Daisy Cai - Filmmaking - Peking University, China

Daisy Cai is many things: a Master of Film student, dedicated vlogger, and a social media content creator. But her mission in life is to create content that spreads messages of personal growth and to empower girls and young women.

Encouraging others is important to Daisy because of her upbringing. She was raised in an environment that prioritized staying close to home and building a family over seeking higher education. “None of the women in my family have gone to university. My parents didn’t think I should pursue it, especially in another city. I loved movies and storytelling, and I was determined to go and learn more,” she says.

These passions led her to Beijing to pursue a Bachelor of Photography at the Communication University of China. After graduating, she decided to continue her studies, and was accepted into a Master of Film program at the School of Arts, Peking University. There, she uses Apple technology for all of her college studies and ever-evolving creative process.

Whether she’s producing a film for class or vlogging for social media, Daisy starts on her Mac. “I love using built-in apps like Notes and Freeform for my initial scriptwriting and storyboards. The design and functionality are very simple and don’t require subscriptions or complex interfaces, yet fully meet my daily creative needs,” she says.

When it’s time to create, Daisy flows seamlessly between devices, using iPhone, Mac, and iPad to perfect her films and manage end-to-end production. She captures footage and records audio on iPhone using the Blackmagic Camera app and Voice Memos. Then it’s back to Mac for editing on Final Cut Pro, and on to iPad for final touches like color grading, subtitles, and small animations.

“Throughout my creative process, I use different devices for each task, and that’s easy with Apple. I seriously can’t live without AirDrop,” says Daisy. “Being able to share files instantly between my devices without having to rely on hard drives makes it so efficient and fun to make videos.”

Looking forward, Daisy hopes to grow her online platforms and use what she's learned in her postgraduate studies to continue making meaningful content. Her dream is to run her own production studio and film documentaries that amplify the voices of women, exploring themes like resilience, empowerment, and social justice. For Daisy, it’s more about the message than the medium.