, these seemed miles apart, but through conversation, exploration, and a bit of creative push-and-pull, we found the perfect middle ground.
This process wasn’t about compromise; it was about refinement. By resisting the easy path of VHS distortion and instead crafting unique textures and glitches from scratch, we landed on a visual language that truly supports the story Byron wants to tell.
The result? My animated sequences aren’t simply inserted into the film, they’ve become integral, woven into its DNA.
Psychogeography, Neurodivergence, and a Living City
The In-Between explores psychogeography and neurodivergence, specifically how the frenetic, layered city of Istanbul reflects the mind’s complexity.
Animation plays a pivotal role here. Rather than smoothing over the chaos, we lean into it, embracing glitch art, brutalist cut-outs, and dense textural layers that act as a chaotic antidote to over-perfection.
This kind of storytelling wouldn’t be possible without the trust between collaborators. It’s proof that sometimes, the best way to move forward is to let go of control and allow another voice to shape the work with you.
The Problem with Constant Feedback
In commercial projects, particularly those with strict brand guidelines, constant feedback is a necessary part of the process. But in independent or documentary filmmaking, endless rounds of notes can be creatively suffocating.
Every extra layer of revision risks stripping away the bespoke, handcrafted elements that make a film unique.
On The In-Between, the opposite has been true. Byron and I have built a working relationship based on trust. That trust has given me the freedom to experiment, to push textures further, and to explore forms of animation that might have been cut in a more feedback-heavy environment.
It’s this trust, not the absence of feedback, but the quality of it, that allows truly original work to emerge.
Rethinking What a “Highlight” Means
A career highlight, then, isn’t always the big-ticket recognition or the glossy case study. Sometimes, it’s about the moment you realise you’re making something that couldn’t exist without collaboration, trust, and respect.
For me, The In-Between represents exactly that: a space where my craft, Byron’s vision, and our shared values meet. It’s a reminder that the most meaningful highlights aren’t always the loudest. They’re the projects where you feel seen, trusted, and free to create your best work.
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