Episode: Making Our First Sea Film (and Surviving It) — with filmmaker Zoe East

What it’s about: behind the scenes of our mini-documentary about Ash, a female fisherman. Two women, one working boat, the hottest day of the year, and a very real lesson in saying yes before you’re “ready.”

• The films Michelle & Zoe have already made together (rowers, stonemasons, adventurers) and why this one felt different.
• How the Ash film finally happened after five years of red tape.
• Filming on a live working boat: zero seating, tight wheelhouse, fuel fumes, safety zones, and why some shots were “off the cuff.”
• Sea-sickness roulette: ginger shots, mindset, the wheelhouse of doom, who threw up (and who didn’t), and how to keep shooting when your horizon won’t sit still.
• The drone saga: trees, no-fly zones, ND filter chaos, and missing “the one job” harbour shot.
• What actually gets kept vs thrown back (and why fishermen get an unfair rap).
• Doing the dares: banding lobsters and mackerel fishing while trying not to die.
• The long steam home, the graveyard camper stopover, and the infamous Co-op pants.
• What’s next: festivals, sponsors, and building She Who Dares Wins Productions — films about women, by women.

Key takeaways:

• You don’t need perfect conditions to make a great film — you need respect, adaptability, and momentum.
• Boundaries keep you alive on a working boat; they also keep your story sharp.
• “Confidence” isn’t the absence of nausea — it’s doing the job while you feel it.
• Fishermen are far more regulated than most people think; sustainability was front and centre.
• Minimum crew, maximum story: say yes, keep it simple, solve one problem at a time.

Gear & constraints (for the film nerds):

• Small crew, limited kit, prioritising safety & workflow over perfection.
• No flying at sea (signal risk), attempted harbour drone shot foiled by ND filter & timing.
• Interviews split: land day + light top-ups at sea.

Timestamps (light, skimmable):

• 0:00 — Why Zoe’s back + our past films
• 1:25 — The Ash idea: 5 years of “maybe” to “let’s do it”
• 2:53 — Planning vs reality: tourists, heat, off-the-cuff shooting
• 4:08 — Ginger shots & mindset: the seasick strategy
• 6:23 — Wheelhouse hell + safety on a working deck
• 9:35 — Missing shots, saving the story
• 12:01 — What gets thrown back: sustainability in action
• 14:20 — The mackerel dare & keeping morale up
• 18:30 — Harbour return, drone fail, tourist chaos
• 21:10 — Camper van, graveyard, and the Co-op pants
• 23:30 — What’s next: festivals, sponsors, more women-led films

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