HOTSHOT Bishop’s Stortford videographer Tom Lee hopes to give the town’s music scene a shot in the arm with a new live night at the Half Moon.
As part of his solo venture Endless Media, the 19-year-old will organise regular gigs and open mic jams at the North Street venue, which he will film and upload to video sharing site YouTube.
The 19-year-old, who recently shot a music video with TV advert director Paul Gardner for London singer Project Alfie, has been building a name for himself locally with his online endeavours.
A former Bishop’s Stortford and Saffron Walden County High School pupil, Tom now plans to pursue his passion full-time and relaunch Endless Media as a limited company.
He is also helping Stortford’s most promising young musicians find a bigger audience by shooting their live performances for the web, as well as short unplugged sessions and promo videos.
Among those he’s worked with are singer-songwriter Ben Cork, fellow Stortford artists The Last Men and Charlie Turner, Thaxted’s Alice Walker and hip-hop collective DCM.
As well as his shoot with Paul Gardner, who has made album adverts for bands like Kings of Leon, Laura Marling and Calvin Harris, he is working with rising Surrey indie-rockers Kurran and the Wolfnotes.
Tom discovered a passion for photography at school and planned to study it at university, but decided hands-on experience was more valuable than shelling out on tuition fees.
After making a few videos for indie-folk pop band Pandora’s Box, whose YouTube channel has notched up more than 600,000 views, he shifted his focus to movie making.
Scraping together the cash with a job at Grange Paddocks leisure centre, he bought a top-of-the-range Canon 5D Mark II – a camera used in major films like Black Swan and hit US television show House.
This month, he left Grange Paddocks to take his project to the next level – a step many would fear to take, but he’s quietly confident.
He said: “The only reason I’d have gone to university would have been for that little piece of paper that says ‘yes, you can do that now’, but I think you should believe in yourself before anyone else. People can offer valuable advice, but it’s up to you to decide what to follow.”
A date for the first gig at the Half Moon will be announced shortly.
See our Observer Sessions music channel for some of his work with local artists - and find out more at www.endlessmedia.co.uk.
