June: back from a hot & exhausting but richly rewarding shoot in Sicily, possibly the most amazing place I have ever visited. I spent three weeks with Andrew Graham-Dixon and Michelin Star chef Giorgio Locatelli, touring the great island. From Palermo to Catania, Etna to Corleone, we explored all things culinary & cultural. Directed by Karen McGann and Series Produced by Silvia Sacco. Filmed on my trusty old Panasonic VariCam, this was perhaps my last project on tape (I hope!). Even so I also made a lot of use of the Canon 5D and GoPro HD cameras for the many driving sequences. I filmed two episodes of three for the BBC2 series out later this year.

Feb-May: I am continuing to shoot several short films and commercials around the world for The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, produced by McKinnon Films, whose exec Michael McKinnon has been making films in the Middle East for many years. There are two teams shooting concurrently. I am working with director Virginia Quinn and producer Sarah Forbes Campbell. Directing the other team is Richard Chambers with DPs Ben Joiner, Joel Devlin and Duncan Fairs. Happily I am getting to use the ARRI Alexa for the first time in the field, shooting with Zeiss CP.2 Compact Primes and a PL-converted Canon HJ22 zoom. Looking forward to the grade at Envy with Paul Fallon where we will get to test the wide latitude of its stunning 35mm sensor.

April: I recently shot another short film, a dark comedy written and directed by long time friend and collaborator Jack Davies who won a grant from the UK Film Council. Produced by Kailas Elmer.

Despite the very tight budget, an excellent cast and crew delivered what I am hoping is going to be another strong short. Jack's script is excellent with a very funny performances from Michael Higgs and Colin Mace. Unable to get an ARRI Alexa, John Brennan at Procam stepped in last minute with the new SONY F3 which, although it looks and feels like an EX3, has a state-of-the-art 3.5K CMOS sensor. The image this little camera delivers is really quite impressive. Currently being edited.

Feb: flew to Manila to work with long time collaborator & director Barbie MacLaurin, line producer Bettina Talbot and Philippines Films on another white knuckle ride shoot for RAW. This time there were no drugs, just a harrowing story of a lovers on the run. Of all my Locked Up shoots this one was the most kinetic, with car chases, gunmen, stunts and a good lighting crew at my disposal. Starring actors Clive Standen and Ruth Alferez, we had great fun working with a great crew and production team but as usual had little time to stop and smell the roses!

_

In January I teamed up with producer Debbie Shuter of Insight Films and director Ed Harrison to film a promo for a mobile learning app. for iPhones and similar devices. The software enables disaster relief troops and aid workers to pool information on the ground in real time. I was interested in the project because it would give me the opportunity to shoot an entire lit piece on the Canon 5D. At the time of shooting the rigs available weren't great and it was something of a pig to operate but I was ably assisted by ACs Tom Seale and Ollie Weaver and am pleased with the finished result.

_

October/Nov: I spent most of Oct in NYC with Karen Plumb (SP) shooting the last couple of episodes of Taking on Tyson, Discovery's big series for 2011. Since retiring, Mike Tyson has become increasingly involved in pigeon racing on the rooftops and in the lofts of Brooklyn, Bronx and New Jersey. The films offer a unique portrait of the vulnerable and haunted great boxer. Due to the pigeons themselves, I had many camera formats to deal with, including Panasonic HDX-900, Canon 5D, MC-1 minicams and fresh use of Olympus Industrial's Slow Motion i-Speed 3. Due to TX March 2011.

_

Oct-Dec 2009: working with director Virginia Quinn and advertising agency Poke London on a project called The Teens Speech for the children's charity Barnardos. The tabloid media are constantly portraying teens as hoodie-wearing, drug-taking, gang-forming, under-age-sex-having, out-of-control delinquents. The aim of this film, broadcast Christmas Day on the homepages of MySpace and YouTube, is to let teenagers have their own say. Filming mostly studio-lit talking heads and some stylised documentary sequences, I have found listening to teenagers all over the country a fascinating and uplifting experience.

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/turn_around/the_teens_speech.htm

Sept-Nov 2009: shooting for IWC and director Louise Hooper on a new primetime arts series for BBC1. Presented by Alistair Sooke, arts critic for the Telegraph, we were documenting the life and times of Salvador Dali (other progs are Picasso, Matisse and Warhol) and looking at his influence on comtemporary culture. This project really made me reconsider my view of Dali as predominantly a showman. I particularly enjoyed the Spanish shoot, filming in the incredible Dali museum in Figeres, and his house in Cadaques. I also helped director Mark Haliley out with some of his London shoots for the Matisee film. Due to TX early this year.

Aug-Nov 2009: working with director Frank Hanly, for the BBC's recently transmitted BBC2 series tying in with the 20th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web. We were in San Francisco, New York, London, Estonia and Russia on Prog 2, which looks at how nation states have tried and largely failed to control internet content. Our presenter was (Twitter-holic!) Aleks Krotoski, academic and new-tech writer for the Guardian. Fitting for a program about new technology, we were shooting on Panasonic's new 1080 tapeless camera, the HPX-3700, and Cooke S4 prime lenses.

watch a clip

Having taken the Summer off for a much-needed catch up with my life, in August last year I went back to work in Norfolk on a period drama shoot for Darlow, telling the story of Squadron 303: the rebel Polish pilots who were the best in the RAF and later betrayed and written out of history. As a team we all worked incredibly hard to create a production value far above & beyond the budget. I was working with an excellent director Carl Hindmarch, and had a first-rate gaffer Steve Lindberg and 1st AC Melvin Wright. TX in May I believe...

watch a clip

click HERE for trailer

Directed by Frank Hanly and Produced by Becca Harris