Wow! I honestly didn’t think we’d make it but thanks to Simon Wilcox, Frank Dow, Cadogan Hall and William Kunhardt I was able to propose, research, cast, location scout, shoot, edit and deliver a lovely glossy short documentary pilot for the MEC/Discovery branded content pitch, in just 5 days, 2 of which were weekend, and on the smallest budget you could imagine!

So, here’s the finished film.

My videos for the new XCOM2 game create a niche internet sensation.

I was recently hired to create four unusual pre-launch PR videos for XCOM2, a turn based strategy/action video game. The game takes place in a world in which aliens have taken over Earth, and the player leads a small band of guerrilla soldiers to fight back.

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For this tip, you’ll need a brilliant director, and a charismatic presenter with a place in many people’s hearts!

I’ve just finished filming with Fred Dinenage. Readers of a particular vintage may remember him as the long standing presenter of ITV’s How show in the 70s. Younger readers like me grew up on Fred’s tips, alongside Gareth “Gaz Top” Jones, and Carol Vorderman, on CITV’s How 2.

Fred is a veteran broadcaster and a bit of a legend to anyone who grew up with kids TV in Britain. We’ve been filming some How 2 spoofs for the launch of a new video game, and I can assure you, he definitely still has it! Funny, super easy to work with, and put up with me making him say everything in a million different ways.

And he taught me How‘s famous sign off style.

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I’m not one for Xmas music. Or pop music for that matter. I never know what’s at number 1 in the charts. Which is why I was clearly the number 1 choice of producer / director for a brand video for Morrison’s with Tony Mortimer, of East 17. He wrote 1994’s Christmas number 1, Stay Another Day. Complete with furry white coat like in the original music video, Tony appears in a tongue-in-cheek film about how Christmas music is annoying rubbish.

The Authentic Voice

In marketing and PR everyone is talking about having an authentic voice, creating authentic content, being authentic. Sounds great – it should be natural, right?

The idea of coming up with your “authentic voice” seems ironic. If it were authentic, you wouldn’t have to think about it. But as businesses and individuals, we’re always filtering how we present ourselves.

For me, it comes down to two things: passion and vulnerability. If I feel those when I’m speaking, I’m being honest, and that feels authentic. If I feel those when I’m listening, I connect at a deeper, more human level.

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I haven’t posted anything for a little. It’s cos I’ve gone underground! But not quite how you might think. In the last few months this is what I have been up to.

Sound Asleep, the short film I wrote and am directing, has been making steady progress. The script is in very good shape, budgets and floor-plans are complete, and a wonderful new casting director is on board. Now we are looking for a location.

I did a brief stint as edit producer on a documentary series for Channel Five. I’ve been working on something special, but top secret, for Sound Asleep’s legendary pillow fight in April. And I’ve been teaching some training and workshops and learning some new skills at the BBC’s creative popups.

But possibly most exciting for the geek in me, I have been going deep underground with TfL (Transport For London). I’m producing and directing a series of engineering films about the huge new developments they are working on to keep London moving. I’ll post some photos as soon as I can get a signal down here!

Everything your brand puts out in to the public domain speaks about your business. It talks to your audience on a conscious and a subconscious level. Not just your message, but the method, the style and above all, the quality.

Across your business, you need to have a consistent style, tone and critically, quality.

When video is a rushed out after thought, or a last minute addition to a campaign, your most public facing asset can be the one that looks worst. It can break the unified vision of your brand and weaken your entire image.
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Behind the scenes on the films I’m making with TfL

I’ve been producing and directing a series of engineering films recently, including filming a lot with TfL (Transport for London). I thought I’d share a few fun photos of places you might not normally get to see. Most exciting was the video shoot in the tunnels currently being dug under Victoria Station, using an innovative technique to tunnel directly through wet sandy earth to increase capacity in Britain’s busiest station. I also filmed a video in the super high-tech strong room that controls the whole of the Northern Line, and the not so high-tech way in which signallers are trained to use the new system!