Tuesday 30 September 2014

Behind the Reel

Having spent the afternoon updating my showreel I figured I'd accompany its grand re-release with a few words. Before there are any more words however, here is the reel itself:





During the time I'd set aside to do this I mostly drank tea. After all, there were many decisions to make: Which clips would make the cut? In what order would it all go? How many biscuits did I deserve with my next cup? So many questions. A fine excuse then to sit, drink tea and ponder.

The frantic opening multi-screen arrangement samples a range of projects I've worked on: mostly as editor, some as self-shooting director and editor. 8 of the 9 are from this calendar year with the exception of the documentary I made in South Africa two years ago.

Then follows longer, full-screen snippets of work beginning with a section of the trailer I edited for Crude, an 'eco-thriller'. Crude aims to raise awareness of the Niger River Delta crisis, and does so whilst maintaining a gripping narrative. The story is fictional, but the crisis is very real.

Screenshot from SanDisk branded Life's Stories video

Next are a few short clips of SanDisk branded films that I not only edited, but also had a hand producing. From free-climbing on alarmingly large boulders to hurtling down a trail on a mountain bike via shark cage diving, these videos have been used far and wide by SanDisk both online and at industry exhibitions. 

Finally, the showreel concludes with a brief but fiery section of my latest documentary. As I've written about extensively on this blog I spent 5 weeks of the summer in Brazil independently producing, shooting and editing FIFA and the Perfect Con. The aim of the series was to capture the country's mood as the World Cup unfolded. The conclusion, as evidenced by the sequence chosen for the showreel, is that it was somewhat turbulent. 

The clip in question covers the drama of an anti-World Cup protest in Brasilia. Due to the unpredictable nature of the event it was a challenge just to be in the right place, let alone at the right time. 

Screenshot from FIFA and the Perfect Con
Worse than that though, as you can clearly see from the footage, the air was thick with tear gas and, as a result, I struggled to function. More distracting still, riot police liberally showered the crowd with rubber bullets, some of which whistled past me.

And there we have it, that's my showreel, finishing with my email address so people know how to contact me and offer all those jobs. Now then, I'd better put the kettle on...