Oxfam Trailtrekker 2012 Filming

I've just about recovered from a job over the weekend filming in Yorkshire for Oxfam's annual Trailtrekker, an epic 100km charity walk. The drive up on Friday took six hours, then I was up at 4.30am on Saturday to film the start. It was a long hot day, carrying camera, tripod and glidetrack up and down hills. I was on the go for twenty one hours before snatching two hours sleep and dragging myself up to film dawn on a remote hilltop (see above screenshot) before getting to the finish to film people crossing the line. A lot to film on my own, but luckily I was accompanied by photographer Richard Wearne (www.rawimages.eu) who kept me laughing through the heat and exhaustion. He even captured some of the exhaustion on my face in the below photo which was just after sunrise. I'm going to buy a lighter tripod!

Darcy Bussell & Zoe Ball - The Royal Ballet School

This morning I was filming at the Royal Ballet school where Darcy Bussell was being interviewed by Zoe Ball as part of a press launch for Sanctuary Spa Active Reverse skin care. Darcy let slip that she had agreed to replace Alesha Dixon on the judging panel of Strictly Come Dancing, even though it hasn't been officially announced. She also spoke about the Sanctuary products as well as answering questions from the audience.

Two jobs in one day - Denise Lewis then Louise Roe

It's unusual to be able to fit two separate jobs into one day as the timings invariably never match up. Today was an exception but it was a long day. Up at 6am for a job filming at the Intercontinental Hotels Group headquarters in Denham, where they had an event linked to their "Race Around the World" initiative raising money for IHG Shelter in a Storm charity. Denise Lewis was there once again to lead the staff in a pre-exercise warm-up. I then jumped into the car to drive back into London to film a beauty event for the beauty company Philosophy. It was hosted by Louise Roe who I now know is the host of the US makeover show Plain Jane. She was great fun to work with and didn't stop smiling all day.

Timbaland at the Paris Opera!

I spent the past four days filming an event in Paris, the main location was l'Opera which was the inspiration behind the Phantom of the Opera. The surroundings were incredibly opulent, and the guests came from all over the world - I felt like I'd gatecrashed the Ferrero Rocher Ambassadors party! The entertainment was eclectic to say the least, Phantom of the Opera sung live on the Grand Staircase, flute and violin ensembles, followed by Timbaland rapping in the temporary nightclub downstairs. He loved the camera which was lucky as I filmed most of his set standing next to him on the stage!

British Airways - Olympic Dove Aircraft Timelapse

What takes 10 men 950 man hours and in the process uses up 500 litres of paint? Watch the above video for the answer. Sorry for the lack of updates recently but I've been kept very busy in a hangar at Heathrow helping out with the timelapse filming of the painting which is a non-stop process running twenty four hours a day. The job was through the team at rb-create and we had seven cameras over a week and a half to capture the process from start to finish. The artist Pascal Anson won the chance to design the livery for BA's Olympic A319 fleet and was mentored by Tracey Emin who also turned up to the launch today. We are very proud of the film and hope to do more timelapse projects in the next few months. I'm off to catch up on sleep now as I have a four day job in Paris over the Easter holidays.

EBA Interview Filming

Thursday was a another long day as I had a jam-packed schedule of interviews to film in various locations for RBcreate, starting with three in the St James Park area, then one in Hertford, followed by three more in Oxford. Somehow we managed to stick to the timetable also being very blessed with amazing weather. They turned round the edit over the weekend for a press launch this week.

Michael McIntyre and Tinie Tempah

Having filmed Michael McIntyre back in January, I found myself at an event last night filming him once again, but this time his act was followed by Tinie Tempah. It's hard to say which performer went down the best - both of them were mobbed both during the performances and at the meet and greet afterwards!

Manchester City - Vincent Kompany meets Chris Robshaw

It was a long day today, up at 5.30am to give us enough time to drive up to the Man City training facility stopping en route to pick up some kit from the rental shop, arriving at 11am. Today I wasn't behind the camera, rather I was assisting the team at www.rawimages.eu on a photographic shoot for Etihad, sponsors of both the Harlequins and Manchester City. We were there to shoot England rugby captain Chris Robshaw and Vincent Kompany. I didn't shoot the above video which is from the Manchester City TV coverage but was amused to be told that I featured in it. I first appear 20 seconds in... blink and you'll miss me. Fame at last!

Portuguese Wine Video Edit

Wines of Portugal Annual Tasting 2012 from WinesofPortugal UK on Vimeo.

Pendulum Productions have done a great edit using all the footage I shot at the wine tasting event a few weeks ago at Lords cricket ground. It's always great to see the finished product, it makes the hard work worthwhile. For this job I made great use of my Glidetrack to add movement to some of the shots. I'm also very happy with my Panasonic AF101 camera which has proved invaluable for all the corporate/fashion shoots that I've used it on so far this year.

Milan Fashion Filming

My alarm roused me at 3am yesterday and I dragged myself out of bed and walked through the light drizzle to Clapham Junction station. A few hours later I was looking out of an aeroplane window towards the sunny snow covered Alps. I was off to Milan for the day to cover a catwalk show and behind the scenes preparation for Tigi Haircare. I managed to fit all my camera gear in a carry-on case small enough for Easyjet. The shoot went well and I managed to get home by 8pm the same day. It was very strange to spend the day in Milan and be home in time for supper!

Timelapse Recce

Another early start this morning found me at an aircraft hangar at Heathrow Airport looking round an aircraft painting facility ahead of a job to film time-lapse footage of an A319 being painted over a ten day period. As well as being a hugely useful fact-finding mission, it was fascinating to have a look around the place and stand underneath the huge 747 that was currently there. The job will start in a months time but there is plenty to organise before then.

Portuguese Wine Tasting Event at Lords Cricket Ground

Yesterday I took some time away from the fashion world to film at the home of cricket where a wine tasting was taking place to showcase what Portugal has to offer. I had no idea that they produced such a vast range of wines. The filming was for an online promotional video with lots of interviews with buyers and producers as well as lots of nice bottle shots and of course plenty of slurping and spitting! I even managed to leave with six bottles to try at home. The break from fashion may not last long as I'm possibly off to Milan at the weekend and Paris the week after for more fashion shows.

London Fashion Week

Today was the last of three days non-stop fashion filming at various shows around town. I was shooting for Tigi and Aussie Haircare, filming behind the scenes preparations as well as the shows themselves. The Christopher Kane, Mark Fast, Kristian Aadnevik and Antipodium shows all gave me lots to point my lens at. Although we were refused an interview with Anna Wintour and I was stopped from filming Samantha Cameron by a security guard, I was much more excited about interviewing Yasmin Le Bon who was refreshingly down to earth.

London Fashion Week 2012

London Fashion Week is nearly upon us. It seems only a few weeks ago that I filmed for Charles Worthington at the Erdem Spring/Summer show last year. I'm shooting a few days at various shows so it's good to be busy even if it means missing out on a weekend off! Normally this time of year is fairly quiet but I've been flat out for the past few weeks. Filming an event this evening, a corporate shoot on Friday, then Saturday to Monday London Fashion Week, a wine event on Tuesday and a site visit for some airline filming on Thursday. I'd better get on with prepping the kit!

BAFTA 2012 Videos

I've just seen a couple of videos using some of the footage I shot at the BAFTAs at the start of the week. It's always good to see it online so soon after the event.

BAFTA Awards 2012 - Red Carpet Filming

Yesterday's job started at the Savoy Hotel where I was filming behind the scenes preparation with Charles Worthington hairdressing for various people before the BAFTA awards ceremony. We then moved to the red carpet where we filmed lots of interviews with celebrities including George Clooney, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Daniel Radcliffe, Jonah Hill, Chris O Dowd, Emilia Fox, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Gemma Chan and Alex Zane amongst many others. It was a crazy night, a fair bit of pushing and shoving in our press pen, and lots of shouting. We left with lots of great footage, for Hello TV and Audi as well as Charles Worthington. It was a relief to get warm again after standing outside in minus temperatures for so long.

Harlequins v. London Irish

Leaving home this morning the thermometer was reading minus 5 degrees Centigrade. Brrrr! Luckily I was wrapped up warm for day two of the Etihad Harlequins shoot, this time behind the scenes at a game against London Irish. Lots of interviews, some great rugby and even some body-popping mascots for good measure! Luckily the game ended in a victory for the Harlequins - we never doubted it!

GE Paratriathlon Footage

GE Paratriathlon Challenge from rb create on Vimeo.

I've just seen that RB Create have uploaded the edit from our Loughborough shoot at the end of November last year. It was a fun shoot with three fantastic athletes. Enjoy watching it! I do a lot of filming for RB Create - check out their new website at www.rb-create.com. It's a great team.

Masterchef and Ken Hom at the NEC

For the past week I've been up at the NEC filming the Spring Fair, an annual trade show that takes over every single hall of the exhibition space. I was one of four cameramen covering the whole event. Seventeen miles of aisles, and I feel like I walked down every one of them! All the footage was edited on site every day for a daily edit. On Sunday I shot a cooking demo with Greg Wallace and John Torode, and the following day, I got an interview with wok legend Ken Hom. If you don't know who he is, you should - one in eight homes in the UK have one of his woks!

GE Capital Triathlon Video

Hyde Park Kids' Masterclass from rb create on Vimeo.

I've just seen one of the Triathlon masterclass videos online that I shot last year with Marc and Helen Jenkins. The team at RB Create did a great job with the edit. We shot a lot of these types of events last year, mostly for online use, but this was one of my favourites as the kids were all so enthusiastic. Can you spot any future Triathlon stars in the making?!

Michael McIntyre and Rizzle Kicks on stage

I had a long weekend filming an event out of town on Saturday. A huge marquee, jaw-dropping fireworks, and Michael McIntyre on stage followed by hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks. A stunning event which brightened up a cold January and was great to film as there was so much going on.

Rowing Filming with Martin Cross

An early morning yesterday found me leaving the flat at 6am heading for a filming job at the Molesey Boat Club near Hampton Court. We managed to beat the rain which was lucky as most of the filming was done from a wobbly launch on the river following a couple of crews training. We finished off the morning with an interview with Olympic rowing legend Martin Cross (pictured) who was fantastic in front of the camera.

Harlequins Filming for Etihad Airways

Today I needed the wet weather cover for my camera. The rain was torrential as we got out of the car in Twickenham after an early start to film a Harlequins training session at the Stoop. The rain luckily soon cleared away giving way to a glorious sunny afternoon. We were filming for a video to go on the in-flight entertainment system for Etihad Airways (the main sponsor of the Harlequins team). The players were super helpful and we were away in time for a late lunch on the way home.

Buckingham Palace Exploration and Adventure Reception

I'm still on a high after an incredible evening at Buckingham Palace last night with my girlfriend and my brother, where I attended a reception for people involved in Exploration and Adventure. It was whilst going through the front gates that I saw Reinhold Messner in front and felt very unqualified to be invited. Inside were many of my childhood heroes including Chris Bonnington, Ranulph Fiennes and David Attenborough as well as other faces ranging from Dame Ellen McArthur to David Walliams. I enjoyed meeting Charley Boorman (who of course arrived on a bike) and Bruce Parry but also was humbled by everyone I met, all of whom deserved to be there far more than me! The reception marked the 100th Anniversary of Scott's journey to the South Pole, and the exhibition at the Queen's Gallery has an impressive collection of photographs from both Scott and Shackleton's expeditions. well worth a visit.

Loughborough Paralympic Filming

My alarm rang at 3.15am this morning and by 4am I was on the road out of London heading up to Loughborough. I had to be there by 7am to film potential paralympic triathletes being put through their paces. Helping out were former Olympians Iwan Thomas (400m record holder), Jane Egan (UK Paratriathlete) and Clare Cuningham (Paralympic 50m Gold medallist and world record holder).

It was a very long day filming poolside as well as on and by the track but we came back to London around 7pm with lots of great footage. Fantastic day, only partly marred when another car drove into the back of mine when nearly home. Luckily all the kit was undamaged (as well as my passenger and me!). I'll be without a car for the next couple of weeks!