UK Production Stills Photographer

Discovery Channel UK – Dealers

PSbyAY — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:33:14 +0000

Late last year I did some work for Fever Media who were commissioned by the Discovery Channel UK to produce Dealers. It’s a factual entertainment series where collectors are invited to a stunning Aladin’s cave to hopefully strike a deal with one of a panel of 5 hard nosed dealers to sell their wares. The show stars world-class dealers Gillian Anderson Price, Richard Gauntlett, Jenny Pat, Nikolas Robinson and Scott Diament who were all an absolute pleasure for me to work with.

The Discovery Channel has now launched the official web site which features many of my production stills. Click below to view the web site.

Dealers - Discovery Channel - click to visit the official web site

Official Web Site: www.discoveryuk.com/web/dealers/

Total Film Magazine Exclusive: Two Days in the Smoke

PSbyAY — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:45:14 +0000

Click to link through

Yesterday Total Film Magazine published two of my photos from the set of Two Days in the Smoke as a leader for their August exclusive print article about this project. Click on the image above to link straight through to their look at this exciting independent UK film.

This news has also been syndicated internationally via:
Screen Daily
The Hollywood News

Slate 4 Films – Two Days in the Smoke

PSbyAY — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:38:46 +0000

Lili Bordan and Matt di'Angelo - Courtesy of Slate 4 Films

Matt di'Angelo

I’ve just joined the crew of 2 Days in the Smoke the debut independent feature film of Slate Four Films. Two Days in the Smoke stars:

Matt di’Angelo of Hustle and Eastenders (via IMDB)
Lili Bordán of Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome (via IMDB)
Stephen Marcus of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Quills and Kinky Boots (via IMDB) and
Velibor Topic of Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, The Saint and Snatch (via IMDB)

Two Days in the Smoke is a little feature with big ambitions and packs romance, comedy and action into glamourous gangland London.

The really exciting aspect of this film is that Director Ben Pickering and Producer Andrew Ornitharis not only have high expectations of my stills, but also they want the images to start being put to use almost immediately through twitter and facebook. This is a project that has a real drive to engage with its audience early and this to me as a stills photographer is a real thrill.

To stay up to date with the latest news and stills from Two Days in the Smoke hit up the team on facebook or twitter

Director Ben Pickering and Matt di'Angelo - Courtesy of Slate Four Films

March 2012 – Links and Production Stills News

PSbyAY — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:08:51 +0000

Fatboy Soundblimps - Website Launched

Fatboy Sound Blimp – Norway’s Tamas Mack has now launched the website for his unique sound blimp. Designed for Gripless dSLRs of both Canon and Nikon persuasion (one size fits both!!!) prices from USD $675 for the blimp and USD $285 for a filter-less tube. This is an exciting product and one I hope to review soon.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III – 22 megapixels, dual CF and SD card slots, increased ISO range (100-25600 base + 50, 51200, 102400 expansion) and 61 point autofocus as well as a new “Silent” single shot and continuous modes (although not silent enough for most film sets). Canon have really upped the ante with their new full frame dSLR – this is going to be a very exciting, if expensive prospect for Canon shooters.
Nikon D800 – 36.3 megapixels, ISO from 100-6400 (50 and 25600 with boost),dual CF/SD slots and USB connectivity. This camera has all the Nikon user’s hearts a flutter with its massive increase in megapixels making it an exciting tool for creating key art.
Nikon interview: Alex Bailey – Here’s another in depth interview with probably the most frequently interviewed UK movie stills photographer. Alex is obviously talking up Nikon’s products but also gioves some good insights into the nature of the job and the challenges of making it a career.
Adorama Interview: Hopper Stone – Hopper has had a cracking year as a stills photographer, having been just recently awarded for excellence in stills photography by the Publicist Guild as well as being accepted in the prestigious Society for Motion Picture Still Photographers. Hopper talks about the differences between shooting stills in television versus motion pictures in the Union regulated US industry and lots of other juicy stuff.
The Hollywood Reporter – 2012 Publicist Guild Awards – Frank Masi (Motion Picture) and Hopper Stone (Television) this year were awarded for excellence in stills photography as well as publicists Tony Angellotti (Les Mason Award, the top award for film publicity), Sharon Black (Bob Yeager award for community service), Carol Burnett (Lifetime achievement award). Follow the link for full details!
SXSW – Art and Advertising: Two Sides of the One Sheet – If you’re at SXSW this year check out this panel discussion on movie poster design.
Don’t Call Me Oscar – One Child’s journeythrough the Best Picture nominees. This is definitely one for the cute file – key scenes for Oscar nominated films recreated with a young child.

For more tasty links to all things film publicity and unit stills – Check out my Tech Talk Page

Thursday Action – Equilibrium: The Mercenaries

PSbyAY — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:25:20 +0000

At midnight GMT 1 March 2012 this 4 minute action sequence went live. The culmination of 6 months work from a team lead by young Director, Chris Chung. This is Equilibrium: The Mercenaries, a homage to the Kurt Wimmer’s 2002 feature film. This short is slick, stylish and beautifully finished. Please enjoy!

Silverkoi Presents – Equilibrium: The Mercenaries

PSbyAY — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:52:38 +0000

Three posters created for the very cool Equilibrium: the Mercenaries” a VFX laden action sequence Directed by up-and-coming young film maker Chris Chung. Starring Jimmy Gamble, Daniel Richardson, Felix Pring and Billie Vee. The biggest criticism is that it’s just too damn short. It wets your whistle and leaves you begging for more.

Want to know more? Stills Gallery | Silverkoi Website

American Ecstacy – Barbara Nitke on shooting stills for Porn (NSFW)

PSbyAY — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:08:11 +0000

Barbara Nitke shot stills on over 300 hardcore porn films through the 80′s and 90′s. She’s now raising funds to self publish her book of behind the scenes images. In this video (which includes images from the sets of the films she worked on) Barbara talks about her role as stills photographer.

What’s particularly striking to me is how Barbara’s description of her role is very similar to how I or any other stills photographer sees the job of making publicity stills for the motion picture business. The films may be more explicit and arguably of lesser artistic merit, but the need to publicise and market the films is the same as in the more mainstream film business.

Watch the video and consider contributing to her kickstarter campaign.

PAs – A Disclosure Production

PSbyAY — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:22:32 +0000

Late last year Disclosure Productions called me back to work on their latest pilot project “PAs” a comedy series based around five Personal Assistants and their their dysfunctional bosses.

The specials shoot was run over 6hrs in a hastily re-booked venue after our studio space fell through at the last minute. The shoot was challenging, with me having to shoot 11 cast members in various configurations in a space that while spacious meant that hair and makeup, green room and my “studio” all shared a single space.

With an exceptionally lovely cast and good support from the Producers Costume and Art Department we pulled off a fun shoot that I think resulted in some very cool shots that I’ve branded for use in press kits.

Click the image below to link through to a series of character portraits of the core cast of PAs.

PAs is a production of Disclosure Productions and Robert S J Lucas.

Fatboy Sound Blimps – Pricing and Availability Announced!

PSbyAY — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:52:11 +0000

The long awaited pricing and availability for the Fatboy Sound Blimp has been announced via their Facebook Page. Initial price for the body without tubes will be USD $675 and it will weigh 760g (1.68lbs). Interestingly Fatboy is the only Blimp solution mrketed as fitting Sony dSLRs (Alpha 950 and Alpha 850) in addition to Canon and Nikon grip-less dSLRs (Canon 5D/5DmkII/7D/50D/60D and Nikon D800/D700/D300s/D200/D7000).

This product is a one size fits most option which makes it very much worth considering as a less expensive alternative to the Aquatech and Jacobson alternatives (both at approximately US$995 and US$1,000 respectively).

I’ve updated my full comparison of sound blimp options Tech Talk 26 Sound Blimps.

2011 – A very fine vintage

PSbyAY — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:08:04 +0000

As 2011 comes to a close, its a great time to give some thought to the year, my achievements and also give some thoughts as to my goals for 2012. This year I’ve worked on 15 shows. The production standards have improved greatly over previous years, and I’ve worked with some truly amazing Directors, Actors and Production Companies (Warner Brothers on Dark Shadows as well as the Discovery Channel on its forthcoming factual entertainment series Dealers). As you scroll down the page you’ll see some images that define for me the shows I’ve worked on and I think its very fair to say that as a unit stills photographer, the quality of your work is always hugely influenced by the shows you work on as well as the cast and crew of the shows that hire you.

A further exciting professional achievement for me has been establishing connections with my unit stills photographer peers (and in some cases, idols) who have taken given feedback and content to feed into my Tech Talk which I’m proud to say has become a thorough resource for anyone considering stepping onto a film set to shoot stills. To Dave, Jasin, Frank, Hopper, Leah, Larry, Curtis, Skip, Alex, Tatyana and Michelle it has been brilliant (and humbling) having contact with you, and I hope that continues well into the future.

After two years in the UK, I’m now regularly thrilled to walk onto a set with those I’ve enjoyed working with before, not to mention those greatly appreciated referrals, now coming through all manner of cast and crew. Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to making my stills – 2011 has absolutely reinforced for me that my images are nothing without everyone from the Actors, Producers, Directors to the Production Designers, DoPs, Make-up artists and even Caterers and Driver’s contribution.

I hope that you enjoy viewing these images as much as I enjoyed making them. Here’s to 2012 and going professionally onwards and upwards.

Wavelengths | Stills Gallery
Starring: Kate Anthony (Coronation Street, Holby City, Heartbeat) and James Smith (Grandma’s House, The Thick of It, In the Loop)
Directed by: Matt Houghton & James Spinney for Fee Fie Foe Films

Going Nowhere
Starring: Joanna Defendi and Robert S J Lucas
Disclosure Productions | Official Site

Equilibrium: the Mercenaries | Stills Gallery
Starring: James Gamble, Dan Richardson, Billie Vee and Felix Pring
Directed by: Chris Chung for Silver Koi Productions

Drawn Together | Stills Gallery
Starring: Daisy Ausden, Brookes Livermore (My Week with Marilyn), Andrew McDonald
Directed by: Vicky Howell for Systir Productions

9 Lives | Stills Gallery
Starring: Madison Lygo, Thomas Jordan and Jonathan Harden (Titanic: Blood and Steel, Whole Lotta Sole, Five Minutes of Heaven, Coming Up)
Directed by: Michael Lennox for NFTS

Chemistry | Stills Gallery
Starring: Lily James (Secret Diary of a Callgirl, Wrath of the Titans, Fast Girls), Tom Riley (I Want Candy, Monroe, Lost in Austen) and Al Weaver (Sherlock, Marie Antoinette, The Nativity)
Directed by: Remy Bazerque for NFTS

A Perfect Ten | Stills Gallery
Starring: Helen Embleton and Alexander Chard
Directed by: Junia Bashiru

PA’s | Stills Gallery
Produced by: Robert S J Lucas and Joanna Defendi for Disclosure Productions

Finally, particular special thanks to my always supportive lover/muse, my close friends and family whose support and good humour gets me from one show to another.