Looking back over 2023

Filming a day in the life sequence at Brampton Manor Academy with the MCN Productions crew

The first thing I want to say is I’m aware that I’ve been incredibly fortunate this year. There has been a lot of disruption in the creative industries over the past 12 months and I fully appreciate that many of my freelance colleagues, particularly those who work in film and TV, have been out of work for a good part of 2023, because of actor and writers strikes in the US. The use of AI in particular is quite a scary proposition for creative workers. Will we have a job in 10 or 20 years’ time? Whilst opinions are divided over this, it is clear that regulation is needed urgently, and the turbulent nature of freelancing has never been more apparent. Despite all this uncertainty however, I’m extremely grateful to have been in work, and have enjoyed some interesting projects at that.

As always, there have been some challenges. Earlier in the year I spoke about my decision to ditch Premiere Pro for Da Vinci Resolve after one too many bugs almost cost me a deadline. Fast forward a few months and I’m kicking myself for not making the transition sooner (I received quite a few comments about it from fellow frustrated editors!). Since that post I have discovered even more incredible features in the program such as voice isolation (a game changer), cloud projects - which have really simplified switching projects between machines - and have generally developed a more efficient workflow which is helping me to do better work, faster.

Elsewhere, for the first time in over a decade, a memory card failed on me on a shoot (an Angelbird SDXC V90 - not cheap!). However, because the Panasonic EVA 1 has dual slot recording, I have been using this feature for every project and fortunately, a backup on a SanDisk card saved a morning’s footage! This is one of the reasons us cameramen bring so much kit, folks - it’s to cover our backs!

Lastly, a little bit of bad luck towards the end of the year created a few challenges for me and some colleagues. Travel issues, a staff room being broken into, and crew emergencies are just some of the occurrences that have tested my problem-solving abilities this year! However, despite these issues (with some incredibly understanding clients) and acknowledgement of the wider business landscape, it has been a really good year!

Here are some of my favourite projects from the past 12 months:

Filming at Underdog Studio, Brighton

Finding the killer queen, with The Business Creative

I started off 2023 on a fantastic project with Brighton based agency The Business Creative. Following on from our collaboration on previous escape rooms this one was unique in that it featured popular local drag queen Miss Jason hosting an adult activity for Haven customers, crossing over between puzzle solving and murder mystery. An innuendo-ridden script, filmed against a green screen and with a glamourous backdrop and music added in post-production, I can honestly say I’ve never laughed so much during an edit! This is a fantastic example of video being used in a creative way to create a truly original product, that I’m sure audiences will find very entertaining.

Find out more about the Business Creative here.

Vicars’ close, Wells. Supposedly the oldest purely residential street with surviving buildings in Europe!

Great videos for great schools, with MCN Productions

When it comes to engaging promotional videos for schools, MCN Productions know a thing a two. We were fortunate to collaborate on a variety of school projects this year, with some interesting variations in briefs. Wells Cathedral School for instance, asked us to make some high-end website banner videos that stood out from the crowd. The answer was to showcase various activities around the stunning grounds of the school, with the action on screen providing the motivation for animated text that described the pupils at the school. Examples included words floating out of instruments as a woodwind band plays and cricket batsmen revealing another as they run. To give us higher production values, we hired Canon Cinema lenses, captured slow motion footage in 4K and in Log to give us the most flexibility in the grade, resulting in images with wide dynamic range.

Additional projects were exciting too. At Hurstpierpoint College, we were briefed to do a ‘fly on the wall’ - almost documentary - type piece focusing on teacher training and development which involved a much more disciplined approach to filming. And at the Sabden Multi-Academy Trust, a group of special schools and alternative provisions in East Sussex - we were asked to create high end promos in often quite unpredictable environments. It was an incredible learning experience with some of the most powerful and authentic interviews from staff and parents that we’ve ever captured. To top it all off, when you receive feedback such as this…

“These [videos] have really lifted colleagues at the end of a difficult year”

…it makes it even more worthwhile!

Visiting breweries and distilleries, with Russell Finex

In summer I travelled to gorgeous Derbyshire with sieving & filtration experts Russell Finex to capture a customer testimonial with their client White Peak Distillery. Set against a stunning backdrop in a former wire works, by a river and next to ancient woodland, we couldn’t have asked for a location with more character. Every cameraman’s dream! Shooting in 4K for HD delivery, capturing in log to get the most dynamic range from the sensor and utilising a very wide 11mm lens for interiors, this was a fun project to be involved in and both clients were very happy with the end result. And even better, their cask aged rum was delicious!

We followed this up with a trip a bit closer to home, this time to Windsor, to capture another testimonial for Windsor & Eton Brewery. Another fantastic location, within view of the castle and another happy client. Cheers!

Bringing awareness to unpaid carers, with Three Thirds Films

‘What about you?’ is a hard hitting piece of work that will relate with anyone who’s ever seen a loved one suffer from dementia

I was also incredibly fortunate to be involved in ‘What about you?’, a commercial focusing on the lives of several relatable characters, all with the responsibility of caring for loved ones with dementia whilst also having to do the school run, go to work etc. Reprising the role of 1st Assistant Camera for the first time in 6 years, getting to grips with the Arri Alexa Mini and shooting on Cooke lenses, it was an honour to be part of this important campaign, resulting in a very emotive and relatable film. We were also very proud to hear that it got featured on the Mail Online, which brought it some fantastic reach and engagement!

Other developments:

Indie feature film ‘The Last Time You Saw Me’ wrapping up in 2024

A year ago, I said the lockdown feature I lensed would probably be finished within a year…and now I’m saying it again! A major reason for delay has been the number of VFX shots that Entity Film Co. have had to create without any budget left. Fingers crossed 2024 will be the year it goes to market (funnily enough, ‘Twenty Twenty-Four’ is the name of the director’s previous film…) but the main thing to note is that with this sort of project, and with what’s at stake for the producers, it must be done right. Having recently seen the film in its final stages, I have no doubt that everyone involved will be extremely proud of how it’s turned out.

Work experience students in 2023: 2

I beat 2022’s record! But there’s still some room for improvement. If you’re a student, graduate or career changer (or know someone who is any of these) and want to get some practical experience in filming and/or video editing please get in touch.

And outside work…

There was a bit of a development in my personal life this year too. In September I became a dad to beautiful little Sienna! It was a challenging few weeks post-birth as she was 2 weeks late and the time I’d taken off for her arrival ran out only a few days after we left hospital. The lack of paternity support for the self-employed was really brought to the fore during this time [whoever is in power come the next general election really needs to take the self-employed more seriously if they want to retain our vote, for there are more than 4 million of us here in the UK after all].

Juggling freelancing alongside being a new dad has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to face, but fortunately mum and baby are well. We also have a strong support network around us and some AMAZING clients who have been completely understanding of my situation, offering flexibility where they can.

In addition to this milestone, I also returned to Crawley in July to raise money for Cancer Research upon completing the Race for Life 10K. Raising £415 for the cause was fantastic! Many thanks again to those who contributed, and I hope to take part again next year.

And lastly, my scuba diving journey continues…as any UK water sports enthusiast will be able to relate, 2023 was an appalling year for weather! Unfortunately, I only made it out on one dive this year but had a great evening out of Brighton with Channel Diver in August, descending to 12 metres and drifting leisurely with the current. Hoping for a few more in 2024!

So, that’s it for another year! Whilst there are many exciting things to look forward to in 2024, all that’s left to say now is:

Happy New Year!

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