Video Production

I've been shooting short films for half my life, with a focus in recent years on online marketing videos for clients and employers. These can help to promote an event or a special offer, or just introduce a company to potential customers more generally.

I've produced, shot and edited dozens of videos like this, often working alone with tight deadlines. This most recent example promotes the international work undertaken by charity Edinburgh World Heritage, an aspect of their remit which is not widely known about or understood by their audience.

Edinburgh World Heritage

Edinburgh and Beyond – Our International Programme

Two Oceans Aquarium

How to rehome a stingray (and more than 200 other fish)

One of my favourite styles of client video is revealing some of the 'behind the scenes' processes and day-to-day life of an organisation. I've been lucky enough to have worked extensively with the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, which is heavily involved in crucial marine conservation work. Fighting the misperception that all zoos and aquariums are cruel and profit-driven, I've been able to show that this place is run by compassionate professionals doing a good job. This video was shot during a major renovation and was displayed to visitors for many months after the new exhibit opened.

I am an aspiring documentary filmmaker – if I was able to do this full-time, I totally would. Instead, I've tried to shoot in a documentary style for some of the short online videos I've produced for clients, and on a few of my own projects in my spare time. One of the greatest opportunities I've had to film a documentary came when I assisted the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site near Johannesburg with some promotional material. In addition to the more tourist-focused marketing promos, I was also able to shoot this 12-minute documentary, with interviews from the likes of Prof. Lee Berger, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.

The Cradle of Humankind

A twelve minute documentary introducing this UNESCO World Heritage Site

iZulu: The Heavens

A short film made for the Cinespace competition

I love making explainers, especially when it comes to science and history. My journalism background has helped me to think about ways to break down topics so that everyone can understand them. This is how I was drawn towards the Cinespace competition, which asks participants to integrate NASA imagery into creative film ideas. I wanted to break from the typical Eurocentric representations of space, and frame the heavens through indigenous cosmology. I also went for a more emotive, poetic style than traditional explainer, and despite having no budget and a tight turnaround time, I thoroughly enjoyed putting this short piece together.

Scotland recognised 2018 as the Year of Young People, and I was honoured to run a filmmaking workshop with a group of 18-24 year olds on how to make movies with zero budget and only a cameraphone. Their films were then premiered to an Edinburgh audience that included MSPs and the Lord Provost.

More recently, I've also live-streamed events, a totally different production challenge, but a skill I plan to hone.

If you would like to browse through some more of my short films, you'll find a selection below (there are a whole lot more over on StuTube). Keep scrolling to darken the background and enter 'theatre' mode, grab some popcorn, kick back and enjoy!

Highlights of the conservation work undertaken by charity Edinburgh World Heritage in 2017. Shown as part of their prestigious gala dinner evening.

A lighthearted, foodie-focused piece about one of South Africa's most famous desserts, and how it's made at Table Mountain Cableway.

I interviewed Chris Bertish ahead of his attempt to cross the Atlantic on a paddleboard, and combined existing footage from others into this profile piece.

As part of Hotel Verde's outreach programme, tree-planting initiative Greenpop spent a day at Wingfield School getting young people to think about the environment.

I've also produced some product promo/explainer videos, such as this one for a new online photography service. It needed to be concise, clear and fun.

I got to work with the WWF for their Earth Hour campaign, creating some basic graphics and animation for social media and broadcast.

Event coverage can often be, well, a bit dull. Here I've tried to demonstrate an ability to summarise this conference in a fun and engaging way. This was produced within 24 hours of the shoot.