The more interesting jobs so far this year

Eastenders Throughout 2003	One of the steady jobs I have worked on this year is BBC TV's most popular drama, Eastenders. No one in the UK will need an introduction to this drama serial set in the east end of London. I've been fortunate to work on many of the most dramatic episodes this year including the death of Jamie, the arrival of the new Ferrara family and most recently and notably the return of "Dirty Den" shown in October to a massive audience of nearly 17 million viewers. You may even have seen me working on the show in the BBC3 programme "Eastenders revealed" that shows how the programme is made and the stories behind the characters, or possible on the BBC's web cams that overlook the set we shoot the exteriors on.

IBM quarterly results Jan, Apr & May 2003	One advantage of being freelance is being able to work on a wider range of television productions. One very pleasant series of jobs throughout the year I work on is the IBM quarterly results presentations. Whilst the content isn't the most exciting I've worked on, the productions standards are as high as any broadcast TV programme. In fact the audience across the whole of IBM's European and African division is probably much bigger than many other programmes I work on! One of the nice aspects to the job is that the German production company look after every one very well and there's a nice multi-cultural feel to the production. Alfacam from Belgium supply the OB unit, the camera crew and director are from England, the electricians are French, the make up artist is Dutch, all working with an American company. This year I've already worked in Paris, Stuttgart and Central London on IBM productions.

Channel 4 racing 2003	Those nice people at Highflyer productions have kept me busy all through the year covering National Hunt and flat Racing for Channel 4. Unfortunately not all days as sunny as the picture on the left, taken at Kempton Park last summer. Most winter weekends have me getting the thermals out of the cupboard and fighting sub zero wind chills, one of the joys of Outside Broadcasts in the winter.

Football	Another frequent OB job in winter is football. This year I started covering the premier league at Arsenal for ITV on New Year's day and then moved to covering FA Cup matches for the BBC. I enjoy operating the specialist close up cameras. Once the players are on the pitch there isn't a moment's rest, complete concentration is needed. It's a real challenge following players in close up as they run round the pitch and picking up the personalities as the commentator calls for them, but getting it right can be very satisfying.

The Wimbledon Championships June 2003	June saw me back at Wimbledon for the Tennis championships for BBC Resources. Wimbledon is always a pleasant job in the summer. Tennis fans are always very good natured compared to some other sporting events which makes the commuting around the grounds far easier. I also get to see some excellent tennis.

The Storymakers October and November 2003	The autumn saw me working on the fourth series of The Storymakers. This charming series for preschool children is a pleasure to work on and has been a huge success. It's often in the top ten non-terrestial broadcast programmes in the UK, no mean feat given it's small target audience. Just about everyone with young children I meet has seen the show and likes it. Knowing how many people appreciate our efforts always makes working on shows like this even more rewarding.

Rugby World Cup Victory Parade December 2003	We watched England beat Australia in the Rugby world cup between takes whilst shooting a big stunt scene for Eastenders to be shown in 2004. Everything stopped whilst the real drama of the final minutes was played out the other side of the world. It was only a few days before I got the call to work on the victory parade in London for the BBC. My position was perched at the highest level on Centrepoint, one of London's highest landmarks in central London. With a massive 86:1 Canon zoom lens I was able to shoot wide shots of the whole of west London that zoomed all the way into seeing the commentator standing on Oxford st. nearly a mile away talking to the camera. The perspective compression from the long lens, far away gave dramatic pictures of the team bus crawling through the crowd that were shown on every news bulletin that day.

Other recent work 2003	Whilst it's nice to be able to display some pictures of the programmes I've worked on, it's not always possible. So here a few other programmes I've worked on this year. The Proms The University Boat race The London Marathon Boxing from York Hall, Bethnal Green Blue Peter Exchange for CBBC The Rememberance service from the Cenotaph.