Services

• Cinematography

• Directing

• Editing, Grading, Audio

• Music soundtrack

Equipment I use

Canon C300 Mark III, Arri SR Super 16 PL mount, Bolex, and Beaulieu cameras.

Canon, Nikon, and Tokina lenses.

Sachtler fluid head tripods.

Zhiyun gimbals.

Equipment hire

Filmreel Pictures hires cinematography equipment from rental firms.

Free offer

Do you have a subject I can film that is interesting or photogenic, and that might look good on my showreel (a demo reel that shows examples of the cinematographer’s work)?

I might well make a short film for you for free, in return for allowing me to use some of the shots in my showreel.

How long have I been a cinematographer?

I’ve filmed on film since I was 13, when I saved up and bought my own Super 8 camera. Later, I got a Bolex 16mm movie camera. I made heaps of short films into my twenties, sometimes up to 30 minutes long which I edited manually myself, making physical splices in the celluloid film in the traditional way.

I’m now in my fifties. In 2022 I completed a professional course in digital cinematography which included the making of two narrative short films, with crew and actors.

What are my favourite subjects or projects to film?

I have filmed lots of things, including weddings, orchestra and solo concerts, music videos, stage plays, dance performances, documentary style films, and narrative (fiction) productions.

My main interest is in narrative (fiction) filmmaking (i.e. with a screenplay) and in documentaries but I’m happy to film a diverse range of projects. Best thing is to get in touch and see if I’m available.

Can’t digital cinema cameras do everything film can do, and more?

Digital image acquisition is very good, but it can’t do everything.

It has a different look and vibe onscreen to film. It has what is called the video look. Film has a warmer and more textural look onscreen compared to digital video acquistion. Simply put, film is more cinematic. And, as you might expect, more filmic, too.

Film is a physical medium (a real image made of dyes), and the film image has a physical depth to it.

Film vs digital: “shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Some say film is imperfect. Well, all I can say is that true perfection has elements of imperfection.

To make a comparison between film and digital, film is like those beautiful hand-made bricks you see in old cottages, with the lovely warm colours and textures. Each brick is different. Digital is like modern, textureless, machine-made bricks, somewhat bland and all the same.

Another way to compare film to digital is that film is like an acoustic musical instrument, and digital is like a digital instrument. The digital instrument has the ease and perfection of digital technology but is somehow lacking in something warm, human, and real that one can hear in the acoustic instrument.

Cinematography is one of the visual arts. A bit of art in the image always helps the movie, and the onscreen look of every element of the cinematography is important. Some people insist on shooting on film because it’s the look they want and they really care about how their movie looks onscreen.

What if Monet had never cared how his paintings looked, or what materials he used? Thank heavens he deeply cared, and gave us his beautiful and timeless pictures.

So many films all look the same because everyone now uses a digital camera. Take a risk, and shoot on film occasionally. You might be surprised at how shooting on celluloid makes your movie more captivating to watch.

Film has always been the heart and soul of cinema.