Star in your own pop music video

 

If you’ve met Marissa Holden, then you’ll know she’s all about

the fun. A Cookham mum of two and with more than 14 years of experience in journalism, at the BBC and at Sky News, she is now director of her own company, ustarvideo. It is about capturing moments in life, reminding people of the good times, and encouraging them to enjoy themselves…

 

‘When you become an adult, you don’t have enough opportunities to have fun,’ Marissa says. ‘I want to help change that.’

   And she’s certainly trying. She recently co-organised a successful Back to School disco for the parents at her children’s school, and is striking a chord with her new business. ‘Through ustarvideo, I’m enjoying myself and hopefully also injecting a bit of fun into other peoples’ lives too,’ she says.

   So how did she come to making a living out of filming mock-pop videos?

   ‘I'm a former journalist for Sky News Radio and the BBC. After doing some travelling and working in the news business for more than 14 years, I decided

I wanted a bit of light relief from hardcore news.

   ‘Going back a bit, my parents moved from Liverpool to Marlow when I was seven, so I’ve always considered this area of the country to be home. But I’ve travelled around a bit. I went to Nottingham Uni to study English before working for a charity, helping with their publicity. My next role was at Shandwick PR –
I used to take journalists on press trips to Spain and realised the grass really
was greener on the other side! I decided I’d rather be a journalist, so I studied
a postgrad diploma in broadcast journalism at the University of the Arts London. I was then lucky to become a broadcast journalist at BBC Radio Derby for 17 months, producing the Breakfast Show and reporting live from the scenes of breaking news stories. It was a great start in journalism.

   ‘After I met my now-husband Dan, I moved to London to be with him, and freelanced for BBC Radio 5 Live, before getting a job at Sky News Radio, reading the news and producing packages. I took a break from that for a bit to work at the Foreign Press Association organising press briefings with politicians and other senior figures.

   ‘Then we moved to China for six months with Dan’s job. I worked for That’s Shanghai magazine while I was there and it was brilliant. But when I found out
I was pregnant, we decided to come home. I wanted to be close to my parents in Marlow  – so we settled on Cookham. It’s so pretty here. Now we have two sons, Enzo, seven, and Magnus, five. 

   ‘After becoming a mum, I started freelancing for Sky News Radio, reading the news. But being a journalist is a 24-hour job. Even though I was freelance it was hard to work shifts while trying to be there for the boys. And I was frustrated
I wasn’t going anywhere because I wasn’t full-time. So I decided to do something for myself. I kept thinking about the mock-pop video I’d starred in for my hen
do and thought it would be a great thing to do as a job, especially with my background. I also wanted to combine my production and journalism skills
with my other passion – drama. I’d been a theatre director at uni and while working in London. And so the idea for usstarvideo was born.

   ‘I did some film and video editing and camerawork training in London, and then set up the business. Ustarvideo films, edits and creates a range of video products for individuals, groups or businesses.’ 

   Their repertoire includes, but is not limited to:

• Mock-pop videos – be filmed dancing and singing to the song you've been born to perform to. Perfect for birthdays, kids’ (aged 10 plus) or teenagers' parties, graduation, hen, stag or business bonding sessions. Marissa films, choreographs and edits the action.

• Promotional videos, presentations, business interviews, recruitment 
  training videos.  

• Weddings – capture the moments of your day; video guestbook; video and photo montages; special messages for the big screen.

• Life stories – capture the stories of a loved one, with interviews from family and friends.

• Media training – Marissa can give you an insider’s guide to how journalists work, how to increase your chances of being in the news, and can steer you through the potential benefits and downfalls of being interviewed.

• Audio – record an MP3 to send to clients... recently Marissa recorded and edited hypno-birthing audio for a client in Marlow.

Marissa says: ‘If I had to choose a video to star in, I’d pick Olivia Newton-John’s Physical as I was a big fan of hers when I was a little girl. I’m also a huge fan of Beyonce because she’s not afraid to make fun of herself. I’m really enjoying making the break from journalism and setting up ustarvideo – it allows me to
be creative and imaginative, which I love, plus I’m still making fun news stories but ones that other people can enjoy…’ 

 

For more info,

call 07919 212571

email marissa@ustarvideo.co.uk

 

Twitter @ustarvideo

Instagram ustarvideo

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