On location in Phnom Penh as a lighting camera operator for ITN Productions and Everland

ITN contacted me to work as a lighting camera operator in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on a shoot they had for Everland. They also asked me to recommend a journalist to write and present the piece and conduct the interviews.

Everland help to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cambodia counties the REDD+ initiative. Hopefully, giving Cambodia carbon credits to not cut down their trees will preserve the natural forests and their ecosystems, allow people living traditional lifestyles in the forests to continue do so.

The scheme will hopefully have a positive impact on the environment as a whole. Unfortunately, the reality of the situtation is that there’s too much money in the timber in the forest, so the only viable option is to provide a financial impetus to conserve the forests.

Everland partner with a local production company here, so they kindly provided me with a sound recordist for the day while we shot all the Phnom Penh footage and I worked as a lighting camera operator for the interviews and pieces to camera for the intros and outros.

The studio intro was shot at the ITN studios in London, where I had the privilege of working for a few months when I was based in the UK.

On a personal level, it was an interesting project as I’ve spent extended periods working with indigenous Bunong in Mondulkiri while working on Last of the Elephant Men and have since worked with the mahouts at Elephant Valley Projects for Wild Animal Protection and on a self-funded pilot for a travel show.

A link to the final video is below.

Lighting camera operator on corporate shoot with CEO of Forte Insurance

Ooshot contacted me to work as a lighting camera operator on a corporate video shoot with the CEO of Forte Insurance Cambodia as the main interview on some branded content for Scor, a global reinsurance company. I also filmed b-roll of the CEO in their offices in Vattanac Tower and interiors and exteriors of the office space.

The brief was clear and Ooshot provided me with a good samples of what they wanted.

It was a 2 camera, 4k set up with 3-point lighting using Aputure 300c MKii lights. One of the cameras was locked off on a Miller DS10 tripod and the other was on a Zhiyun Crane 3 gimbal to add movement and dynamism to the interview.

We worked as a 3 person team with me acting as the producer, director and lighting camera op. The other team members were a lighting/ camera asssitant and sound recordist.

For the sound recording the we used a shotgun mic on a boom stand and a radio mic as a belt and braces approach to make sure we captured optimal sound.

For the lighting, we used the hyper reflector and the 2x fresnel mount through scrims to maximize the brightness of the lamps to balance the light with the bright outdoor conditions.

You can see more of my work on corporate videos as a lighting camera op here and more of my work as a camera operator here. Below are are sample of images we captured.

Covering the UNDP IP Conference as an events photographer and videographer in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I was assigned as an events photographer and videographer to work on the UNDP Indigenous Persons Conference, which was actually 2 conferences, the YECAP Indigenous Fellows Training and the Youth CO:LAB Regional Dialogue on Indigenous Youth Social Entrepreneurship conference.

While a lot of the indigenous youth face pressure and uncertainty in their lives, both conferences were conducted with a genuine sense of collaboration and conviviality. I hope my photographs and videos do justice to this.

At the CO:LAB Conference, participants were mentored on entrepreneurship with people giving presentations through the final day. Young indigenous entrepreneurs presented their ideas to the group. It was great to see participants so eager to listen and to learn about how best to develop their ideas and their skills and to see how open everyone was to the constructive criticism and feedback that they received.

The YECAP Conference was conducted with a similarly convivial atmosphere. The participants learnt about some of the issues they face and the steps they can take to mitigate the impacts on their communities.

One of the highlights was the group project that looked at the issues indigenous youth across the Asia Pacific are facing. Groups worked together to explain the issues and look at the solution.

The final results where a collaborative drawing made up from contributions from each of the groups.

You can see other examples of my photography work here and other examples of my videography work here.

You can see a selection of the photos I took below:

In the field as a cameraperson and drone pilot at the Elephant Valley Project, Mondulkiri

Angelo got in touch with me and wanted me to work as a cameraperson and drone pilot for him to film at the Elephant Valley Project (EVP) in Mondulkiri, Cambodia.

Angelo is a Portuguese actor who recently starred in the Brazilian Netflix drama Lady Voyuer. He was in Cambodia to shoot part of a pilot for a travel show. Having seen my work on Last of the Elephant Men, he asked me to come along for the ride.

It was great to catch up with some people I hadn’t seen for a long time and to be back in the jungle filming elephants. It was also great to meet Gee Pich (Diamond), the latest addition to the EVP family.

Gee Pich was born at the project after a heard of wild elephants entered EVP. Pearl ran away with the heard and 21 months after she came back she gave birth to Gee Pich.

While the staff at EVP would love to rewild elephants, this is not one of the aims of the projects as most of the elephants have lived in captivity for most if not all of their lives and simply don’t have the skills to survive in the wild.

Although the outcome is largely positive, unfortunately, this kind of encounter is becoming increasingly common as the wild elephants natural habitats are being destroyed. This changes their annual migration routes.

The heavy rain made for an interesting shoot - it was a challenge keeping all the kit dry, but it gives the jungle a wonderful enclosed atmosphere and makes for some great images.

Hopefully Angelo is successful in pitching the show and it’s coming to a screen near you!

You can see the trailer of the feature-length documentary about elephants I worked on as a cameraperson in Mondulkiri here and you can see other examples of my documentary work here.

Below are some frames from the footage I shot. All the images were shot in log and haven’t been graded.

Videographer for UNDP's Regional Office, Bangkok, Thailand

I was hired to work as a videographer by UNDP Asia and the Pacific to make a video for Human Rights Day.

The video was posted on UNDP’s social media channels and shows the journeys and hopes of 7 young human rights defenders and climate activists from across the Asia Pacific to inspire other youth to be more aware of the issues surrounding climate change.

The human rights defenders and activists hailed from across the Asia Pacific regions from countries including The Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal and India.

It was fascinating listening to the tell their stories about how the became activists and human rights defenders; the adversity they’ve faced; their optimism for the future and their suggestion for actions that youth can take across the region to increase understanding and awareness of a situation that is quickly becoming a pressing concern.

It was great to work with the UNDP team at their office in Bangkok, Thailand. It would be a pleasure to collaborate with them again on future projects.

You can see more examples of my videography work here and here.