Having been made redundant at the end of February 2009 I decided to take a year off. During this time I have concentrated on my writing. I am currently working on two film scripts, a Burtonesque childrens modern day fairytale, and a long overdue novel, whilst continuing to seek work within the film industry. My long term ambition is to write and direct films.
3 Weeks on location working primarily with the camera crew but also very closely with all other departments within a team of only 20 or so. Primarily resposible for media management including data wrangling/transfer from the Red Camera to backup systems and verification of the data integrity. Constructed and 'gripped' every single track used throughout filming. Maintained electrical safety, load balancing and construction of on set practical electrics.
June 2009Encoding Operator - Thomson Reuters
Freelance encoder for 2 weeks during peak period using Thomsons bespoke system for financial data delivery
Trans World International / IMG Media
2006 - 2009 Encoding Manager
Operational management of staff, equipment and projects for the IMG Digital Encoding facility. Operations include live encoding to Web, Mobile and TV platforms. Managing global formatting and distribution of SNTV web news content. EPL and English cricket production and encoding for Vodafone. AELTC (Wimbledon) live production of multi format video streams with DRM alongside multi format, rapid turnaround, clip distribution. As well as multiple adhoc projects each year.
2002 - 2006 Studio Operations Manager
4 Years as Studio Operations Manager overseeing all aspects of Studio production, management and staff management, working in close liaison with the Studio Sales manager. Primarily establishing and maintaining efficient Engineering, Health and Safety, and Operational environments in close liaison with external clients ranging from audience based chat shows to motorcycle stunts in the car park, to live gallery productions, The role initially included the transfer from a dedicated single client studio to full commercial operations.
2000 - 2002Asst Operations Manager – Network of the World
Reporting to the Operations Manager and the Senior International Vice President Engineering and Operations in fully converged technical environment. Responsible for a staff of 65 in all operational areas including: Engineering, Post Production, Studio. Providing an interface between Software and Systems Architecture development teams and Broadcast Engineering. Initial period included planning and construction of Studio and Post Production facilities.
July 1997Cameraman/Editor Ryder Cup ‘97
Valderama Spain – beta field testing Sony BetacamSX cameras and laptop editors in conjunction with Sony and TWI. Reporting daily to development Engineers re bugs and potential areas of improvement.
As Avid Co-ordinator, but now including Non-Linear based Graphic Machines. Also providing technical co-ordination between Non- Linear and other areas of Post Production., e.g. NLE, Sound, Linear Editing Graphics, External facilities. Training Engineering staff and Avid Co-ordinator in NLE support and operations
April 1996Avid Co-ordinator
Responsible for all aspects of in house and hired non Linear edit suites. Interfacing between Production and Facilities staff to provide client based service specific to each production dept. Role included all aspects of technical support and planning as well as day to day operations
January 1996 Tape Operator
Working in TWI’s MCR. Dubbing, Line feeds. Satellite links. Close liaison with Engineering in fault finding.
October 1995 Head Runner
As Runner, also co-ordinating team of 6 other runners
August 1995Runner
Position taken to facilitate move from BBC – Essentially doing everything any one asked me to do !
BBC North
June 1993 Grip/Camera Assistant
Initially working as volunteer for two weeks, then offered a role as a general assistant to the Grip. Worked on short-term contracts for the next two years, including an introduction to Camera work that allowed me to progress to Camera Assistant. Working essentially on ‘Byker Grove’ and ENG based local news shoots.
Milk Marketing Board
June 1987 Programmer
Working within the Systems Development dept. Essentially developing 4th generation database tools to assist staff with data management. Dbase4, Dataflex,.
Education & Qualifications:
1989 –1993 University of Hertfordshire, School of Humanities and Education
BA Honors Degree in Humanities Major = Philosophy – Minor = English Literature
