I skipped uni and now I travel the world making movies

Rupert Rixon is the director of Perspective Pictures,  a video production company based just north of London. At just 21 years old, he and his team have filmed all over the world.

Over the last six years they have created a wide array of independent films and documentaries, shot in the UK, Europe, India and the USA.

Collectively, their work has reached over seven million viewers worldwide.

The Tab caught up with Rupert to talk about his life, his films, and his favourite moments so far.

How did you get interested in filmmaking and directing?

My interest in filmmaking/directing started in front of the camera. When I was in my teens I was really into acting.

I was in a few bits and pieces: TV ads, a tiny part in a film, but became frustrated with the inability to make any real progress, so I slowly became more interested and involved in being behind the camera.

Has your life changed much in light of your success?

Things are definitely moving forward quickly now. I get to travel a lot which is awesome, but other than that everything is similar to when I started out making films, only now I have more resources at my disposal for making films.

Could you ever just go to a normal 9-5 job?

Of course! Having a “normal 9-5 job” gets a bad rep. I would happily enter into a 9-5 job if strategically it was the right decision and if I thought the role would really challenge me.

What is it like travelling so much for this? Do you see some unreal things?

I think the best thing about travelling while making films is it pushes you into a lot of interesting situations you probably wouldn’t seek out normally.

I literally just got back from filming a web series out in India. We were basically backpacking from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram (topish to bottomish of India) and although we used some buses and trains for the film we mainly travelled the distance by hitchhiking, which isn’t really a thing in India.

That put us in a lot of strange situations: I don’t think a lot of British tourists get to travel in tractors, oil tankers, the backs of lorries, pick-up trucks etc.

A still from their recent filming in India

What have you learnt along the way?

The main thing I have learnt is just the value of persistence, the film/video industry (like any) can seem very impenetrable at times, but as long as you work your arse off and keep at it you will find a way in.

What has been your personal favourite moment? 

About a year and a half ago I converted the inside of a smallish barn/outbuilding into a studio space (with the help from my Dad, I have no real DIY skills) over a couple of weeks and finishing that was an immensely exciting/proud moment.

Although we are now looking to move to a London office early next year!

And what about your personal favourite success? 

I would say that would be skateboarding across America! Last year myself and some friends travelled to the USA and shot a TV series about travelling from LA to NY on Longboards, we had to skate 50 miles a day, every day, for almost 3 months, and are working on the edit for that at the moment!

Rupert at Cannes

Also I did have a short WWI film featured in the Short Film Corner at Cannes Film Festival 2015, and won the “Outstanding Young Filmmaker” award at Screen-Test  – the UK’s largest student film festival.

Check out Rupert’s latest video from his trip to India here.