See the TRAILER on the Showreels or Blog pages
The Wicker Tree Poster
National TV Awards Bulletin
January 28, 2012 By
National TV Awards O2
Well, like the valiant Andy Murray we didn’t win. Not only that our Idiot Abroad 2 clip, lovingly crafted by Richard Yee our Series Producer fell victim to the only visible technical cock-up at this spectacular show-biz event. None of the other Nominees in this category got their clips shown either! On the plus side we got a fantastic cheer when the programme was announced, there was plenty of champagne, some fancy little tarts described by staff as “Haggis” and we all had a superbly condensed education in popular British television. It was also a rare opportunity for me to wear a skirt….prompting the staff to offer me whisky at every opportunity.
Every important TV face was there. The men in their suits and the women poured into impossible dresses with the help of other attentive behind-the-camera folk. I enjoyed it all. Karl Pilkington would have hated it.
An Idiot Abroad 2-National TV Awards nominee
January 23, 2012 By
I’m off to the National TV Awards at the O2 Arena in London on 25th January. An Idiot Abroad 2 has been nominated. Please vote for it at
http://www.nationaltvawards.com/vote-shortlist
Ricky, Steve and Karl can’t make it to the ceremony so I’m going instead along with the directors. Its a Black Tie event and Jan. 25th is also Burns Night (that’s Robert Burns, renowned Scottish poet, lefty, and ladies’man) so I think I shall air my knees and wear my dress kilt.The Awards ceremony is being broadcast live on ITV1, hosted by Dermot O’Leary.
An Idiot Abroad 2 (The Bucket List) starts airing in USA 21st Jan.
January 17, 2012 By
Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant
An Idiot Abroad 2 starts its North American airing at 10pm on The Science Channel, 21st January. Its been screened in UK already with record ratings and has been nominated for a number of awards.
Its a very funny comedy travel series in which Karl Pilkington is sent round the world by his two friends Ricky and Stephen in order to broaden his mind.This series is “The Bucket List” or “Things to do before you Die”. As cinematographer I and the team followed Karl to Alaska, Route 66 (starting in Santa Monica), Japan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, South Africa, Uganda, Russia and China. Many adventures were had and Karl’s take on them is off the wall and hilarious. You will occasionally see the camera shaking uncontrollably!
The Wicker Tree opens in USA on 27th Jan
January 16, 2012 By
Director Robin Hardy’s long-awaited follow-up to his original cult classic “The Wicker Man” opens in USA on 27th January. Its a black comedy, as well as a horror movie and a film “fantastique”, explores many of the themes of the earlier film and features Sir Christopher Lee as well as an excellent younger cast. It received a standing ovation at its premiere in Montreal last year. I was Cinematographer. Heres the Trailer:
The Wicker Tree Poster
Eve Arnold
January 8, 2012 By
Let’s mark the passing of Eve Arnold, photographer extraordinaire who has been one of my enduring models for all my picture-making days. 99yrs old…..and what a life! She had an exhilarating eye driven always by kindness…..
An Idiot Abroad 2…US Premiere
January 3, 2012 By
An Idiot Abroad 2 premieres in the USA on The Science Channel 10pm 21st January. Have a look at it..its funny !
New Year Honours List
January 2, 2012 By
Congratulations to Remi Adefasarin Bsc on being awarded an OBE. I have had the pleasure of working with him in the past on many occasions and he is a delightful man and a talented cinematographer
The Pursuit
December 19, 2011 By
On the Roof-The Pursuit
The Pursuit George Square Glasgow
I just finished some 2nd Unit photography on The Pursuit, a feature film by writer-director Shan Khan. It stars Paddy Considine along with Aiysha Hart and Faraz Ayub. We wrapped on Saturday after some fairly extreme weather challenges thanks to Hurricane “Bawbag”. Its a thriller which deals with “honour” killing in the Muslim community. Its set largely in Southall, London but was shot in Isle of Man and Glasgow.
The Decoy Bride
I saw this movie recently at Glasgow Film Festival and its delightful. A script by Sally Phillips produced by Ecosse Films and directed by Sheree Folkson, its witty, gorgeous-looking and heart-warming without being cheesy. I did some work on it more than 2 years ago when it was shooting in Scotland and I’m pleased to say almost all my footage has made it to the screen! I remember when I arrived on set being told it was a very “girly” film. I was seen lowering my viewfinder when exploring shots for the opening scene and immediately pulled up by the director. It seems low angles are not for lassies! I’d never really thought much about gender-specific camera angles before but I suppose if you think about Rocky 2 or Rambo 19………anyway being somewhat bendy I loved this girly film…most particularly because its a funny film. There are superb lead performances by David Tennant, Alice Eve and especially Kelly Macdonald. She plays the local island girl who inadvertently becomes a “decoy bride” to distract the paps from the wedding of the century. David plays a blocked writer and (naturally) a twit and Alice plays (naturally) the world’s most beautiful film star to whom he is incomprehensibly betrothed. Its all set in the sheeting rain and soggy bogs of the Scottish West Coast …and its all good…..