EP. 185 - 'Growth, Graft & Staying the Course' with Ashley Dick - Just Get A Real Job

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello and thank you for listening to our traditional
Christmas and end of year episode of the Just Get Real
job. I'm thrilled to welcome back on
the show Ashley Dick of Sonora, who we've had on the podcast.
This would be 1/4 time I think on the podcast so.
Yeah, I've taken part in a few now, haven't I?
Yeah, I think I mean it's I've also been on Sonora a few times

(00:21):
as well. So, you know, done this quite a
lot now, but how are you? Thank you.
We always do this every year we have we look back on the year,
sort of have a bit of chat with a former guest.
So it's lovely to lovely to haveyou back on I'm.
Excited to do it. The funny thing is that the day
you messaged me to ask if I'd come on, I had just written a
list of everything Sonora had done that year.

(00:41):
So I was already in the mindset.Exactly.
I was like, yes, I'm ready to talk about it.
Well, I was well, like, this is quite funny because we're, we're
recording this out on the 23rd in December, so two days away
from Christmas, which feels, andthis year has been so weird.
Like if I feel like the run up to Christmas has lasted so long,
it's been such a fully packed year, lots of exciting things

(01:03):
happening for both of us, but I feel so tired.
I'm like, where's the year gone?Yeah, I completely agree with
you. I feel like ever since the end
of October, I've been thinking about the deadline of Christmas
and like, what do I need to get done before then, what my
scheduling for after it, and nowit's here.
It feels like that was a massiverace to to like this point, but
also like it's stretched out fora good two months.

(01:25):
But I'm excited. It's going to be nice to have a
couple of days of rest, but I'llbe swinging back into it as soon
as possible. Well, I feel like our version of
rest ashes that we both just do our like passion projects when
we're off and we go, oh, I've got time to do all this stuff.
So it's not really a rest A. 100% any day off is just a what

(01:47):
can I do for Sonora to me. Like what can I squeeze in
whilst I'm having rest? Oh God, I know.
I was thinking to myself like, oh, I'm off tomorrow.
So like I can maybe I'll I can sit and I could make some like
batch make some content for techtalk and Instagram and stuff.
And I'm like, well, you could also spend some time with your
family, but. Yeah, you could watch a

(02:07):
Christmas film or you could justchill out the career.
I know, I get it totally. Just just in case.
I mean, I'd be shocked if our listeners didn't know who you
were. But I know Ash.
But the, you know, we do have some new listeners coming on
board, but do you want to reintroduce yourself, follow
listeners. Tell us a bit about Sonora, who
you are, what you've been doing because you've you've had a very
exciting year, as I mentioned before.
Thanks. I am Ash.

(02:28):
I run Sonora, so I set Sonora upas a production company about a
year and a half ago because I really wanted to to stimulate
the Scottish creative scene and be proactive about making stuff.
At that point in time, in 2023, there were a lot of things
holding us all back and I just felt like I have to do

(02:48):
something, I have to be on it and make stuff.
So that's what we did. We started with some short
films. I make online content, which is
mostly educational. I share videos all about what
it's like behind the scenes in the Scottish screen industry and
how to get in, you know, advice on filling in application forms
or going to festivals or making something on zero budget.

(03:11):
And yeah, just really trying to give people a 360 view of what
it's like. And it's snowballed.
So over the last year we have branched out to doing more
education. I give talks with NFTS and at
different colleges and universities and I'm going to be
partnering up with a project next year via Screen Scotland to
deliver more workshops and training.

(03:32):
We also are now venturing into our first feature film, which is
a documentary. I have been accepted onto
animatics, so I'm working on an animated series now too.
Sonora has become almost a mini studio in a sense that we're now
kind of doing so many different types of projects and so many
different parts of the production machine, you know,

(03:55):
all the way from begin learning new skills and coming up with
ideas to distribution and that kind of strategy.
And yeah, it's, it's been a really great year for us.
And I am, yeah, I feel like I'm spinning so many plates at the
moment, but in a good way. And definitely feels like that
moment where I was like, Oh my God, everything's closing down

(04:18):
and everything, all the doors are closing.
Like, I've got to do something now is finally getting to a
place where it's like, yeah, we made this happen for ourselves.
And I'm keen to share that with other people and help them find
their own way, too. So that's Sonora in a nutshell.
And you've been doing all that on top of working full time and
having, you know, having and jobs and stuff.

(04:39):
So it's very impressive. Thank you.
Yeah. So my background was in editing
and animation. I was a freelancer for about 3
years and worked on different projects either for broadcast or
there was some independent filmsas well.
And I really loved that. But again, come 2023, that kind

(04:59):
of world just really got a bit smaller.
There wasn't a lot of commissions happening and I had
to look for something else. But what I found was there was a
lot of opportunity in online content.
And then from that, I learned a bit about, well, here's how I
can actually kind of get the ball rolling using online
content and sort of bridging thegap between the worlds of that

(05:22):
and broadcast and film. And yeah, that's kind of how.
So that was where Sonora's strength was as well, because
although that was my day job, I was editing videos for YouTube
or podcasts or social content, commercial things.
And what I learned from that world was really how to like,
get the audience in and build trust.
And now that has come full circle.

(05:44):
It was an audience that has helped me fund the first feature
and everything has sort of like fallen into place.
So yeah, my, my day job has beenin social content.
And I, I think initially going into that, I was a little bit
worried that I was taking a stepaway from like a part of the
industry that feels very prestige.

(06:04):
But actually it's been the thingthat has managed to make
everything flourish in the end. So it's been really good.
But next year I'm not going to have the day job anymore.
I've taken the plunge going, going like full throttle I guess
with Sonora and the projects. Amazing and also well deserved.
I mean, it is a scary step as well, but it's great that you've

(06:26):
got to that point because obviously knowing you've the
last three or four years, like you know, it's following your
journey isn't an overnight thing.
I think a lot of people forget that it's a very slow thing
where skills come together. What's also really interesting
is and I think one out to reflect on this year.
One of the things I've learned the most is how this sort of
online content and like making things yourself, like sort of

(06:47):
Tantai in with your day job in the TV industry or like the
screen industry. Like it's so interesting.
I used to see them quite separately, but it's interesting
how they really overlap now. And I really appreciate the
other week when you shared the episode I did with Hot John
Film, which was all about this sort of topic and you were
talking about how you've building your audience and
gaining trust. Like is mad that as an

(07:08):
independent creator now you can go off and build an audience and
then that can help lead to get in a feature film funded and
made almost this it is really mad and I don't think a lot of
the traditional industry maybe always realise that.
Yeah, I think as well, it can bereally daunting at first because
you are, when you start in online content, you're probably

(07:28):
going to be speaking to a reallysmall amount of people.
You have to start somewhere and it can be kind of off putting
for some when you've put a lot of effort into something and you
put it into the world and you just don't get a big response
back. And I kind of, I don't know, I
guess like I had a bit of experience and online content

(07:49):
through Osmosis. And because now every project
you work on is coming with a social package, you got to cut
trailers for online. You've got to think about
moments that are going to appealto audiences to draw them into
the broadcast. So it was always there and, you
know, done a lot of work with the BBC and online content as
well. But it was very structured.

(08:10):
And it wasn't until I got into this world of, you know,
Youtubers, podcasters, people who were just like making
whatever and throwing it out andgetting a really strong response
that I realised that you can kind of like just set your own
rules. And for me that was OK.
I know exactly like what I wouldlike the channel to be.

(08:31):
I'd love for like in a year's time or three years time, if
someone out there is like, I just really want to break into
this industry And I really want to figure out the path that they
can come to the Sonora channel and learn all about the the ways
in which you can get in, who to speak to, what kind of things to
go to, how to talk about yourself if you have no

(08:52):
experience or skills, like really kind of find your way.
And I guess for people who are already in the space but are a
bit lost, because I think that'swhere I found myself.
I think I felt like I've got allthis experience, but for some
reason, like we're still kind ofsearching and, and like I say,
there was some opportunities that that disappeared overnight.

(09:13):
And I just felt like, Oh my God,how do I go forward from here?
How do I move forward in my career?
But also just like keep myself sustained, have enough work to
get through a year. And so all of that was kind of
like, yeah, imagine there was a place that this could happen.
And the first couple of videos Iwas quite strategic.
I was like, I'm going to make something that may ruffle some

(09:34):
feathers because that's going toget people through the door.
And so I think my first video was called What the Fuck
Happened to the Scottish Green Industry?
Because I was like, yeah, that'sgoing to get some conversation.
And it did. And from there, people continued
watching and I kind of figured out exactly what I wanted to

(09:54):
share and what people really enjoyed hearing about too.
But there's videos that I drop and they've got like 30 views
and I just have to know that somebody found it valuable.
And quite often it will just be like one comment or somebody on
a different platform shares it and says that they found a lot
of value. And I'm like, well then great.
The job is done. Somebody out there has learned

(10:15):
something or managed to to take something away and pushing
through that is the key. Continuing to post even though,
and that, that's why it's so hard.
I think coming into the online space, you don't get instant
celebration, gratification. You've got to really work for
that audience, but it's worth it.
Because what can happen? Well, and the other thing though

(10:35):
as well that I've learned is that sometimes going viral on
one video is actually quite damaging because you end up the
algorithm pushed you to the general public, you know, to a
massive audience. And most of those people aren't
actually interested in whether in my case, you know, that an
interesting listen to the broadcaster.
They're not they're not creative.
They're going to connect with the niche men when sometimes if
you have a video that maybe getsfree to 500 views or whatever,

(10:56):
you're hitting all the people that would be interested in
you're like coming to your channel.
So that can be quite a positive thing.
So sometimes we've tried to flipthat thinking I've only got like
400 views and be like, well, that's great because you, as I
were talking about earlier, likethe audience that you want to
target are like the people you're hitting.
I learned that the hard way quite early on actually, because

(11:17):
I didn't have a vital hit. But basically, I took some
advice that was like, you shouldpromote your channel so you pay
YouTube a small amount of money and it pushes it out to people
that aren't finding you right now.
And yeah, it just completely destroyed how the algorithm
viewed my audience. None of them.

(11:38):
I had a high amount of views on some of those early videos, but
such low engagement. The watch time was like 5
seconds and there was no comments.
And it just, it may be reflectedwell to someone just at a glance
going like, oh, great, 10,000 views on a video, but nobody was

(11:58):
actively watching. And so I was like, yeah, this is
actually making things worse because now it doesn't identify
who actually wants to see this. So I completely, if you're, if
you are starting out, I would say that model of promotion and,
you know, doing like sponsored posts or something like that to
try and get a new audience, it'snot the best tactic.

(12:20):
Yeah, I had to go cold Turkey and I was like, oh God, I can't
believe I'm not going to promotethis, you know, because I've
done it for a couple of months and it was nice seeing the
numbers go up, but it just wasn't the audience I was trying
to reach. And it wasn't until I just like
completely cut that off and just, you know, tried to reach
people in other ways. Get involved in Facebook groups
and just talk about it non-stop with people that actually did

(12:42):
find the audience it was supposed to find.
But yeah, the vitality thing is true as well.
You can sometimes really just hit a niche that are excited
about this one thing, but they might not be interested in the
rest of what you have to say. And then that really skews
things. I have worried about that a
little bit about Throne, becausewe gathered a big audience of

(13:03):
people who are really excited about project, about Scots
language. And that's great because that's
our audience. But the other things I have are
really far away from that. The animated series is just not
on the same wavelength at all. And so sometimes I'm like, are
they all going to start leaving?Because they're like, what's
this? I don't understand that.
I'm sure you have range, I suppose, and you know, I guess

(13:25):
like it's you can make one thingfor some people and you know,
you'll have that core audience that stay.
I want to talk about foreign andfront even I should say not
foreign front, the Scottish of me there.
I want to talk about that because obviously this is the
example of all your hard work and and what you've done on your
online stuff is always really helped push this and and help,
you know, people like screen Scotland actually take notice

(13:47):
and want to pack your film. But tell us about this, how this
will come about, because it's itreally has snowballed the last
month. Yeah, so this is an idea that
has swirled about from roundabout 2021.
I have been fascinated with the sort of shift in Scottish
culture because when I was young, it was like really cringe

(14:08):
being Scottish. And, you know, at school you
were told not to speak Scots language.
You would get disciplined, punishment exercises, all that
kind of stuff. I remember the teachers, like,
really humiliating certain people for saying stuff a
certain way or using words that they disapproved of.
And you would always have it scribbled out in your notebook
as well, like your daughter if you'd done the wrong 1.

(14:30):
And so there was this mixture oflike Scots language and accents
are wrong, they're not proper, that just being Scottish itself
was something that you had to suppress.
And I think this has been going on for a really long time.
But something about growing up in the 90s really intensified
this experience. And for me, I knew from a really

(14:52):
young age that I wanted to go into media.
Like I worshipped television andfilms.
They were an escapism, you know,they were where you could live
another life. And I think I always felt that
because of all of that influence, life in Scotland was
the worst. We were not like living any sort
of dream. It was all about breaking out of

(15:12):
that. And I never saw people on TV who
spoke the way that Scottish people do, who were respected,
who where, who came across positively.
A lot of the time Scottish people are but the joke.
And so that intersection of influence from culture and, you
know, being so excited about getting into film and TV really

(15:35):
like for me internalised this hatred of Scottish cultured
entirely. And so by the time I was a
teenager, I had dropped all use of Scots.
I actively made the effort to speak either very clean English
or like even sometimes I would swap out words for Americanisms.
And I remember when I went to uni and my early 20s and all the

(15:59):
international students were like, we can understand you
really well. You don't sound Scottish at all.
And I was so happy. I was like, yes, I've done it.
I finally broken 3. Now, in my 20s, I started to
sort of feel a bit regretful of this, especially talking about
the kind of international side. Whenever I went abroad, people
would be like, oh, you don't sound very Scottish.

(16:21):
And at first I was like, yeah. And then eventually, I was kind
of like, ah, that's kind of weird, actually, because
everybody I meet has some form of national pride, you know,
like, you don't have to be wearing the T-shirt and, you
know, screaming your country's name, but you can still feel
connected with culture and heritage, you know, without
having to be so brash. So I started this sort of like,

(16:44):
project in my mind where I was sort of trying to figure out,
like, why? Why do we feel shame about being
Scottish? And at the same time, the
culture shifted. They stopped doing this
discipline in schools and then, in fact, started bringing in
lessons to teach children Scots.And then so many different
things happened. Edinburgh University, I believe,

(17:08):
started bias training and because their faculty were being
prejudice against Scottish students at the UNI.
And so it was like really feeling like actually we're
going to tackle this now. We're not going to let it run
rife. It's weird because hearing that
I was like, yeah, of course, of course people are going to tell
you to correct the way you speakor be prejudice against you for

(17:30):
being Scottish. I had that throughout my career.
People were expecting of a Scottish person to be really
brash, really rough and just like obnoxious and, and silly.
And they would make fun of the way you said things and you just
come to accept that that was that was the norm.
But now we were basically tryingto, to go against that.

(17:53):
And then of course, they announced that they were looking
into reinstating Scots and Gaelic as an actual language.
They would no longer be considered slang.
And that was quite eye opening for me because I'd never even
considered that Scott's words were actual language.
Just always thought that that was, it was just a lazy way of

(18:14):
speaking. That's what you've been told.
It's for Ned's. It's for people who don't want
to get any further in society than where they are.
And yeah, it was quite a revelation and I felt like
something's going on, something where we now are actually

(18:34):
working towards having a positive self-image and re
embracing these parts of our culture so that they don't die
off. And I started talking to people
about it a couple of years ago and I said, I think there's a
documentary in this. I'm just not really sure how to
frame it or, or, or what that looks like.
And the more I spoke to people, the more people told me stories

(18:57):
from their own life that happened.
And I begun to understand that my journey of going into media
and stealing really far away andthen coming back and was maybe
the sort of journey that I needed to explore and uncover.
And there's still things like making this now that I'm
unpacking and going like, oh, I have a massive bias.
Wow. And then beginning of 2025,

(19:21):
someone I know spoke to Karen Dunbar about the idea and she
took to immediately she was like, I know exactly what this
is all about. And I have like so many examples
of this throughout my life. So we sat down and had an
interview. It was crazy.
We had basically she said yes. And I think it was like Thursday
and she was like, I can meet youon Monday.

(19:42):
I was like, Oh my God. So I had to like scrape together
a clue. Everybody was amazing and just
came along to help me out, and Iwas so grateful.
But it was, like, frantic because I was working that
weekend. And yeah, I was just kind of
like, spinning the plates again.And we made the interview
happen, and she was fantastic. Like, she just instantly

(20:04):
understood the feeling and couldarticulate it in ways that I
hadn't been able to yet. And so the documentary erupted
into happening. And you know, we'd already
started production technically before I'd really even developed
it. And from there I had this
interview. I did a bit more filming in the
spring of this year so that I had some other bits of footage

(20:26):
that sort of portrayed how I felt it would go.
I started going to events, talks, film festivals.
I have a little postcard that islike, here is my project.
You can scan the QR code and theinteresting thing was that
everybody I spoke to got the idea, and he often had their own

(20:46):
anecdote of language suppressionor cultural suppression, even if
they weren't Scottish. So it turns out this is a
phenomenon that's happened all over the world.
So I felt very connected in terms of the theme and what this
documentary was trying to achieve.
I felt like there was an audience out there, but
unfortunately, everyone I spoke to who was linked with a

(21:06):
commissioner or who had the power to make this project
happen, just it didn't fit what they were looking for.
Or I wasn't in the pipeline at the point where they needed me
to be in order to access funds or in order to be eligible to
make this documentary through traditional means.
So as the year went on, I felt like I have to keep going.

(21:31):
I've started now, you know, and it's incredible the footage we
have and the response from people.
So that's when it decided to crowdfund.
And that was basically around October.
I made all the materials, we launched it in November and it
finished a week ago. And we went well over their
target. And then we had a stretch goal
which we went over it as well. So clearly there was a demand

(21:54):
and an interest in in making this come to life.
And this is the thing. A lot of people I'd spoke to who
couldn't help earlier were therefor me in the crowdfunder.
They supported it. So I was like, yeah, it's
sometimes if the system says no,it's not the people that are
like, I hate your idea. It's just that it can't happen
that way. But they're still there for you,
like in that moment where you'remaking it happen for yourself.

(22:17):
It probably speaks to this powerof like having an audience and
being able to create your own audience, which is getting
harder and harder in this new age because because everyone's
got their own little silo. And well, maybe it's not getting
harder because I suppose you've proven you can actually let
anyone with the means and you know, ability can actually crack
that if they put the work in. Yeah, we only had 900
subscribers on Instagram and we have but almost 3000 on YouTube.

(22:42):
But not all of them are engaged.This is the the thing you're
saying about attracting an audience onto one thing, but
then they don't stick around foreverything else.
We think we're about 1000 on TikTok and my face game is awful
and I just, I have not cracked it yet.
So that's not a substantial baseto be working with.
That wasn't people crying out for more Sonora, but those

(23:05):
people that had come at that point where like certainly on
Instagram and TikTok, they really loved what we were doing.
And a lot of what they had been watching so far was me sharing
advice about the industry and meinterviewing people about their
take on the industry as well. And that stuff was really fun
and shareable, but it meant thatwhen throng came along and made

(23:26):
a bigger splash that anybody whosort of saw it cold.
I mean, I've never heard of Sonora before.
What is this? And came through to our our
places. They could then see a year's
worth of quality material, of fun stuff, of things that
matched what they just watched, that they could see.
And basically this whole thing. Yeah, it's about trust.

(23:49):
You know, you got to see something that was successful
and high quality and, like, had,like, a bit of buzz about it
already. And it's like, this is the next
big thing. OK, I'll get behind that.
So, yeah, You know, even if those early videos didn't have
massive views, that it was a trail, it was evidence that
like, I'll persist and I'll makesomething, you know, whether

(24:12):
you're watching or not, it's there.
So yeah, I think that's a large part of building your online
presence, Just persistence. Yeah, 'cause I think people see
it, it's like with the podcast now this is, you know, 185
episodes wherever people go, OK,you know, the, and even some of
the early episodes, you're like,well, they're obviously rubbish,
but people see the journey as well.
They go this person's growing from here to here and and they

(24:32):
seem to like that it take more seriously than some days just
appeared, which is why it can take up to two to three years to
build that audience I think. Yeah, definitely, but it's worth
putting in the time for sure. I found this year that, you
know, sometimes I've been able to, my goal is to have a video a
week and I've been able to do that some months no problem.

(24:52):
And in other months I've really struggled.
But I always come back to it. And the times where I have been
able to put out more that still lives there, you know, a new
person discovering you has stillgot all that to go back through.
If you can't match that kind of pressure and consistency all the
time, then do what you can. And if you need to take a break,
take it. And then when people find you,

(25:12):
there's still going to be all that stuff, all that value that
you've already created and put out there.
And that's what I do with podcasts.
If I find a new one, I'm like, oh, I'm going to go back through
the old episodes and see what topics I really want to hear or
just make my way through the entire list so it works.
Yeah, well, if you listen to this episode for the first time,
anyone, there's 184 other ones, lots of great chats.

(25:33):
Have a wee look back through thearchives.
And I shall also want to sort oflook, look back on the end stuff
and reflect. And someone I want to ask you as
well as what's something that you're really happy about that
you've done this year that maybewouldn't be on a CV or wouldn't
be online that somebody would know about?
Is there like a little personal one you've had?
Oh, that is a really good question.
I'm going to take a look at my list of things that we've done

(25:56):
this year because they're so different.
And that's the interesting thing.
I think I've always been someonewho preaches like pick a lane
and I don't practise what I preach.
I yeah, I'm reading the list andI'm like, oh, maybe this.
I think we a few things. We screened our first short film

(26:22):
and you wouldn't put that on ACV, but in terms of because we
made this film to go on YouTube,I always knew it was going to,
it was going to have an online audience and that was the end
goal. But screening it in person gave
us an experience of people beinglike really excited about seeing
it and getting real feedback in the moment, meeting people

(26:45):
because once they saw the film and enjoyed it, they wanted to
know who made it, they wanted towork with them.
So that was a really lovely experience.
It was really uplifting. And you know, we did post to say
like we screened The Boulder, but the aftermath of the
screening of the Boulder is the part that I think was a really
pleasant surprise, stronger thanI'd ever had at a festival

(27:07):
before. And just, yeah, really, really
lovely moment that has propelledand kicked off other things that
I didn't see coming. You've also just reminded me,
Ash, thank you for sharing that answer as well, that you
weren't, you were nominated for a BAFTA this year as well.
I really like this. So I mean, it's very humble of
you. We can't not mention that.
So I edited a film back in 2022,no 2023.

(27:31):
I think it was a student project.
And my pal Gavin and I bumped into each other in Film City and
he was studying a master's. I was working at an edit
facility there. And he was like, oh, I actually
really need an editor for my student project.
Would you be up for doing me a favour?
And I was like, yeah, absolutely.

(27:52):
I've known him for about 10 years, and it was nice to
reconnect and work on something together.
And so that summer we just chipped away at his project.
He brought me basically every piece of footage that he had
ever filmed in his life all in one hard drive.
And I was like, all right, let'sfind out what your story is.
And it was all about the disenfranchisement from going

(28:15):
through art school and being disappointed that he didn't
suddenly get picked up as an artist and just make it in the
big world. And the project that he made was
a six foot volcano. And basically in the five years
since he graduated, that had lived in his dad's shed.
And it was this big reminder of the failure of art skill and how

(28:38):
it didn't manifest a career. And so the documentary really
explores that and how difficult it is to be a struggling artist,
to be working class and not haveany connections, to be good at
what you do but have no one recognise it, you know.
So it was quite deep. And yeah, we've, we've edited
that over the summer. And he turned it in to his

(29:01):
university and got his master's degree and it was like
excellent. So but a year later he started
taking it to festivals and he got into Edinburgh
International, which is a BAFTA qualifier.
And from there it snowballed. Once he got into Edinburgh, he
got into London, he got into thesmalls, he got into some really
like really good festivals, wentfurther to field.

(29:22):
So he was in the US And when theafter nomination was announced,
and, yeah, it was like, still tothis day, Gavin has not found
his artistic career, but the film has taken off.
And I was sitting at my desk here the beginning of October
and started, like, seeing on Instagram that we'd been

(29:43):
nominated for a BAFTA. And I was like, I didn't even
know that we were put forward. Like, what?
And yeah, he was like, oh, I think I threw her hat in the
ring, but didn't really think itwould actually happen.
And they don't tell you until it's public, so you're just
reacting in real time is the same as the same way as
everybody else. And it was a pleasant surprise.

(30:04):
It was unbelievable. I just couldn't.
I was like, I did. I had no idea I was going to be
nominated for a BAFTA today. This.
I didn't see this coming at all.But it was a lovely experience
and the film really deserved thenomination.
We didn't win, but we did not feel like that's it exactly.
I don't feel like a loser at all.
Not many people can say that. Yeah, it was great.

(30:29):
And I'm so pleased that it was like that film.
And they played a little clip ofit at the award ceremony and it
got a massive laugh and I was just so happy.
I was like, yes, this is the whole point.
This film Made of Nothing is nowlike entertaining a room full of
BAFTA nominated people. So it was awesome.
That's class. And see, I wasn't the
achievement you chose to talk about, but I've just wanted to

(30:52):
remember there that you cannot talk about that.
And what has there been like a lesson you've taken away from
this year in 2025? I could have you had like a
biggest lesson. That's a very good question.
There's been a few I think alongthe way, certainly in the like
working with your audience kind of space.

(31:13):
I mean, the whole crowdfunder for Throne was a massive lesson.
I kind of at many points includefunding came up against like a
hurdle and then had to work my way around it.
And then that turned out to be better than the way I was going
to do it in the first place. It turns out you can't post
videos longer than 3 minutes on Instagram.

(31:37):
And my campaign video was 3 minutes and 10 seconds.
So it came up and told me, yeah,you can post it, but it won't
go. It won't be shown to people you
that don't follow you. And I was like, this whole
campaign rests on people that don't follow me.
I definitely need them on board.So then I had to do this thing
called a trial where I made a shorter version and it goes out

(31:59):
to people who don't follow you exclusively and it doesn't
appear on your profile and all that kind of stuff.
And that was like a secret weapon.
It turned out that doing a trialis like how you engage people
that don't follow you. And like, that was hugely
successful for us. The entire campaign really, like
was propelled by that mistake onInstagram.

(32:21):
So yeah, that was a big learningcurve that if I was ever going
through something like this again, I would absolutely tap
into. And now knowing this, like all
of the projects that I work on, I'm like, and now I can do that.
I can I can reach people that I didn't know I could reach
through the error of my old ways.
Those little things that come upand you're like, Oh my God, this
is like prohibited me. And it's scary when you run your

(32:43):
own channels and stuff because you know, it is like completely
like the algorithms change everylike month as well.
Do you finally think you'd figured Instagram or Tiktok or
something out and then it changes again?
Yes, definitely. I had that experience with
Tiktok. I think there was a moment where
the videos were doing really, really well.
And certainly when I started doing the interviews in the

(33:05):
Glasgow subway, they were, I mean, obviously I took
inspiration directly from the great subway takes, but
initially they were like doing fantastically, thousands of
views, lots of engagement, people talking about what their
favourite Scottish film was and things like that.
And so I was like, so ready for that to be a big place for a

(33:27):
crowdfunder and I shared the videos there and they just went
unnoticed. It was so strange.
I was like, OK, for some reason over an Instagram, Karen Dunbars
got like 170,000 views, but on Tiktok, she's got 90.
I was like, I don't understand. I don't understand at all.
It's the same video. You'd think it was the same

(33:48):
audience, but yeah, it's a it's hard to navigate.
And again, it's just like, keep being persistent.
You never know. Correlation between Instagram
and Tiktok is absolutely wild. That's something I've already
learned this year is like the viral videos I've all had on
Tiktok have never gone viral on Instagram and the Instagram ones
that have gone more viral haven't gone viral.
And tech talk, I'm like, this makes utterly no and then the

(34:10):
exact same video, basically. I know there's different
platforms, so there, there's obviously some variation, but it
is quite extraordinary when you think about the fact is because
I consume Reels the same way I consume tech talk.
Yeah, same. Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I do sometimes think about like what?
What are people doing when they're scrolling TikTok or

(34:30):
they're scrolling Instagram? Is it that far apart?
I obviously don't think it is. I'm like you, it would be the
same circumstances for me. It doesn't really make sense.
But I think it is probably down to the algorithm and what is
being pushed to people at certain times and just how that
video landed in its first few moments, where it goes next.
So yeah, I don't know. I'm beginning to really feel the

(34:53):
power of discoverability on Instagram personally, which I
didn't have before. And I think that is again, from
like having some strong videos that are still finding people
and then, you know, even though they were posted like over a
month ago, somehow people are coming in that way and then
finding other stuff that they like.
So yeah, it's still worth posting, no matter.

(35:14):
Where? What?
Platform and how how pathetically it's doing it's
it's going to serve a purpose eventually.
No definite and you're just learning as well.
Like something I've done for thelast few months.
I posted on tech like once at least once a day, every day.
Some of it's crap like you know,I'm trying things out and it's
as mad because I never thought I'd become a person.
I used to always say I'm never doing a video to camera.

(35:34):
But then you push yourself to doit and it gets, you know, and it
gets people more comfortable. If you're sure as well, then
they recognise your face and they associate with your podcast
or your channel or whatever. Well, something that happened to
me halfway through the throne campaign was that I somehow got
like the cold or flu, lost my voice, couldn't record any
videos. A week went by and I was feeling

(35:56):
better and I think I recorded one in the middle of that.
And then somehow I caught the cold or flu again.
And I know it's not possible. So I'm, I'm, I think one of them
may have been COVID. I'm not really sure.
But basically for about 3 week block I just, I was so sick.
There were days can get out of bed and but most of the time I

(36:17):
was just like far too bunged up and and sick to be on camera.
And that was the whole thing. Like it was me, you know, like I
imagined that throughout the campaign, I would just
constantly be talking to camera.But I also had this thing as
well where all of my videos, I felt had to be really polished.
I had to like throw up good lighting and like put makeup on
and and really like rehearse andthen present.

(36:40):
And partially because I felt that if people were going to buy
into me as a documentary maker and they were going to back the
film, that I had to put quality out.
And I had to make sure that everything around this screamed
professional. And I'm really good at what I
do. But actually, when I was ill and
not able to do all of that stuffand would just like pick up my

(37:01):
phone and go like, hi guys, it'sjust a quick thank you.
I'm full of the cold. But hey, I, I really appreciate
that everyone supporting me. They did just as well.
Just. Swiping a fly there for everyone
wondered why. Those videos did just as well as
the stuff that I'd like really obsessed over and polished and
and like put a lot of effort into.

(37:23):
So that was another learning curve for me that actually just
the unpolished still has a placeto even if your whole thing is
I'm a professional filmmaker andeverything's like really, really
high quality. But it's you, honestly, I think
I guess it's maybe harder if you're not planning to be on
camera, but if you are, like just your personality is the key

(37:44):
thing and how you come across topeople is what's going to bring
them back. Definitely, because if you're
just being fake as well, then it's kind of pointless because
you're not going to. Like if you if I had a different
persona on Instagram and then they come came and listened to
the podcast and I was not that persona, then it wouldn't really
work or it would be in it would just be confused that your
audience and stuff. And I think people do respond.

(38:06):
Obviously, as you say, the quality thing is important.
For me personally, I know that this podcast isn't quite I'd
like the you know, I'd like to be in a studio.
I'd like to improve that in 26 and stuff.
But at the end of the day, like I'm showing up, being honest,
the conversation is still good. So the end of the day, the
quality is a great part of it. But at the end of the day, like
people want a good conversation,the authentic stuff, that sort

(38:27):
of thing I think goes. Absolutely.
So the the actual things you're talking about are super
important because that's the whole reason someone is going to
listen. But also with podcasts and a lot
of mediums actually documentary almost as well.
If your audio is flawless then it's fine.
Like the the visuals could be crazy as hell.

(38:48):
You could be filming on something like really low
quality that doesn't matter if the audio is good, people can
sit through the whole thing and enjoy themselves and I find that
really fascinating. It's a really weird but fun
phenomenon, which again is really encouraging if you're
starting out. Like just make sure your sound
is clean and the visuals can be any crazy old shit.

(39:10):
And you could just post photos or like, you know, text on, on
touch media. You never even have to show your
face. I follow a really great
Instagrammer who does that exactthing.
I think it's, I think her name is Charlotte produces.
I'm sure you'll have seen her come up, but basically she just
does a carousel and it'll be like her with like a coffee,

(39:33):
like looking away. And then it'll just be like a
photo of the sky, then a photo of like a blank book or
something. Like none of the photos mean
anything or are that interesting, but all of the
texts that she puts over them are is like such high value
advice and information about working in the film industry.
And so her following is there because they know that like this

(39:54):
crazy ass carousel of like an empty coffee cup and a book and
whatnot is actually going to be like filled with really, really
important things that you need to read.
It's like that is another example of just being.
Being able to do something really low key and it's.
Great and you can reuse old photos.
Like I make some carousels now and these actually do really
well. And I actually there's some of

(40:14):
my favourite posts to do becauseI'm, I'm writing and I'm coming
up, I'm sharing knowledge I've learned and you can get like a
photo of like, I don't know, you're on a set five years ago
and I took a photo and I'm like,oh, use that, you know, things
like that. So you can, so it's a low effort
stuff. You can you can.
You can do loads of low effort things and get people are
engaged with your content. Yeah, definitely.
For sure. I want to also ask you, Ash,

(40:35):
about we're talking about films,medium that you've consumed and
stuff this year. What is there anything that's
really inspired you this year, particularly coming out of
Scotland or the UK? Oh, that's a a great question.
I may have to have a think aboutit for a moment.
And there absolutely is so well,OK, so I I bang, I bang on a bit

(40:57):
this all the time. But this year I finally watched
Tommy Monster and I talked aboutit online so much that the
director reached out Keira Lights and he was like, first of
all, would you like a Screener? And second of all, you know, if
you want me to come on the channel, I'm totally up for it.
So we did an interview roundabout when the film was

(41:17):
released. Lovely, lovely guy.
And the wonderful thing about this.
So Tommy Monster is fantastic. They made it on a very small
budget and which inspirational for me going into my first
feature documentary because our budget is probably about the
third, a third of what you wouldget.
Where you going ahead with a broadcaster or traditional

(41:39):
funding? So learning how to be
resourceful from that film has been instrumental.
They rehearsed and planned for that so well that they managed
to shoot it in about a week or two weeks or something like
that. It was like really, really
tight. And I asked him about that and
he was like, there was no like blocking on set.

(42:02):
There was no spending time deliberating decisions and going
like, oh, shoot, this light be here.
They kept like they did so much planning before it that when
they got to set, everything ran extremely smoothly.
And it wasn't, you know, crazy hours.
People didn't have to like work around the clock and in order to
like get to the deadline. It was just a tight ship and,

(42:23):
and still me wrong. He has said himself that
hopefully the next film doesn't have to be such a tight ship.
But I find it like inspirationalin terms of making it happen and
making it happen really professionally is such a fun
story. And it's just really different
and to what you see. And I guess the Scottish space

(42:45):
in a way, because a lot of Scottish films are very, let's
use the landscape. Let's get the character out in
the rugged Scottish wilderness. And this one was like, we're in
the middle of a city, trapped inside a tattoo parlour for 4836
hours. And, and it's, but it's
beautiful. It's so highly visual.

(43:06):
It's really funny, it's really well acted.
It's a great dynamic that the the crux of the film is just
really, really fun and you don'treally know where it's going.
And so I loved it. And yeah, I found learning about
the process quite inspirational for me as well.
I, I managed to watch On Falling, which was a really,

(43:29):
yeah, really, really big film for Scotland this year.
It was a Cannes and it's been and loads of festivals around
the world nominated for a BAFTA also.
And did it win the BAFTA? She might have.
I think it might have done you. You're in the room.
I know, but I was it's too concentrated on the short film

(43:49):
category to notice what was going on.
Did on falling when the BAFTA. I'm keeping this in.
It did. It won best feature film and it
won best writer. Well done, Laura Carrera.
I loved to interview Laura. That would be cool actually.
Man, that. Would be really cool but yeah
one of us will get to her for sure.

(44:10):
Use my tactic. Just keep talking about her and
eventually she'll be like, are you the person that mentions me
once a month? No, it was fantastic.
I think about it all the time, like the portrayal of that
particular part of life and whatit's like to be in those
circumstances in Scotland. I just, it really stays with you

(44:33):
and it's just again, really, really well made, really well
shot, well acted. It has a mood and a vibe and I
know so something that comes up all the time in our
conversations with creatives is the Scottish miserable ISM and
how quite often we are portrayedas a nation that is sad and

(44:53):
dismal and hates ourselves and life here sucks.
But like, I feel like this was kind of quietly devastating in a
new way. And it's hard because like, it
feels like the character has hope at the end of the film, but
you're just like wrestling with a lot of emotions as you watch

(45:15):
it and, and wondering like, whatis next in life for this poor
woman? And I just thought that that was
done in a really, really clever way.
So that for me has also been quite inspirational and, and
within throne, because it's a documentary, I get to unpack all
my feelings about Scottish metropolis and reflect on what

(45:37):
it's like to live here and, and what we want it to be like for
the future. So I'm, you know, I got to think
that through whilst I was watching the film too, which is
really amazing. Yeah.
And then and, and I don't know if this film counts as Scottish,
but because I know that their director and stuff aren't
Scottish. There's a family buzzing around
this room. So it's distracting me.
But I swear obviously is an example of something set in

(45:58):
Scotland that's managed to really feel it's so universal
that it's it's kind of big in the UK and across the world now,
which is great to see like a a very uplifting Scott like film
come out of Scotland. Yeah, even though I know it
wasn't all you know, because I know the director and stuff
weren't Scottish, but it still is a Scottish film.
This is such a a great sort of like Leap Pad though, because

(46:21):
what is a Scottish film, you know?
Like are there many national cinemas out there that have an
identity that is completely Scottish or a completely of
their nation? Like even US films when Trump
announced he was going to introduce all those tariffs and
like films could only be made domestically, everyone in the
industry was like hell no. Every single film you watch is a

(46:44):
corporal. So even your like most high
budget, high concept and massivefranchises are tapping into
funds and locations and talent in other territories.
And it's just almost, at that scale, not possible to make a
film that doesn't incorporate anan international base.

(47:07):
And yeah, it was it was one of those things.
I explored this as a subject last year on the Sonora Channel.
Like what is Scottish cinema? Because I'd been asking people
what's your favourite Scottish film?
And they were really struggling to think of 1.
And it's because of that. And they were like, Oh well,
that wasn't a Scottish director,that was a Scottish story, but

(47:28):
it was shot abroad or I don't know if this is like a Scottish
film or not. And it's like, OK, well you know
what? We can, we can form our own
little Scottish test. Ticks a couple of boxes.
Then we're going to claim it andyou know, maybe we're not going
to say Spider Man 4 is a Scottish film, although they
shot it here. Like you can certainly

(47:50):
acknowledge like films that haveutilised the culture and
location in people. And yeah, I think, I mean
definitely, I swear is on that list. 100% and also like it
doesn't really matter. I think it's a great thing that
you can make a film universally and it happens to be set here.
I think we need, you know, it's great.
Like because I think I'm, I was speaking to an exec recently and

(48:11):
they were saying to me that sometimes they feel as a nation
we actually shoot yourself in the foot by talking about a
Scottish production too much. And he was saying like, what is
Scottish? Like, why, you know, just
talking about something that's funny or that's, do you know,
it's that thing as well. So I think we do need to
sometimes get better as that as a nation.
Like, I think it's really important to represent the
country. And I'm all for that, yeah.

(48:32):
And I think that like, we are ata point, like one thing that's
been really apparent to me this year is that Scotland is
basically on the cusp of absolutely taking over, like the
cultural conversation in terms of media.
So here's why it's part theory, part observation, OK?

(48:53):
We're at a point where there areso many indie film makers who
are just out there making their stuff.
And whether that is with supportfrom Screen Scotland to Creative
Scotland, other institutions, orwhether they've completely gone
alone, there is so much happening now that you can't
keep track. Whereas few years ago, five
years ago, you you, you'd struggle to know what was

(49:16):
happening in Scotland. You'd be like, is there anything
being filmed right now or is there like what's what's
actually happening? So the amount that's happening
right now I think is reflective of we have now put so much
effort and investment into training, into getting people
through labs, on programmes or just in enough spaces that
they're learning really high quality stuff.

(49:38):
And we're really pushing away from this prior idea that
Scotland wasn't good enough, that we we couldn't make things
as high quality as the best of the world.
We're not only matching that now, making stories that are
important to us and doing thingsthat I think are different to
what you'll find in other spaces, forming a Scottish sense

(50:00):
of humour and way of life and and kind of style and things
like that. But what's happening on a bigger
level is this whole thing aroundeducation and young people.
It's been kind of controversial because a lot of people feel
that why are we educating peoplein film if there's not enough
jobs? But here's the thing, we do have

(50:20):
tonnes international productionscoming to Scotland now.
Like Glasgow has pretty much been a film set for the entire
year, has been back-to-back. And there's so many other things
going on as well around the country.
And there are series that are returning and and happening
again. And there's so much happening
that I feel with the kind of education side of this as well.

(50:43):
And this is completely formed ofmy own thoughts that nobody's
talked me through the plan. I'm not in Screen Scotland.
I, I don't know this for sure, but if you look at countries
like Korea or Japan, they have massive cultural weight.
People are obsessed with what they put out, even if they've
never been there before, and they're obsessed with their

(51:04):
style of media, and that encourages them to buy things
that are made there, to engage with their media.
Seek out Korean drama, Korean music, Japanese anime, even just
like cultivate a lifestyle wherethat's something that you're
excited for in the same way thatfilm people can be excited for a
24. It's like, OK, whatever is

(51:27):
happening in that country is something that I really resonate
with and I really love. And I think that Scotland is
building up to that. I think that productions,
particularly film, are going to be like, not only is there tax
incentives, not only is the country beautiful and full of
locations that we want to use, but there is so many people
trained over there making great quality stuff, quirky things.

(51:50):
They think outside the box. And they've got all of these
skills that have come up since school level to appreciate and
and and work in production in a professional manner.
And then we're going to become one of those places that people
are like, have you seen any Scottish cinema?
That's what I think is happening.
Really optimistic. I like it.
I I actually partly agree with you.
My worry is that we don't have still don't have the ecosystem

(52:13):
to sustain people in careers. But what is giving me I hope at
the moment as all the stuff thatyou're an example of this Ash
with Sonora, all this sort of thing, all people doing content
like making audiences online andcreate, being able to create
stuff. I think that that has given me a
lot of hope that the I wonder ifthat partly will become the new
ecosystem as people in the spaces we're in right now also

(52:37):
creating that. And because there's so much more
podcasts and channels and thingscoming up in Scotland as well at
the moment and coming, you know,it's happening across the UK as
well, to be fair. So I do hope that helps as well.
I know obviously, as you say, like there's lots of positive
steps. I just wanted that.
The ecosystems very fragile at the moment and there's still a
lot of people in our industry not working or having to leave
because they can't pay the bills. 100% And this is the

(52:59):
thing, I mean, I'm obviously really optimistic about that as
a future for Scotland. It's not next year and it's
maybe not even the year after. It's a very long game, but it's
about kind of being ready for it.
And I've made a few videos now on the channel about like the
kind of the challenge of being creative in the UK right now and

(53:20):
in Scotland in particular, because that's where we are.
Like, I didn't want to step awayfrom freelancing a couple of
years ago. I loved that lifestyle.
I loved the variety of things that I worked on.
And I really mourned the freedomand the creativity that I got to
have when I stepped into the online content space and had

(53:40):
like a nine to five editing vlogs and podcasts and things
like that, because it just wasn't, it wasn't where I was
aiming and it wasn't what I was like going for.
And I know people as well that have had to take a complete step
back and go into another industry because there's just
nothing that can sustain them within media anymore.

(54:01):
And it's it absolutely is happening.
And I think that it's a very personal choice whether it's a
clean cut and you're going that's I'm closing the book on
this and that's my career in in media done and I'm going to move
on to something else or whether there is still something within
you that's like, I'd like to lead myself back and had to do

(54:23):
that. And I think the key for it is
what can you do to continue being creative?
What can you contribute, even ifthat's just something once a
month that signals, you know, isa newsletter?
Is it you're going to create a podcast and you're just going to
have one guest a month or are you just going to make some

(54:43):
videos online? You don't have to be present.
You could make something that is, you know, you're completely
off camera, utilise text, utilise whatever tools you want
to to make something. You know, I think there's a lot
of, or maybe you do move into another area, maybe you go into
to like events or kind of planning and you utilise the

(55:07):
skills that you had from the media industry in a new way that
maybe in a couple of years you can say, you know what, I
learned a bunch from taking partin this industry instead, but
utilising everything that I knewhere and now I'm better for it.
It's tough, it's really tough and it is annoying that we're
waiting a really long time for things to smooth out.
Yeah, and and but like I do loveyour optimism and I think it's

(55:29):
great we do have people like yourself here thinking like
really innovatively about ways we can you grow the entry.
And that also gives me hope. Like the people I've interviewed
this year, it's incredible people doing some great things
on their own back. Like even an example at the Eric
app, which is the UK wide app helping young people find
internships and jobs and stuff. Like there's so many things like
that where people are trying to match the jobs.
And even when I interviewed the creative industries ministry and

(55:51):
money, which I know in the UK wide brief, but because he's
Scottish, he was talking about alot of the steps and stuff.
And obviously I've got frustrations with the government
they got. I don't, I think they could do a
lot more in certain areas. But it is good that there is now
at least we have a Scottish and UK government that do value the
arts in some ways and are tryingto create those pathways and get
it into education and stuff. And it you know, there's lots of

(56:11):
positive things, obviously want to end our our reflection of
2025 positively. I've I've only got a few more
questions for you anyway, but I'm not not trying to disagree
with your optimism. I think it's a hard 1 isn't it?
Because I feel. Mixed.
Yeah, I, I mean, I went through the, the kind of crushing
devastation of it all, but I think I've processed it quite

(56:34):
quickly. And like I said, I it still gets
me down sometimes, don't get me wrong.
And certainly gone into 2026, leaving the day job behind,
focusing full time and Sonora, it's terrifying.
I don't know what's going to happen when the money I've
allocated to keep the roof over my head runs out.
I really don't. But I have to have faith and,

(56:54):
and the type of person that is willing to, and I mean, there's
a fortunate site, I guess in a way to my life that I don't have
as many responsibilities as someother people might have.
Do you have a mortgage? But I don't have children and I
don't have, you know, that wholeother responsibility to
consider. It's completely personal.
But for me, I am willing to takea bit of risk and like really

(57:19):
throw myself at something. And in the past that usually
maybe not immediately, but eventually leads to something.
And so obviously I don't want to, I don't want to encourage
everybody into taking big leaps of faith, but you'll know,
you'll know for yourself which, what that is and, and how you,
how comfortable you are, what, what kind of length you're

(57:41):
willing to leap. I'd say like sometimes, yeah,
you, you know, take, take the leap of faith that you're
willing to take, you know? Of course, and I very much as a
person, I think like I think it's frustrated is that online
we sell these entrepreneurs going like start a business
quite your you know, it's all balance that you have to be it's
being calculated and trying to manage that risk and you know,

(58:03):
it's really good to you gotta take some risk.
It's all a balance. Yeah, even the first time I went
freelance, I saved up for the year in order to be able to do
that, and that was my goal. I was like, okay, every month
I'm putting away half my wage because my overhead was really
low and I had even less responsibilities.
Then I, you know, like I knew that it wasn't something that

(58:24):
you just quit your job one day and everything will work out.
There'll be a paycheck at the end of the month.
Like you've got to prepare for it for sure.
But yeah, I think that if each individual can work out their
own level of that and and figureout something they can do, even
if it's just a contribution of time a little bit, you know,
like you don't have to leave theday job, but maybe one weekend a
month you can dedicated to what you'd really like to do your

(58:46):
passion and see see how it goes.Do 11 week.
And then if, if you think, hey, I can manage that, that's where
to start. Really a couple of quick more
questions, Ash, obviously we dida we, you're on my panel at the
start of the year. We got at least 5 to 25.
What happens now? And well, we can survive 2025
almost we nearly got there and nearly.

(59:06):
But I want to ask about 2026. Obviously we touched that.
I know you're going you're quitting your job and stuff to
to really focus on this stuff. But what are what are your goals
for 2026? What would you like to do in
2026? Well, I'm going to make Throne.
This will be my first feature documentary, and that has been
on my list of goals for about four years.

(59:28):
So it's finally going to happen.The first quarter of the year is
going to be like full on and yeah, I'm going to see where the
year takes me. But some .2026 will have a
finished film, which is pretty huge.
So that's goal number one. And another goal that has been
on my list for a really long time was just to make Sonora my

(59:49):
full time job. And I've always had to
supplement my income with a day job or doing other freelance
things. And it's never stopped.
And I'm I'm very guilty for not saying no.
And I need to learn that. And going into 2026, I'm going
to be really selective with how I spend my time and start saying
no so that I'm focusing on exactly what I want to grow.

(01:00:12):
So that's a that's a big goal ofmine as well.
I am going to be pitching my animated idea in the beginning
of March at the Glasgow Film Festival.
So far they've confirmed that there'll be a representative
from Netflix and a representative from Ardman
Studios. So just just the heavyweights of
the animation industry in the UK.

(01:00:35):
So that's a big one. And it's happening.
It's on the it's on the calendar, you know, as a goal.
I know it's going to be ticked off and it's just about getting
there to the pitch and doing thebest I can.
Yeah, things like that. That's my my 2026 in a nutshell.
Very, very exciting. Last question for you today ish.
One more thing, go for it. I did think I just remembered

(01:00:56):
one last goal, starting a podcast.
Yes, well, watch the space there, eh?
Watch the space. Perhaps 100.
Percent. Now that is exciting.
I mean, there's there's some great things happening in the
background which I look forward to to telling the listeners
about as well and things I want to last question for you is
about your lesson. I've actually about your lessons

(01:01:17):
earlier, but like from all that,is there like some advice you
would share with our list, thosefrom what stuff you've done in
2025? I know you've given an advice
question on this podcast probably three Times Now, so
apologies if I'm making you scrape the barrel.
I would say that try new things and look to things that are

(01:01:40):
happening around you for clues as to how you can make a
success. You know, success is defined by
how you want to measure it. And you know, for me, beginning
of Sonora, growing the YouTube channel and making a profit from
that was like my top goal. And in April this year we were

(01:02:02):
monetized. But it's all over the place.
You know, some months you make adecent amount of money, some
months you make absolutely nothing.
You put the same effort in everytime and it can be really
destabilising. But I think like definitely
experiment. Have you know, see what is out
there that you're interested in.And if you've never watched a
podcast before, then ask somebody if you can help them

(01:02:25):
out, if you can come on, if you can see the back end, if you can
help edit or something like that.
Take a look at online content and how to think about is there
something that you could make oris there some people you like
that you'd like to collab with? A lot of people have reached out
to soon order to say that like they'd love to get started in
video essays or online content and way.
And so I invite them in and I say, all right, if you want to

(01:02:47):
help edit a few videos, like we can make that happen and you can
get experience and we can work out like how that fits in with
us, our schedule and our budgets.
And honestly, it's just a bit sort of like trying things,
taking a little bit of a leap offaith, but putting yourself out
there and, and see what skills you can gather and collect and

(01:03:10):
where that may lead. Does that then become something
that you're super passionate about and it's now you're like
thing your baby that you work onall the time and you grow into
something bigger? Or is it some skills that you
pick up and then lo and behold, down the line, somebody needs
that from you and now you're theperson that they're going to go
to and to make their goal happen.
And, and, and you know, you've kept yourself going in this

(01:03:31):
crazy wild industry. So yeah, definitely try out some
new things and, and see where itleads you.
And because from Sonora 2025, wedid a tonne of different things.
We're doing short films, we've been along to film festivals.
I started interviewing people inthe Glasgow subway just because
I saw, I saw that that was successful online and I thought,

(01:03:53):
hey, I'm already interviewing people, let's space up a little
bit. And that's been so much fun.
And it's, it's propelled us farther because people see it
and recognise it and go, OK, this is pretty cool.
And yeah, we've had a variety ofdifferent projects, a variety of
different things we've done online as well.
So we've been a bit experimentalwith our video formats.

(01:04:14):
The advice we're giving out started the newsletter this
year, which is growing as well. And yeah, I'd love to, yeah, get
into some new spaces in 2026 andsee what we can grow.
We'll watch this space as well because I think there's going to
be some other exciting things which I'm sure we both look
forward to announcing. I want to say as well, before I
thank you, Ash, as well. Thank you to all of the just got

(01:04:34):
real job listeners. It's obviously last set for the
2025. Been an amazing year for the
podcast and it's been so many amazing new listeners.
I think corner spot I wrapped was like 933% increase in new
listeners, which is absolutely mentors to everyone that's
listened to support the show this year.
Thank you very, very much. I really appreciate all the
support and messages and people just tuning in.
It's, it's mad. It makes the time really

(01:04:56):
worthwhile. And Ash Frankie for all your
support this year. I love the industry we've got in
Scotland and how all the contentcreators like me and you and
other people all like kind of get together and help each other
out and learn from each other. It's very inspiring and I look
forward to seeing all the exciting things to come from
Sonora in 2026. Amazing.
Thanks, Jamie. And yeah, what a great end to
the year.

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EP. 185 - 'Growth, Graft & Staying the Course' with Ashley Dick

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}EP. 185 - 'Growth, Graft & Staying the Course' with Ashley Dick