DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR
I started my career as a freelance documentary director with a series of films for Raleigh International in India – following a group of young people on the programme across a range of activities. Watching them grow and change across their time in India is what got me hooked.
My experience in documentary feeds into many types of films. From brand films to corporate storytelling, where authenticity and an unfiltered presentation style are key. But those documentary instincts are also vital for more commercial content where that same down to earth naturalism is required to help tell the story.
Interview-led films
Interviews are the foundation of most documentary style films. I’ve been honing this craft for over 20 years and have conducted thousands of interviews around the world – from heads of state to on the street vox‑pops, from the shyest child to the most confident Fortune 500 CEO. As a director, I’ve encouraged people to share their most challenging and emotional stories, helped explain complex topics, and worked with brands, organisations and businesses of every size to communicate their message clearly.
Emotional & sensitive subjects
Across the 20 years I’ve been directing documentary style films I’ve worked on a range of sensitive and emotional subjects – from films for RNIB about sight-loss to dealing with the complexities of working with First Nations in Canada. I’ve also made more hard hitting films from patient stories centred on Cancer, to tragic stories of loss for RNLI and Arcelor Mittal, for which I won a Gold Dolphin at Cannes.
These kinds of films require awareness and sensitivity from the outset – working to build the trust of contributors and knowing how to look after them through the process. Knowing when to push and when to pull back. This ensures the best, most powerful results, whilst maintaining key relationships.
Complex subjects made accessible
One of the great challenges of making documentary films – especially corporate films – can be taking complex subjects and making them accessible to an audience. I have a huge amount of experience in this area having worked on projects for companies in the extractive and energy sectors as well as organisations dealing with conservation and climate change.
Whether that’s explaining the journey of Nickel ‘from farm to fork’ or finding an engaging way to present the work of the World Gold Council to a general audience. I have learnt how to quickly digest the complicated details and find ways to present the information that are simple, informative and entertaining.
Corporate film - no longer a dirty word
The world of corporate film-making has changed. What was considered the awkward, low prestige cousin of other forms is no more. Organisations expect top tier quality from their films – from the concept through to the execution. What was once the preserve of a ‘person with a camera’ now rivals TV documentary aesthetics.
As a corporate film director I work with world-class crew to achieve the best results – many of whom work on prestige documentaries from streamers like Netflix. We may not have the same budget levels in corporate video, but the attention to detail, the dedication to the best finish and telling an engaging story remain the same.
Let's talk about your project
If you’re a production company or a brand looking for a director who knows how to simplify the complex or how to deal with sensitive subjects – for a commercial, branded content or a documentary – I’d be glad to hear about it. Take a look at the work in my portfolio, or get in touch to talk it through.