My book “Falsa Lama & My Root Goat” out now!
Uncategorized
The Abode Of Guayota
Overall Winner & Best Director – History, Mystery & Odyssey
Me encanta Bilbao
RIP Zhao Yizhou
“History, Mystery & Odyssey” Premiere in Portland
2022 – Cricket Metaphors Best Avoided
Trombone Man: Ska’s Fallen Genius – A comic book series -Kickstarter Campaign
I was asked recently by my friend Adam Reeves (lots of cool links on Adam’s linktree here be sure to click!) to edit a timelapse he had shot of street artist Fek painting a mural of Don Drummond and Margarita Mafhood.
It was to be used as part of his Kickstarter campaign for “Trombone Man: Ska’s Fallen Genius – A comic book series” about the life of Don Drummond, the legendary trombonist with 1960’s ska giants, The Skatalites.
Well, now the campaign is live!
The project looks amazing, has some fantastic people involved and some really cool reward packages for backers.
The Kickstarter page will tell you all you need to know about this incredible project.
I hope you’ll go and check it out and if you feel so inclined support Adam and this truly deserving project!
Two weeks in Portland, Oregon – DOP for “History,Mystery,Odyssey”
Uchujin Doesn’t Ride LEJOG
2021 A Look back in anger?
Spacemaid Band Rehearsal, Hull, November 1994
Dam! Wales is Beautiful – A trip to the Elan Valley
Andrew Marvell: 400 years on – With Triple Element Films for Trinity College Cambridge
A poetry reading by Angela Leighton and Pip Torrens on the 400th anniversary of the birth of Poet Andrew Marvell.
Read what Angela Leighton wrote about Andrew Marvell and her poem on the Trinity College website HERE
Shot By Oliver Sharpe (Triple Element Films) and myself at Trinity College Cambridge.
Edited by Oliver Sharpe.
Islamic Calligraphy – Two Films with Soraya Syed for The SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture
I’m very pleased to present two films I DOP’d and edited with Soraya Syed on Islamic Calligraphy.
(I first met Soraya whilst DOPing of the multi-award winning feature documentary on calligraphy “Traces Of The Soul” in which she was one of the 12 artists featured)
The films above were commissioned by The Islamic Art and Material Culture Subject Specialist Network as part of their ACE funded activities that aim to support regional museums and their collections.
Excerpt from the SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture blog post (Read the full blog post HERE):
“The art of Islamic Calligraphy can be said to be one of the most important historical developments in the Islamic world. Established over a thousand years and stretching across the world, calligraphy played a fundamental role in the development of Islamic Art and helped to develop a distinctive visual culture.
Hattat Soraya Syed has composed two beautiful short films consisting of a précis of the long and intricate development of the art of Islamic Calligraphy and the Methods, Materials and Training which go into establishing a master of this art. The films are not aimed at experts in the field, but they provide access to members of the public and to curators whose expertise is not in the area.“
Shot in September 2020 at Soraya’s studio in London with full COVID protocols in place.
Sony A7III
Tamron Di III RXD 28-75mm
Rode wireless GO
Sokani X60 vrs 2
Sachtler Ace Tripod
Edited in DaVinci Resolve 16
Well, 2020 can f&$k off!
The Lesser Spotted Maskhole
COVID 19 UK lock down – The first month
Women at Cambridge: Planting women’s roots in Cambridge
The fourth and final of four films from the Women at Cambridge series I had the pleasure of shooting for Duckrabbit and The University Of Cambridge -“Planting women’s roots in Cambridge”
Part of the #RisingTide and #WomenAtCambridge exhibition at The University of Cambridge Library.
www.cam.ac.uk/TheRisingTide
From the Youtube description:-
The impact of women at Cambridge is incalculable. In 1869, Girton College became the first women’s college at Cambridge, and the first in Britain, to offer residential higher education for women. But Cambridge University did not grant degrees to women until the late 1940s, the last British University to do so.
In this final film, Jo Cobb, Head Gardener of Murray Edwards College, joins co-curator of The Rising Tide: Women at Cambridge exhibition, Dr Lucy Delap, in Eliza Baker Court at Girton College. Here, they discuss the influence of former Head Gardener, Chrystabel Procter on the college and on future female gardeners across the University.
I really enjoyed hanging out with Dr Lucy Delap and meeting Jo Cobb during the making of this.
Was very nice to spend time in the Eliza Baker Court at Girton College too.
It was also a real pleasure & honor (as it always is) working with Ben from Duckrabbit, who never ceases to amaze with his kind-hearted, open professionalism.
Shot on multiple Sony A7III’s and a Sony FS5 with Tamron 28-75, Sony 16-35 and another lens that I’ve forgotten should you care about that kind of thing :)
Two Gay Geeks – Hamish Downie’s Five Questions with Adrian Storey aka Uchujin
World Jewish Relief – Annual Dinner Film 2020- With Duckrabbit in Lviv, Ukraine
In September 2019 I traveled to Lviv in Ukraine with Ben from Duckrabbit to make a fundraising film for World Jewish Relief to be shown at their annual dinner.
The result of that trip is the film above.
I haven’t been able to publicly talk about the film, my time in Lviv or post any pictures until the film was finally released to the public on 4th February 2020.
Lviv is a beautiful city with a brutal history – some great architecture, cobbled streets, trams, Om Nom Nom – one of the best vegan restaurants I’ve ever eaten in, cheap beer and was the site of the Janowska concentration camp .
The fantastic crew for our 7 days in Lviv consisted of Ben duckrabbit (Director), Dan (onscreen), Natalia (who we immediately nicknamed ‘Nutella’, translator), Tanya from World Jewish Relief and myself (camera).
We would be interviewing Jewish survivors Semyon, Rosa and Clara.
Their stories would bring me to tears more than once.
Listening to the stories of what Semyon, Rosa and Clara went through was a deeply moving and unsettling experience.
It’s one thing to read or watch films about what happened to the Jewish people in World War II, to hear about the seige of Leningrad or the violent persecution suffered, but quite another to sit in a small room with someone who lived through those things tell you what it was like, to look in their eyes as they tell you their story.
It took me weeks to get over and is not something I’ll ever forget.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, that Ben from duckrabbit is an amazing director to work with and it was his generosity of spirit, compassion and professionalism that got me through the somewhat harrowing process of making the film. Thank you Ben.
I would of course also like to thank Tanya and Dan for their amazing work and insights during production.
(Big man hugs to Dan for the lift home from the airport on our arrival back in the UK, Cheers bruv:)
Natalia, the translator deserves special mention, not just for her incredible on the spot translations and infectious sense of humor but also for her warm hearted kindness to the interviewees and us the crew throughout. Nutella, we love you!!!
World Jewish Relief as an organization deserves and has, my deep thanks for all the incredible work they do helping survivors across the world.
I’m deeply grateful that through them I had the opportunity to travel to Ukraine.
The final and deepest thanks must go to Semyon, Rosa and Clara for their bravery in agreeing to tell their heartbreaking stories to us on camera.
I will always remember you, your incredible strength and resilience and I feel honored to have met you.
Below are some photos from what was a truly moving trip.
2019 Review Part 2
2019 Review Part 1
A ride in a Chipmunk with Dave Fradley
Do you want a flight in a 2 seater plane made in 1951 to check an engine repair with a pilot in his late 70’s and no parachute? Er…….
Well, when the pilot is Dave Fradley an ex RAF flight trainer (amongst other things) with over 17,000 flight hours (about 2 years!) and it’s a lovely sunny day autumn day in Cambridgeshire, hell yes!!!
Shot on a Galaxy S8 with a £1 shop wide angle lens :)
Retro 5″ Black and White TV as a computer monitor – A tale of pointlessness
