On Location as a Lighting Camera Operator and Sound Recordist for the European Union
With very short notice, I was called upon to work for the EU as a lighting camera operator and sound recordist on The Third Global Conference on Assistance to the Victims of Anti-Personnel Mines and Other Explosive Ordnance in a Disability Rights Context.
This was second job of part of a very productive relationship working as the lead videographer with Landel Mills to provide a range of video content for the EU delegation in Cambodia.
I lit the interviews with 2 x Aputure Storm 300D mkii LEDs and ran a Sony a7iv and a7siii to give us 2 angles. I was also using 3 x Sennheiser radio mics with a combination of the Sony XLR-K3M Dual-Channel Digital XLR Audio Adapter Kit and a Zoom h4n Pro sound recorder to give me 3 channels when interviewing 2 people.
Below are some of the behind-the-scenes images, kindly provided by Nick Sells who was covering the event as a photographer. Nick Ray was also interviewing people. It was great to work with Nick again, who as ever, came fully-prepared with engaging questions.
The event was presided over by H.E. Ly Thuch, First Vice President of the Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, H.E igor Driesmans, the EU Ambassador to Cambodia and H.R.H Prince Mired Raad Zeid Al Hussein of Jordan.
Funded by the EU and hosted by the Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) the conference promoted the end of suffering and new casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.
The video was well received and the EU commissioned a shorter version to be distributed on their social media channels.
In Novermber 2024, Cambodia will host the world host the Convention's Fifth Review Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia from 25 to 29 November 2024.
You can see more examples of my work as a lighting camera operator here and here.
Collaborating with WHO on a Video Case Study About Malaria Prevention in Siem Pang, Cambodia
This was the third time in a bit over a year that I’d been hired by the World Health Organization to work as a videographer on a case study for them.
This time it was malaria prevention in Stung Treng Province following Chan Sophal, who supports The Mekong Malaria Elimination (MME) programme at the provincial level.
Sophal works with remote communities close to the Lao border in Stung Treng Province.
‘I am stationed in Stung Treng Province, with a focus on Siem Pang, which is a malaria hotspot’, he says.
Sophal works closely with the head Siem Pang Health Center and the nurse in charge of the malaria elimination programme.
‘We plan our outreach campaigns together’, he says.
It was a great experience to work as a videographer for WHO and get to follow Sophal to some of the remote villages he works in.
Siem Pang itself is very remote, but it took a small ferry, a horse and cart and small boat to get to some of the highest risk communities.
As part of the Last Mile to Malaria Elimination, Sophal and his team of Village Malaria Workers (VMW) focus on the target group of men aged 15-49 years, who go regularly go into the forest and are the most likely to catch malaria and transmit it in their community.
‘We educate and encourage them to take preventive medication before they go to the forest or other high-risk malaria areas. They have never heard of preventive treatment, so taking the medicine when they're not sick worries them a lot. It is important to build trust so the community believes the medicine is good for their health,’ he says.
The medical care and education they provide is a key factor in helping to eliminate malaria in Cambodai.
This isn’t something Sophal takes lightly.
‘The work I’m proudest of is the contribution I’ve madeto eliminating malaria in Stung Treng Province’, he says.
For me working as a videographer on projects like this is a pleasure. Sophal and his team are dedicated in their work, they’ve won the trust of the communities they work in and their efforts are having a genuine impact.
Here’s a shorter version that was used as part of WHO’s 75th annievrsary social media campaign.
Drone photography and videography for Steff Gruber | Aerial Visuals in Phnom Penh
Steff got in touch with me to provide drone photography and videography services for a long-term photographic project he’s working on about the community that live on the railway tracks behind the station in Phnom Penh.
He was trying to get permission to film from one of the trains to give the perspective from a train passing through the community. This proved too complicated and he came up with the idea to photograph and take videos of the area with a drone to complete the project before he flew back Switzerland the following day.
Steff has been visiting the area for several years doing a study on the area that is right in the centre of Phnom Penh but remains massively underdeveloped. While slightly daunting for Steff and I and the team, locals barely battered an eye-lid as trains passed centimeters from them.
Steff plans to host an exhibition of his photos and my drone shots in the coming months. He aslo got me to shoot some drone videography to be used on the website for the exhibition and who knows, maybe a couple of the clips may feature in the exhibition itself.
It was great to work alongside Steff and listen to advice from an accomplished filmmaker and photograper. It also good to see someone working on a long-term project that has spanned several years in a world that is increasingly becoming more instantaneous and disposable.
You can see more of my drone photography work here and other examples of my drone videography work here.
I look forward to sharing more information about the exhibition he’s planning.
Videographer on a case study for the World Health Organisation in Cambodia
I was asked by the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Western Pacific office to work as a videographer in Cambodia on a regional series of videos they were making to highlight the work that they do throughout the region.
The assignment was to produce a 2-3-min video on a case study about a garment factory worker who had received primary healthcare to document WHO’s primary health care activities in Cambodia. The video is part of a broader campaign by the regional office that included stories from 21 countries.
Although it was a challenging subject matter the participant was understanding and patient. She gave a great interview to explain how she may have died if she hadn’t received the primary health care she did free of charge as part the work that the WHO does in Cambodia.
It was greatly appreciated for her to invite us into her house and let us film her at her work place, at the local healthcare clinic and in her community with her friends.
The regional office were a pleasure to work with. They were clear in their process and provided a good model for what they wanted. I look forward to hopefully collaborating with them on future projects.
You can see more examples of my work as an NGO videographer for case studies here and here.
On Location as a Camera Assistant and Drone Pilot for CNN in Cambodia
Work as a camera assistant and drone pilot on the Cambodia episode of CNN’s Nomad with Carlton McCoy for the second series.
It’s not often that you get a call from CNN at 2pm and by 4pm you’re onset, working for one of the most established production companies in the game. Zero Point Zero are the company behind Anthony Bourdain’s shows. If you haven’t seen the closing gambit from the Cambodia episode of a cook’s tour, it’s a testament to Bourdain’s writing and humanity.
The camera assistant / drone pilot who had travelled with the team from the US tested positive for Covid on arrival, so they needed someone to step in at short notice. Shortly after receiving the call, I was in the back of the van going over the kit with camera team.
On the evening of the first day, the DP tested positive, so we travelled to Siem Reap as a camera team of 2 before flying back to Phnom Penh less than 24 hours later.
When we got back to Phnom Penh the camera operator tested positive for Covid. Fortunately, CNN had flown in a DP from Thailand. We were the camera department for the next couple of days before the original camera assistant and drone pilot thankfully returned to the fray for the last couple of days.
It was an incredible learning experience to work with such an experienced team and a great crash course in lots of camera and lighting kit (and techniques) that I hadn’t used before.
Once again thanks to Nick at Hanuman Films for the recommendation. I look forward to sharing the show once the episodes airs. Below are a couple of drone photos I managed to snap along the way. You can see more examples of my drone videography here. Please get in touch about any video projects you have in Cambodia, SE Asia or the rest of the world.