Christine Preisig is a London based videographer and video editor, specialising in personal biography videos, clips for social media, promotional videos and documentaries.
Working with a broad toolset of editing and animation techniques enables Christine to make creative and unique videos that awaken the senses and really stand out from the crowd. To see examples of her work visit www.christinepreisig.com
I run my own business as a videographer. I help people and companies present themselves or their work to the world and specialize in promotional videos and personal biography videos.
Before setting up my business in 2020, I worked as a freelance film maker, learning video skills ‘on the job’ and by attending many specialist film classes.
My professional life has had three stages: I started my first career after studying economics and subsequently worked as a policy advisor for central banks in Switzerland, the US, and the Bank of England here in the UK.
The focus of the next stage was my children. I found it increasingly difficult to balance work and family commitments and decided to take a career break. During that time I worked flexible hours as a freelance journalist, translator, and researcher.
Film making marks my third stage. My work as a journalist and interest in telling people’s stories made me sign up for my first film class. I quickly found out that making videos involves many things I love doing. I’ve always been creative and crafty, and editing footage feels like crafting even though it’s all done digitally. But I also like the parts of film making where I can use my analytical skills, for example, when working with a client on refining a script or when planning a personal biography video project.
I knew quite quickly that making videos was what I wanted to do.
Yes and no. I quit my job as an economist at the Bank of England to spend more time with my children and consider my next career steps. It’s not that I sat down with pencil and paper, but my explorations in finding a new calling were quite methodical. I gave myself time to explore different interests and worked with a coach who helped me define what characteristics my new career should entail, what skills I could bring to the table and what I wanted from a job.
I was pretty picky and strategic in my years of “exploring” as a freelancer. It looks like ‘one thing led to another’, but in fact it all happened with intent, with the whole process being planned and deliberate.
Yes, changing careers from economist to videographer has often been difficult. The greatest challenge was to overcome moments of self-doubt: Am I good enough? Can my business generate a sufficient income when there are so many competitors out there?
And it’s not that the challenges stopped coming. As I grow my business, every stage has come with new problems. Often, they are practical and can be solved easily. But I still also face situations that are way outside my comfort zone and where I have to give myself a push.
That I’ve succeeded in setting myself up in a job that ticks so many boxes for me and allows me to divide time between work and family flexibly. I feel fortunate and proud to have carved this career out for myself.
The passion for what I do spurs me on to do well! I’m passionate about the craft of video making – I enjoy the variety of tasks entailed in producing a video for a client. But I’m also passionate about meeting different people and businesses and helping them tell their stories so they can share them with a broader audience.
I’ve been mentoring an international student as part of a cultural mentoring scheme. It’s not so much mentoring in a professional context but more about finding your feet in a different cultural environment and learning about customs, traditions etc. I’m a foreigner myself. I moved here 14 years ago and from my own experience I remember well the pleasures and difficulties of settling in somewhere new.
I had a few informal mentors helping me along in my career. I valued their insight and guidance enormously, and I’d be happy to be a career mentor myself.
Calling out chauvinist attitudes and behaviours in individuals and sexist organisational practices. The world of business is still entrenched in gender stereotypes and unconscious bias. I think it’s vital to fight sexism at the core; in seemingly harmless everyday situations when someone makes a sexist joke, and also when it happens more systemically through existing practices that intimidate and exclude women and favour fellow men.
Trust yourself and follow your instincts. It’s ok to be an introvert! Don’t overthink; go and do! Don’t worry so much about what others think of you. Most people are too concerned about themselves to notice someone else being a bit insecure.
I want to make a documentary about how the street I live in in London has changed over the last 50 years. My next-door neighbour and a few other people in the street grew up here and experienced significant changes – many of them improvements but others less so. I want to bring all these elderly residents together to discuss their experiences. It’s going to be sort of an oral history film project.
