Have you ever sat in a bath and decided to interview yourself as if you just scored the winning goal in a cup final or have just been handed a nice golden Oscar by the academy? Have you ever just sat there interviewing yourself after this imaginary moment of glory? Is it really just me?
Because you might be checking me out as someone you can work with, I have decided to interview myself so you get a better idea of me:
What exactly am I? Filmmaker, editor, compositor, finishing artist?
Yes to all of these. I spent over a decade in various ways in various places as a compositor/VFX artist working on commercials and movie projects. You can check out a few of the films I worked on with my IMDb listing. I have always edited, starting in film school where I did a lot then cutting promos, commercials and trailers before settling in to comp work as well (luckily, these often sit side by side when creating things like commercials & branded content etc and fortunately, I do both). In the last years, I wanted to work more towards creating things from the front rather than at the back end of projects and have been writing, producing and directing things such as branded content, some shorts and now my first feature non-fiction project. So, that’s me.
Of these things, what do I like doing the most?
Again, all of them. For me, the important thing is the story, message and/or content. I love making things, finding solutions and making the best of what I am given whether it is a brief, a budget or some footage. To purely edit something previously shot is a great job which I love to do, helping to sculpt a story out of the raw materials I get. I enjoy that collaboration. Equally, I love the turning of a blank piece of paper into something that I (or anybody else) might film, record and later edit and finish.
Which software do I use?
Depends on the job really.
For editing I will use anything but have a particular affinity for Adobe Premiere Pro & Final Cut Pro (yes, really). It has been a while since I used Avid but happy to jump on board if needed and same goes for DaVinci Resolve. I find myself drawn Premiere for shorter projects, especially if an integration with After Effects will be useful and FCP on longer form things (or again, Avid).
For VFX & compositing I tend to use Adobe After Effects whilst in the past I was a heavy user of Autodesk Smoke & Flame and have played around with NUKE a bit.
For colour, I like DaVinci Resolve though FCP has some great tools within it as do both Premiere & After Effects.
I also use various plug-ins and third party tools as well as other apps within the Adobe cloud such as Photoshop etc.
What do I use in my home office?
I have a Mac based workflow with a heavy duty amount of RAM and latest M1 Max chip. I have licenses for Final Cut Pro & the full Adobe Suite and the full DaVinci Resolve Studio software.
Do I only do post-production?
No. As I previously wrote, I enjoy to get involved in the entire process of a project from script to screen or dive in to different areas along that process. I write, I direct, I produce a little bit, I do camera when needed to (though I will not call myself an accomplished cameraman) and even record sound (which I love to do and am pretty good at).
Where am I based?
I am mobile but I can mostly be found in Berlin and the surrounding area. I can work remotely from home or am available to work wherever you want me.
Where am I from?
No, I’m British (Welsh) but was here long before Brexit thankfully.
What languages do I speak?
English is my native language. Ich kann auch in Deutsch sprechen aber, leider bin ich noch nicht perfekt! I am currently learning German at B2 level which means I still make some mistakes and sound a little strange to a native ear but can manage most things. I can also speak a little Italian and a little Hindi.
However, I have found that I can work with a project in any language and look forward to doing it again.
How do we work together?
Simply contact me here and I will get right back to you.
Many thanks to the academy…