'Him and Her' Christmas Special

Sunday December 23rd at 10pm on BBC3

 

If Only...

If only this had been a day scene and not a flat blacked night interior. No amount of money in the world could buy this. Low winter sun on a crystal clear morning; a dark panelled room and the slightest touch of atmos... Ah well, it just wasn't to be.

'A Mother's Son' - Broadcast Awards 2013 Nomination

'A Mother's Son' has been nominated in the 'Best Single Drama' category at the Broadcast Awards 2013. The winner will be announced on January 30th. Good luck Ed Bazalgette and Colin Wratten. For a full list of nominees visit the Broadcast Awards official site.

'The Awkward Age' - Monday 17th December Sky 1

Part of Sky's 'Little Crackers 2012' season of shorts, 'The Awkward Age', directed by Ian Fitzgibbon and written by and starring Dylan Moran, will be broadcast on Monday 17th December on Sky 1 at 9.30 pm. For more information and trailers please visit the Little Crackers official page.

'Him and Her' - Transmitting Now

'Him and Her' Series 3 is running until December 29th. The Guardian says that it..."is just about the funniest, most visceral, stickiest, stinkiest, sexiest, warmest, funniest, most real, loveliest thing on TV. Please watch it, that's all". 

'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher' - Soon in Production

Filming begins in January on Hat Trick Productions' new television adaptation of 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'. It's an exciting project to be involved with and the director is Christopher Menaul. This will be our first outing together since 'First Night'. Can't wait!

'Dr Who' Again - 02/11/12

Returning to Dr Who for a phenomenal episode to be directed by Stephen Woolfenden. It's an honour to be asked back and Stephen will have plenty of thrills in store for even the most die hard Whovians.

'The Awkward Age' wrapped - 02/11/12

Finished filming on comedian Dylan Moran's 'The Awkward Age' for Sky Television's 'Little Crackers' series of short films. A Pirate Films production directed by Ian Fitzgibbon.

'We'll Take Manhattan' wins Prix Europa - 29/10/12

Congratulations to John McKay, Kudos, production and all of the cast and crew for their hard work on 'We'll Take Manhattan' which won the Prix Europa for Best Television Drama 2012. The Jury report quotes "...this movie written and directed by the same person, moved us with his beauty, the strength of his performances and the power of its story: how one generation takes over from another. With production value well beyond its budget it was a confident, sexy, beautiful film..." Here is John receiving his prize. Click on the picture for more information.

Nowhere to Hide - Bob Servant 09/12

Our one rainy day in Broughty Ferry finds Brian Cox hiding in the reeds. No weather cover on this job and I mean that literally. Michael Toher, the gaffer, thankfully came to the rescue. I'm glad he did because the negative fill looked great.

Gold, Silver, Bronze - Bob Servant 09/12

I've never won a gold medal in my life. The best I ever managed was a bronze in the egg and spoon race. Someone cleverly pointed out that our little apple box construction resembled the winner's rostrum. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream. Luke Coulter, focus puller and Erin Currie, clapper loader share silver and that's John Young our camera assistant taking the bronze.

'Bob Servant Independent' Returns - September 2012

Recently finished filming the concluding three episodes of 'Bob Servant' starring the inimitable Brian Cox and this time with Simon Hynd in the director's chair. Much as before, all interiors were filmed in Glasgow and exteriors in glorious Broughty Ferry outside Dundee. This small part of eastern Scotland has a unique microclimate. Out of 15 shooting days across February, March and September, the sun shone for 14 of them. Meanwhile it p*sh*d (sic) down in Glasgow the entire time. 

Here is our director Simon enjoying a moment of relaxation before the day kicks in. And if only I could light like this! Sadly I can't take credit for mother nature. The ND on the window is mine though...

Don't Laugh! - 01/08/12

What do you do when the walls are green, you've been using them as a surface to bounce off and then the wall is floated to make way for the camera? I know, I know - what on earth are you thinking of bouncing off green in the first place. Well it looked good and was in keeping with the mood of the scene. So what do you do? Enter stage right the humble ironing board with a green cover that matched the wall colour perfectly. It worked very well for our lovely guest actress Joanna Bacon and blended seamlessly with the wide shot.

'Hottest Day of the Year' - Really!!

Wednesday, July 25th 2012. It was ok for us in our T shirts and shorts but what about the poor cast members in costume for a story set in winter? I have to say I was amazed by their resilience and dedication. The mercury reached 36.3 deg C (97.6 F) in the studio.

'Aloha' - 01/08/12

It was Hawaiian day on 'Him and Her'. Sadly your host was unable to find his vintage Hawaiian shirt but here is his tireless camera crew keeping up appearances - from left to right: Chris Hayden 2nd AC, Barney Crocker 1st AC and camera operator Jeremy Hiles not in costume - tut tut Jeremy...

'Him and Her' - 01/08/12

Here we have a dusk look. This was a lot of fun to do as we could experiment with backlighting the translight to recreate the effect of lit shop interiors. The great thing about the Maxi Brutes is that by simply regelling the lamps and switching off pots; presto, they now deliver dusky evening sky light.

'Him and Her' In Production - 01/08/12

We have been shooting for five weeks now on series 3 of the BBC show 'Him and Her' starring Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani. Filming is entirely studio based so no exciting locations to report back from I'm afraid but we have had the opportunity to work with some interesting lighting.

Each episode takes place in real time at a different time of day and season. Here we are on 'The Hottest Day of the Year'. The brief was to feel the heat of a blistering sun but with the curtains remaining drawn save for a crack of light. Of course a strong shaft of light was all important. My gaffer Colin Thwaites suggested a 12kw HMI Molebeam. As you can see below it did the job admirably. Filtered through Full CTS there was still plenty of exposure. The 20K was there for fun and the Maxi Brutes provided the intense 'heat' on the back of the curtains.

Another 5D Car Mount - 13/06/12

Here for an angle on our leading lady through the front windscreen as she is driving. This rig is simplicity itself and particularly helpful is how quickly and securely small adjustments in camera height can be made. The focal length of the lens is 100mm.

Getting Low - 05/06/12

For a tracking shot along the underside of a bed here's a nifty way to get the camera really low, devised by grip Nick Ray. Rolling Spider to inverted Chapman tongue to O'Connor to Alexa to 50mm Cooke to Low Angle Prism. Neat!

How to Line Up a Shot - 05/06/12

Using the Artemis app on the iPhone makes it so easy for my good self, director Ed Bazalgette and lead, Martin Clunes, to line up a shot together. Operating the shot is not quite as easy nor as becoming.

Southwold Sea Mist

The fog rolled in as quickly as it vanished - all in the space of ten minutes. The land, sea and sky became almost indistinguishable. In Scotland this phenomenon is called 'The Haar' and is one reason why Donald Trump's mad plan to develop an exclusive golf resort on the Aberdeenshire coast was so flawed.

Southwold African Sunset

Filming 'A Mother's Son' on location in lovely Southwold, Suffolk, one could have been forgiven for thinking it was sunset on the Serengeti and the Masai were returning home after a day on the plains. Actually that's grip Nick Ray wearing appropriate headgear and Barney Piercey, B Camera focus puller, shouldering the Alexa. We're setting up a 'day for night' shot, finished examples of which you can see below.

Car Rigs The Hard Way - 05/06/12

Oh oh...this is where shooting in cars gets really painful, especially when the vehicle in question is a vintage Merc. Note the short Optimo zoom.

Canon 5D Rides Again - 05/06/12

My favourite implementation of the 5D. It's great for getting close ups through the passenger side window and so quick to rig: one suction mount and a magic arm.

Rosco Lightpads

More slim profile lamps put to good use. In this corridor location for 'A Mother's Son' there was no way of rigging anything on the ceiling because of the ducting to the left. The shot was a steadicam walk and talk down the corridor and the existing practicals were not giving enough exposure. Enter the Rosco Lightpads and some gaffer tape.

Dedoflex Octodome - 05/06/12

My new favourite lamp and very grateful to gaffer Bernie Rostoski for introducing me to it. This luminaire has been incredibly versatile and has enabled us to light small and large spaces quickly, simply and elegantly. You can read more about the Dedoflex Octodome here. Meanwhile see below for some photos of the way the lamp can be used and a framegrab of the finished shot.

"A Mother's Son" - Prepping Soon

Very excited to have been asked to shoot "A Mother's Son", a two part drama for ITV to be directed by Ed Bazalgette. The producer is Colin Wratten. The script offers tremendous visual opportunities so there'll be lots of blog updates to look forward to.

Leelium Balloons Again - 13/04/12

Back in Glasgow to shoot the final episode of 'Bob Servant Independent' after a brief hiatus due to actor availability. Made great use of the balloons in Govan parish church - actually the oldest church in Glasgow. That's gaffer Michael Toher in the foreground.

More Light Please - 7/03/12

Even the trusty 4kw Aurasoft five feet away from the artist was no match for nature in one of our main interior locations overlooking the River Tay.

Not Another Tight Spot - 7/03/12

It doesn't get much more squashed than this - here filming a car interior scene on 'Bob Servant' and stuck in the footwell for over two hours as the grip literally had to build the camera around my person. The hand held Rosco Light Pad worked a treat.

A Forgotten Lamp - 7/03/12

Does anybody remember the Aurasoft? I haven't used one of these for about seven years but it was the biggest lamp in BBC Scotland's lighting stores and we were tied into using their equipment so I nabbed it. I'd forgotten how versatile they were. Lovely, soft, punchy fill for day exteriors without the need for any frames - useful when a gale is blowing in off the North Sea. I knew there would be a good reason for Scottish facilities to hang onto them. And the young lad in the picture was my great location gaffer, Elliot Coulther, son of renowned director of photography, Michael Coulther.

"Bob Servant" - In Production March 2012

We are in the midst of filming 'Bob Servant' for BBC4. Brian Cox transfers his titular Radio 4 character - a pompous Dundonian businessman - to the small screen. Annie Griffin is directing with locations in and around Glasgow and Dundee.

A banquet scene in Renfrew Town Hall was a prime candidate for Leelium Balloon lighting:

"Being Human" - New Series Begins Sunday 5th February

The new series of "Being Human" begins on Sunday February 5th at 9.00pm on BBC3. There are eight episodes in total. Visit the BBC3's own Being Human website for exciting prequel films that provide a backstory to the new characters. You will also find more clips and trailers.

"We'll Take Manhattan" in Vogue Mazagine

Vogue magazine have reviewed the film and included some gorgeous photos in the article. You can read it here.

"We'll Take Manhattan" - More Info 22/01/12

Prior to this coming Thursday's transmission there has been a flurry of press and web activity. Here are some fun links.
After last week's screening hosted by Vogue Magazine and David Bailey himself, Paul Smith wrote a piece in his blog here:

Writer and director John McKay was interviewed on BBC Breakfast. He discusses the project in depth and shows new clips. You can see the full interview here. Please visit John's website for all current publicity or click on the photo below. That's Bailey himself on the left, Aneurin Barnard who plays the great photographer, Karen Gillan who plays Jean Shrimpton and John McKay on the right.

"We'll Take Manhattan" Official Trailer - 15/01/12

"We'll Take Manhattan" to air on Thursday January 26th on BBC4 at 9.00pm. The program will also be broadcast in the USA on February 11th on the Ovation channel.