Zoe Dun

BA Film and Literature, 2007

I studied Film and Literature at Warwick from 2004-2007 and I have to say it truly was one of the best experiences in terms of setting me up for my future career. I lived at Whitefields and was the girl who took photos and videos of every night out or night in and suddenly realised I should do something with all the media and memories I was acquiring. After my very first term, over the Christmas break, I decided to edit together a short movie with all the material I had shot - just for my housemates - and everyone loved it, so I carried on doing it each term.

Not only were these a really fun reminder of our time getting to know one another (as lifelong friends), growing up together, having wonderful new experiences etc, but it also made me realise that I LOVED editing. I had always thought I wanted to be a film director, but making these movies for my friends - wading through hours of footage and stills and creating a structured narrative for people to enjoy - helped me discover my real passion.

Fast forward 13 years and I now live in New York and work for award winning trailer agency Empire Design as Senior Editor and Creative Director of the New York office. I absolutely love what I do and get to work on amazing projects. Highlights for me so far have been working on trailers for Nomadland, Little Women, Beautiful Boy, Peter Rabbit, Ghostbusters, The Theory of Everything, and The Danish Girl, as well as working on TV campaigns for blockbuster films such as Jurassic World, the Toy Story films, and Fifty Shades of Grey.

I am incredibly lucky to be in the industry I love so much, and in a profession I am passionate about, and I do have a lot to thank for my time at Warwick and those first teenage steps in editing footage of my friends on the very primitive free software on my laptop. As well as obviously learning a huge amount about film and literature from my very excellent lecturers, it was what I got up to in my free time and the nurturing of creativity that Warwick allowed for, that really lead me to where I am now!