Kia ora, my name is Elina! Born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau and as a kid, I’d always been interested in cameras. It wasn't until the final year of my Communications degree where I majored in video production, that I started to see video work as a tangible career path. Currently, my creative field is in the outdoors YouTube space.
How did you get into / what inspired you to get into video creation?
Since leaving University, I worked for other companies doing their creative video work, often creating content to host on their YouTube channels. With what I’m doing now on YouTube, I almost just fell into it. I went and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (4,270km from Mexico to Canada) in 2019, and naturally, filmed it. From there I cut together a series of videos, as well as a short film that documented the journey, which has helped me to build an audience of my own in the YouTube space.
Are you currently working on any projects?
I’m currently finishing up the edits on my Te Araroa Series I filmed while walking the length of Aotearoa over the course of four months in 2020-2021. I am very much looking forward to wrapping that up and getting onto new projects!
What is your proudest accomplishment / favourite project?
I would have to say the piece I’m proudest of is my It Is The People Pacific Crest Trail short film. I think because I made it with zero expectations, zero intentions of putting it anywhere other than YouTube, the love from others I received from it felt so wholesome and pure. I didn’t think hundreds of thousands of people would ever see it, let alone for it to screen in several film festivals. It not only is a piece of work I’m proud of, but a whole chapter of my life I’m so proud of myself for experiencing.
Do you have any other hobbies/interests?
I have a deep love for hiking, for new experiences, and the dream for me is to delve further into the world of nonfiction - my true love is documentary.
What is your best advice for someone interested in your field?
If you’re interested in building an audience on YouTube, for doing video work online; create what you want to see, tell stories as though you’re telling them to old friends, and do it because you love it, not for the money. It’s going to take a while to get established (and I’m still very much on that journey).