‘Yellow Pocket’ is a video production and photography service based in Sheffield, founded by Ai Narapol and Darshan Gajjar. Ai studied Digital Media Production and Darshan studied Film and Media Production. They met through a job listed on Hallam Freelancers page. Darshan had taken film at college and knew he wanted to pursue work from behind a camera, going to Sheffield Hallam gave him the opportunity to meet connections and also Ai. Ai originally started on a performance course, but realised she was good at photography; she thought it was a safer idea to pursue that instead. She moved to Digital Media Production because of the various formats they cover such as graphic design, videography and animation, however this made Ai realise she was meant to be a photographer.
They both graduated in 2021 and were employed in part time jobs to make an income to pay the bills, they had been freelancing and working as Yellow Pocket for a few years already and managed to turn their business into full time freelance as of January 2022. From first year they managed to grow their connections and network. However, when working as students there were times when they would work for free. The two have been working as Yellow Pocket since March 2020, where they have worked their way up, developed connections and had frequent clients. Their jobs entail emailing, website work, social media posting as well as the photography and cinematography. They get out there and meet people, create great photos and videos for brands and weddings across the UK. They were told to pick a sector and stick to it, but they think it is important to experience different skills, this benefits them as they get to meet various types of personalities and learn how to adapt.
They have worked on a variety of jobs, such as, Sheffield Hallam marketing team, creating content to promote and support studying at Hallam. As well as restaurants, shoe brands, musicians, weddings and more. Darshan is progressing in the filmmaking world and is regularly requested on sets around the UK and Ai has had a turn into freelance marketing and the world of fashion. Here is some advice to people in a creative degree “Be nice and respectful. Go out there and do stuff. We see so many students who study these kinds of courses and want to run their own business, but you really need to be proactive. Whilst you’re at university you are surrounded by the tools, knowledge and most of all – free time. Once you’re outside of university, it gets a lot harder to try things out and learn new things as you become busy with earning money, now’s the time to create a portfolio, have a head start. University is a good safety net so you can find what works for you with no stress. Most important: There are no excuses aha.”
The Yellow Pocket founders advise if you want to go freelance like them, it is who you know in industry, going to networking events, emailing people you want to work with, creating pitches, pitch to clients who you want to work for all help. Social media is a great platform to stay updated and share your portfolio. They often get clients to contact them through Instagram. The Enterprise Team and Hallam gave and still gives them tons of advice, funding, opportunities such as jobs and networking events and more. This is a recommended opportunity to reach out to whilst at Sheffield Hallam. Another piece of advice for people wanting to go into a creative career or placement is “Do it, don’t be afraid and keep pushing. We’ve had a lot of people discourage us, but we kept going. Even if you have to get a part time job to support your bills, it feels so good once you make it. Life is great when you can do what you love but only you can make that happen!”
To find out more about Yellow Pocket please visit their website now: https://www.yellowpocket.co.uk/