In this video I’m breaking down the full making-of process behind my short cinematic documentary “Blue Mind” (shot as a passion project) — from meeting my character to shaping the story, planning, production, post, and the real costs. The project started in the most random way: a girl stopped me on the street, told me she followed my work, and after coffee I realized she studied marine science in Cornwall and was passionate about free diving and ocean preservation. That was it. I knew I wanted to build a film around her energy, but the real work was narrowing a huge amount of interview material into a clear direction and sticking to it. I walk you through my pre-production process (mood boards, shot ideas, task lists for the crew, and building a world of tones/sounds/locations). We flew to Cornwall with a small team, chased blue hour (yes, I’m obsessed), and dealt with real production problems: weather forcing location changes, a broken V-mount charger while shooting on the RED Komodo, and the general chaos of sourcing rentals and insurance abroad. In post, we started with selections and a rough cut, then I did multiple revisions, worked with a composer for fully original music (no temp track), and leaned on specialists for foley-heavy sound design, color grading, and graphics. My big takeaway: passion projects are creative freedom, but they’re also a career investment. This one cost me $7,300.95 (not including my time), and I’m treating it like an experiment — put it out into the wild and see what opportunities it brings back.