We were lucky to catch up with Lydia Muir recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lydia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

In my high school year book, I was nominated “Most likely to be the next Steven Spielberg” so there was a part of me that has always been fascinated by filmmaking. However, I only discovered it could be a career path after completing my business degree. At 23, I moved to London with just a suitcase and some savings and started to explore what it meant to be a producer and how to become one. After one year of that, I pivoted and moved to Taiwan to learn more about my cultural background. In Taiwan, I was a preschool teacher and had no connection to being a creative. At 29, I moved to New York to return to pursuing my path as a producer. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had stayed in London. Yes, perhaps I would have a longer list of credits and connections. However, I don’t regret my time in Taiwan at all an wouldn’t change my path at all. During those 5 years, I learned so much about myself and experienced so much that has helped me to become a more well-rounded filmmaker. I truly believe that there is never a too late to start a creative career. When I am writing or developing stories, so much of it comes from my own experiences and I, personally, don’t think I had as many stories to tell at 23. In fact, some of the best creatives I have met had previous careers. If you start this journey early, that’s great! Just make sure to keep experiencing life and building different aspects of your life – you never know when another skill will come in useful in your creative journey.

Lydia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

From a young age, I have always been fascinated by stories. It started with a love for books. I never left the house without a book. Then, I discovered films and TV and was in awe of how they were made. I spent more time watching the behind the scenes and making of segments than the actual films. I got a video camera for Christmas and started to document everything. I filmed trips and school events and then learned to edit them into videos, which I shared with family and friends. When I moved to London at 23, I had no idea how to get into the industry. I cold emailed any local producers or filmmakers and had coffee with anyone who would meet me. I applied for various programs and trainings and took online classes. Slowly, I developed an understanding for the industry and built some connections who got me some work as a PA. In Taiwan, although I wasn’t working in film and TV, I continued to write. I wrote short stories, screenplays and treatments. If you are not yet in the industry but have a passion, my recommendation is to write as much as you can now! Once you get into the industry, it can be hard to find time to just sit down and write. You also don’t need any connections or money to write so do it as much as you can!

Working on set and then as a producer, I found that I work very well under stress and was able to solve problems effectively and efficiently. I have also always been extremely proactive – so when someone comes to me with a great idea or story, my strength is to break it up into steps and to take action! Many people like to talk about doing things but it doesn’t count for anything unless you can actually execute those plans. The more I produced, the more I discovered that I wanted to be more involved in the creative side of things. So, I started to produce my own projects – short films and web series.

I love to explore relationships and human connections. Having grown up very international, I saw that the most universal themes and stories were those related to relationships; not just romantic but all kinds of human relationships. Therefore, those are the projects I tend to gravitate to – messy, complicated, emotional and wonderful relationships. The first short film I wrote and produced was about a young woman grieving the loss of her Mom. Another short film I produced called ‘Sapling’ dealt with a toxic relationship in the workplace. My web series is a romantic comedy about two people who decide to live together and have feelings for each other but cannot act on them! Although they are all different, they all deal with relationships.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started in this industry, I always thought that I had to reach a certain level of experience or be acknowledged by certain people before I could call myself a ‘producer’ or start my own projects. I don’t know when exactly I realised that wasn’t the case but the more productions I worked on, the more I realised that I had been ‘producing’ all along. With the support and encouragement from my friends and mentors, I also gained the confidence to make my own films and eventually my web series. No one is going to give you permission to believe in yourself or to make something so you just have to take that leap of faith yourself and try. You will probably make mistakes and it won’t be perfect, but you will gain so much more by actually doing it then just learning about it or watching other people do it. If you want to write, then write. If you want to direct, then find a script and a crew and go direct something! If you want to act, get some friends together and film yourselves acting out a scene. There is nothing stopping you but yourself. It is also okay to start small. I used to think I needed a lot of money to film something, but that isn’t true. Especially in the beginning of your career, it is more important to practice your craft and get your ideas out there than it is to make a high quality or production value film or show.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are two moments in the creative journey that I find to be the most rewarding. The first one is when I’m on set and everyone sees their hard work come to life. That moment when people are watching a take and you can feel the excitement and pride in the whole cast and crew. As a leader, you are only as strong as your team so when everyone comes together and is working towards one goal and it all comes together – it is like magic!

The second moment is when you screen your film or episode in front of an audience for the first time. After working on something for so long, it can feel like you’ve been in a bubble. So to finally see an audience taking in your work and watching their reactions, is a scary but also rewarding moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lydiamuir.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/lydiamuir_film
• Other: Watch my webseries: https://tinyurl.com/WatchTRC
  Listen to my podcast: https://open.firstory.me/user/noshortanswer/platforms

Image Credits

the first two on set (I am dressed in red) – Regan Hicks
At the screening – Dev Hardikar