My Story: Dean-Alastair Platt

Written by: on December 8, 2023

My name is Dean-Alastair Platt and I run a production company called PlattypusKing Productions. As part of this production company, we work with local musicians and events for photography, videography and music videos, as well as themed photoshoots for interested individuals. We also make films and documentaries with a particular interest in boosting minority stories and reducing stigma. 

Establishing PlattypusKing Productions is my proudest achievement so far. For the better half of 4 years, I’ve really struggled with what I wanted to do for a career within industry, and vowed at the start of this summer to do as much as I could and find what I wanted to do. I got the opportunity to work on a feature film set with Mark Reeson, a freelance director and one of my university tutors. Being on that set and working with him made me form a passion for the arts department and directing, and from that I established my production company.

Before I started studying film, I had a passion for games design. My dad worked within the games industry and despite his initial wishes for my career, I wanted to work in that industry too. In 2016, I did a 6 week game design programme with InnovateHer, and later did some coding courses with them too.

I joined the InnovateHer community knowing almost nothing about what to do or where to start with game design. However, the community within the programme, including the professionals leading it, were so welcoming and understanding that I felt like I just fit in. My transition from the games to film industry was one that spanned 2 years. After my courses with InnovateHer, I wanted to distance myself from games (due to personal reasons), but knew I wanted to pursue a similar career after the courses I’d done.

I ended up finding LMA while looking for a college course. They have a games course, but they also have a course for Film & TV Production. I’ve been passionate about film since. 

One thing I’ve realised in my passion for both games and film was how little diversity I found. After networking for over 4 years, I can confidentially say most of my contacts are cishet white males. I also find myself oftentimes as the only transgender person on a set. Over the years, I’ve found a nice circle of people that make for a quite diverse and accepting crew, but there is definitely a diversity problem in the wider industries. Companies like InnovateHer help, and although I don’t fit the demographic of “Her” anymore, I gained valuable knowledge and experience that still influence me with my current career.

The best advice I can even think to offer for any young person still debating their career is don’t feel like you have to make your lifelong career choice right now. There’s someone in my university class who turned 30 during the course, and he had never done film before. And if something interests you, or confuses you, try and learn about it; research it, find workshops, and try to get some hands-on experience in the field. You will grow your knowledge on it, and may find your passion.

This piece was written by Dean-Alastair Platt.