WATFORD FC
SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER
Indie Dog
Videographer
I started up my open business, working as a self-shooting Producer/Director and Editor. It was a lot of responsibility, and something I should have attempted to bring others into to help manage the workload, which in turn would have given me more time to focus on the business, marketing and outreach for growth and new clients.
But I was doing it. All the while I was working as a technical/camera assistant for branded content for Vice, BBC and Endemol.
The Doberdayz video I did for free in exchange for a training course for my absolutely mental Sprocker Spaniel, Obi.
ProFormance Global wanted a Nike styles advert, with a specific advert as a reference. Ultimately, they were overjoyed with it. Myself, I don't feel it worked out as well as I would have liked. But the client's happiness is the most important thing.
The Colour of Summer was an abstract concept piece for a feature film that my make-up artist sister wanted to create many years ago, and was an odd collaboration of raw footage and stock. Odd, but interesting. Was happy with how it turned out.
I think that during this time that I began thinking in a different creative way when it came to film production, as I had grown accustomed to working other people's ideas and visions.
90 Seconds
Camera Operator
I started working alongside a friend of mine Dan, whom brought me to work with him as a second camera operator as I had a good understanding of Blackmagic Design cameras that he also used on his shoots.
We worked with a company called 90 Seconds, who pulled in freelance filmmakers and videographers for corporate video production.
Another deep end dive, but we managed. A really good company that, in truth, I should have spent a lot longer working with and growing my portfolio as it wasn't nearly as over-saturated with camera operators as it is now.
But ultimately, with large corporations pulling in freelancers, the budgets were tight and margins were high.
Director of Photography
Camera Operator
Camera Assistant
Assistant Director
A collection of works I have been involved in across many roles with a range of responsibilities from camera operator to camera/technical assistant.
Les Rosbifs United
Director/Producer/Editor
Sometimes you can go years without having an original idea. And then it suddenly strikes you like lightning. I've always been all or nothing, and when I want to do something there is very little that can dissuade me. When I initially had the idea for making a documentary about British footballer playing football abroad, something rare today and rarer in 2017, it took me all of 3 weeks to find contributors, get permission from football clubs and agents, course crew on a very limited budget that had been a mostly put on a credit card (this is terrible practice, don't do it), figuring out what the hell a 'carnet' is, a painstaking 3 days creating a detailed list of every bit of equipment including SKU codes.
But myself, a camera operator, sound engineer and researcher were off to Norway.
I'd spoken at length with Gordon Taylor at the PFA about the project and he was excited to see the pilot. My naivety and excitement for the project took over. This was a project that should have had more than 'interest', and something in writing. I also turned down a deal with Copa90 who wanted to use the films. Ultimately, I was too proud and turned it down for creative reasons. This was a mistake. It could have been a doorway into working with them in the future.
Naïve mistakes. Bad business. But I had produced, directed and edited two international documentary shorts.
They were great mistakes, as far as mistakes go.
5/7 would do it again (but I wouldn't recommend it).
The Tea Party
Writer/Director/Producer
I had a dream about a story, a boy who was fighting an addiction. Only, it wasn't alcohol or drugs, but having tea parties with stuffed toys in his bedroom.
It was a weird dream. So I made it into a film the next week.
It was a silly film, made poignant by the fact I had strong armed my uncle into playing the father as I failed to find an actor at such short notice.
My uncle who sadly passed away far too soon. But is now part of these memories.
Row Z
Writer/Director
My final film at the end of my three year study at Falmouth University. A film I had written with help from our talented sound designer and engineer Daniel Thompson (who saved our entire film in the previous year).
We stepped it up in our final year, running a kickstarter campaign in which we raised £2,121, from a £1,650 goal, for production. This film was an incredible experience, not just in terms of planning, creativity and general approach, but learning to deal with people and organisations. Approaching people in the right way, doing your homework and not cutting corners... giving you access to a 16,000 seater football stadium with complete access for free. And yes, we still spent every last penny from that kickstarter... and some more.
It worked out. We won the Best Narrative Film at the Pixelate Festival. The award still sits on the mantle. I'd learnt from the mistakes from Interrogation, and then I learnt some more this time.
I was so immensely proud of this film. Still am. But even now I look back and see so many things I got wrong and would change.
I think it would be wrong if I didn't.
Interrogation
Director
This was the first short film I had made during my second year at university. I had directed many theatre productions in the years prior, but this was my first film. I was, and still am, proud of not only the attention and energy that went into the film, but the overall professionalism that the entire put into the project. The hard work started with our kickstarter campaign, which we raised £1,180.
Plenty of issues within it. Mostly sound, but I remember even now that we had to push on shooting with a dummy boom holder as our sound engineer frantically tried to recover data from an SD card that got corrupted in the morning shoot.
We lost sound quality, but we saved our entire film.