Behind the camera 6 min read
From filming on a phone to professional festival footage: my story behind the camera
How a spontaneous passion in 2023 grew into a serious project within the hardstyle and festival culture.
It all started in 2023
Hi, I'm Wesley, 21 years old, and I've been filming at festivals and events for almost three years now. What started as a hobby has grown into something I take seriously. For about a year and a half I've been working on it professionally, and I keep developing myself to make better and better footage.
My story began in the middle of 2023, at a party. I saw a friend of mine filming with his phone and got inspired by the way he filmed. I picked up elements of his style and started giving them my own twist. Without realising it at the time, I was laying the foundation for something that would later become much bigger.
In the beginning I was mostly experimenting, trying new things and finding out what kind of footage I liked myself. I didn't have any professional ambitions or a clear plan yet. I simply loved capturing the energy of a party and bringing those moments back to life on screen.
The moment everything changed
In 2024 I got the chance to film at Supremacy with my phone. I posted some of that footage on my Instagram Story, without expecting anything special to come of it.
Until Mish, a well-known DJ in the hardstyle scene, replied to my Story.
He told me my footage looked really good and asked if I had ever filmed with a real camera. My answer was honest: no, I had never done that.
Until then I didn't really think my way of filming stood out to people in the scene. Mish's reaction changed that. For me it was confirmation that what I was doing had potential, and that I might be able to do a lot more with it.
Not long after, he invited me to come and film at an event by The Straikerz: Casino Heist.
That invitation was an important turning point. I got the chance to explore my passion further and gain experience in an environment where visuals, music and energy come together. The footage that came out of it was really cool and gave me even more confidence in what I could do.
From that moment on, I knew I wanted to keep going with this.
Keep learning, keep growing
After those first important steps I kept developing myself. I kept filming with my phone, but also started working with a camera. Both ways of filming taught me new things and helped me refine my own style.
In the period after that I received a lot of positive reactions in DMs from DJs and people around me. Those reactions were incredibly motivating. They showed me that my work wasn't only valuable to me, but was also appreciated by others.
Still, I knew I had a lot to learn. I didn't just want to make good-looking footage, I also wanted to understand how to bring across the atmosphere of an event as well as possible. The energy of the crowd, the movements of the DJ, the music and the details that make a party unique: that combination was exactly what I wanted to capture better and better.
So I kept practising, experimenting and looking critically at my own work.
March 2026: a new step with the iPhone 14 Pro Max
In March 2026 I decided to switch to an iPhone 14 Pro Max. That started a new phase in my development as a festival filmmaker.
I straight away got the chance to try out my new phone at Rebirth Festival. It was a great opportunity to gain experience, but the first results weren't quite what I had in mind. The footage was sometimes chaotic and my camera movements could have been a lot tighter.
But I didn't see that as a reason to stop. Quite the opposite: I knew I had to work on it.
I gathered tips, looked critically at the way I filmed and started adjusting my movements. I learned to handle my phone more deliberately, to think more about composition and to film more calmly when the situation called for it.
The progress soon became visible.
From experimenting to control
At Intents Festival I deliberately applied the tips I had been given. That's where I noticed my filming improved a lot. The footage became calmer, the movements more controlled, and the result came closer and closer to the style I had in mind.
I kept practising at Classified: Matrixx at the Park as well. After that, Annihilation, Smiler LOL and Classified: Off the Grid gave me even more chances to refine my technique.
Every event brought new challenges and lessons. No party is the same, and that's exactly what makes festival filming so interesting to me. You constantly have to respond to what's happening, while at the same time thinking about movement, timing, composition and the atmosphere you want to bring across.
By practising a lot and judging my own footage critically, I've taken big steps. Where my footage used to be shaky at times, I now film much more deliberately. I aim for professional, smooth footage that captures the energy of an event without the camera movements distracting from what is happening on stage and in the crowd.
For me that's one of the most important parts of good festival filming: not just showing what happens, but giving the viewer the feeling that they were there themselves.
More than just making footage
When I look back on the past few years, I see how much has changed. What started with watching a friend film with his phone grew into a passion that I put more and more time, energy and attention into.
Mish's reaction, the invitation from The Straikerz and the many positive messages I've received all contributed to that. But just as important are the moments when footage didn't quite work out, when I got feedback and had to practise again to make progress.
I believe you can only keep developing yourself if you're open to criticism, willing to learn and don't give up when something doesn't work yet.
That's exactly what I've tried to do over the past few years.
This is only the beginning
With this story I hope I've given you a look behind the scenes of my project and shown how my passion for festival filming started and grew.
I'm proud of the steps I've taken so far, but I'm far from done learning. There are always new techniques to discover, new styles to try and new events where I can challenge myself.
My goal remains to make footage that doesn't just look professional, but above all brings across the atmosphere, emotion and energy of a festival.
Because in the end, for me it's about more than just filming. It's about capturing moments that people want to relive.
This is my story so far. And this is only the beginning.
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