September 2005 – May 2006
SCREEN SOUTH/ UK FILM COUNCIL
My third short film was selected out of nearly 300 submissions for financing
through the UK Film Council Digital Shorts Scheme. We did not take a salary as
“TUG” was produced for only £10,000 though I was contracted as the writer and collaborated with another director
for the shooting. “TUG” is a dark fairytale set at the end of the
1800’s about a villainous deck hand and the period shoot on board boats in winter was very intense and totally thrilling. It was a good exercise in producing a creative product professionally and to a deadline.
April 2005 – April 2007
SHORT FILM “Bill of Mortality” - SELF EMPLOYED
“The images are beautiful – absolutely
stunning. And from what I could see from the rushes, the quality of performance you, as director, have got from your actors
does full justice to the script.” – Mike Sheppard, Composer, Artemis Music.
“Bill of Mortality” is my second short
film which I wrote, produced and directed alongside an impressive professional cast and crew.
Covering the final moments of a couple trapped in a plague house, it was shot in July 2005 on location in an original
seventeenth century house. As access to the location was limited and the budget
was tight (only £1000 for the whole piece) there was a great deal of pressure on me whilst directing to cover the story as
quickly and effectively as possible. It was a challenge I relished and one which
I believe can hone the skills of a storyteller. Under such conditions, excellent
collaborative communication with everyone involved was essential.
April 2004 – July 2005
BLACK MOLE PRODUCTIONS
I worked unpaid as a writer/ director on my first short film “A Lump
in the Road” but was very handsomely rewarded when it was selected out of 500 entries for the BBC New Film Maker’s
Award long shortlist.
“A LUMP IN THE ROAD is a lovely film.
You just missed out on getting into the final shortlist of 9…You got two great performances. Well done!” – Jeremy Howe, Executive Producer, BBC THREE New Film Maker’s Award.
It also was shortlisted from 2000 entries for the RUSHES SOHO FESTIVAL
and was even nominated for the ARRI MEDIA NEWCOMER AWARD.
The film is currently being submitted to festivals was on the official
selection list for ‘Leicester Film Festival 2005’, ‘Mid Ulster Film Festival 2006’ and 'Chilli Film
Festival 2006'
January 2004 – June 2004
BRITISH PARAMOUNT
PICTURES
“Alfie” – Director/ Producers Assistant. My duties predominantly involved working closely with the executive producer, Sean Daniel, as his personal
assistant on the day to day running of the production. By default, this also
meant constant involvement with the director Charles Shyer who I was able to shadow quite regularly.
March 2003 – September 2003
FOCUS UNIVERSAL FEATURES
“Vanity Fair” – Director/ Producers Assistant. My responsibilities on this film were extensive and included everything from liaising with actors/
crew, arranging accommodation to booking musicians. It was an education to work
alongside Mira Nair as a female film director and I found the experience to be inspirational.
July 2002 – October 2002
LAURA BICKFORD PRODUCTIONS,
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Selected out of nearly 100 other applicants by the company who
had just produced “Traffic” and using the remainder of my student loan I arrived in LA as an intern but was quickly
promoted to the position of development assistant which involved a huge amount of script reading, development meetings and
report writing. It was a master class in breaking down scripts and I was privileged
to work with some of the best writers in the world.
March 2002 – April 2002
SCALA FILMS/ NIK POWELL
This was a work experience placement during the Easter holidays. Predominantly I worked as a script reader and general office runner.
September 2000 – September 2001
GRANADA MEDIA KIDS
During a year in industry (as part of my degree course) I was employed
as a production co-ordinator for numerous ITV children’s dramas including “MY PARENTS ARE ALIENS” and “WILMOTT”. I learned a great deal about the production side of a high turnover television drama
series. It was my main duties to produce and distribute all paperwork including
scripts, schedules and call sheets and assist in the co-ordination of the whole production.
May 2000 – September 2000
YORKSHIRE TELEVISION
My love of the drama series continued in Leeds. Starting out as a work experience runner and promoted to
assistant director this was my education in the filming side of a long running drama series.
“EMMERDALE” “AT HOME WITH THE BRAITHWAITES” “WHERE
THE HEART IS” and “HEARTBEAT” were all productions that I worked on.
I became familiar with the pressure of filming a daily drama and YTV became a home from home.
March 2000 – May 2000
RED PRODUCTIONS
I approached RED because I was enamoured of their fantastically high standard
drama series’ “QUEER AS FOLK” and “CLOCKING OFF.” They
employed me as a script reader which was amazing as I got to liaise with some of the most talented drama writers in the country
including Russell T Davies and Paul Abbott. I learned an enormous amount about
plot and character whilst working alongside Nicola Schindler and such talents on the following series of ‘Clocking Off’. It was also my first paid position as I co-ordinated the office.
May 1999 – September 1999
MIGHTY APHRODITE PRODUCTIONS
During my first year at university I produced and directed a contemporary
version of West Side Story for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It won The Herald
Angel Award and was fully booked through out its entire run. “Just West
of Wonderful” said the newspaper reviews.
March 1997 – September 1998
BBC RADIO LANCASHIRE
I started life in broadcasting as a runner on a Saturday morning breakfast
show but quickly became a traffic & travel presenter as well as researcher and interviewer on outside broadcasts. During my GAP year at the station I produced and directed the Award Winning Documentary
“RELIGION ON THE ROAD” which won BBC Young Broadcaster/ Andrew Cross Broadcasting Awards 1999. It played out on numerous local radio stations across the north of England.
