How Well Do We Know People in Our Community?
Gemma Wilkie
Gravesend in Northwest Kent was home.
Gemma grew up in the small suburb of Northfleet. Her mother was a teacher, and her father a maintenance fitter for a Lead and Silver Refinery. We went to local schools, but my passion was dancing. I just loved it.
I began dancing at two and half or three. I learned Ballet, Tap, Modern and Jazz.
At 18, I elected to undertake a BA Honours Degree in Dance and Related Arts at the University College Chichester.
I had no idea what I wanted to do but the idea of travel, a tan, and being somewhere exotic was appealing so I got a job with a Package Holiday company. I worked in Ibiza, Cyprus, Corfu, and Lanzarote. My role was to provide entertainment to the holiday makers. There were games such as shuffleboard, darts, pool, water polo. For evening entertainment, we were tasked with creating shows.
While I was having a great time we were paid a pittance. It was time for a change.
Every year as children we had gone on holiday to Florida. We visited all the film studios. At MGM we had a backstage tour where I found out about Green screens for the first time. They showed us how a scene in “Honey! I Shrunk the Kids” was created.
My sister and I were placed on a massive bumble bee. We were blown about by a huge wind fan and were required to scream at certain times. Then they showed us how the green screen was altered to show us zooming through a garden. It was mind blowing. I knew what I wanted to do.
A short editing course was my starting point. Then a one-week special course giving an overview of planning, storyboarding, finding locations, creating a short film, composition, and editing. I was hooked. … Continue Reading
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