Official Selection at London International Animation Festival

Screening at the Barbican

I was dead chuffed to hear that Blood, rats and anticoagulants made the official selection at this year’s London International Animation Festival, to be screened at the Barbican.

It was amongst a fantastic line up of films and I was particularly chuffed to get a science story in front of a non-specialist audience.

The history of warfarin, one of the earliest anticoagulant drugs, is littered with the bodies of sick cows and poisoned rats. This animation tells the story of how a bloody beginning gave rise to a life-saving medication. Find out more about the history of anticoagulant drugs in this interactive timeline: https://www.nature.com/collections/hbcnxgwklt/timeline/ This Nature Video is editorially independent.

The film was comissioned by Nature, working with the fantastic Shamini Bundell and with the awesome animator Jules Bartl at Dog and Rabbit.

Video: Behind the scenes at the Almeida Theatre

Before sets have been built and costumes designed there usually isn’t much to help promote upcoming theatre productions – which means creating a buzz before they launch is tricky.

So the Almeida Theatre in London has been commissioning me to produce behind the scenes films to help promote upcoming shows.

by William Shakespeare Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins 10 December 18 to 2 Feb 19 almeida.co.uk/RichardII

These have been quite demanding shoots, learning to work with a small footprint and minimise disruption to the directors and actors in the room.

As with all shoots it’s about getting the footage you need for the edit – capturing a sense of what’s happening in the room as well as the themes of the play in rehearsal. The location set-up is often only seen on the day of the shoot – meaning I’ll make a very quick assessment and mental shot list as I walk in.

Access to the rehearsals can be anything from 20 minutes to an hour – which means there are strict time limits to capture enough footage – this is stressful, but it also forces me to be efficient.

It also means that shoots are usually handheld and dynamic, with lots of camera movement to help emphasise action. During the shoots I’m quite procedural, using my mental shot list to make sure I get a range of close-ups, mids, wides – camera movements,  detail shots – and slow motion – all of which I know I’ll need to make a compelling edit.

Interviews and access to the actors is also very limited – so quick decision making in setting up the look of these is vital. These pieces are used to promote upcoming productions, so getting the key sound bites that really sell the production and describe the tone of the play is vital.

We went behind the scenes on Clare Barron's new play Dance Nation to chat to the cast and have a look inside rehearsals Dance Nation 27 August - 6 October bit.ly/2MHWyuu

The edits themselves usually start with music selection – which is how I tend to approach most edits –  so finding the right track can take some time before cutting even begins.

Grading is also another useful way of communicating the tone and language of the production, for example with the Tragedy of King Richard II, I chose cooler colours to emphasise the starkness of the play’s content.

I’ve really enjoyed working with the Almeida because they’ve been very supportive in producing adventurous work – something that not all organisations have the confidence to do!

Video | Covering Robert Smith's Meltdown Festival

Over June I covered Robert Smith’s Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre – directing and producing shoots across the festival to create highlight reels and band interview videos.

Robert Smith, curator of the 2018 Meltdown, discusses putting together his festival, discovering new music, and the oddness of being considered a legend. Robert Smith's Meltdown was the 25th edition of Southbank Centre's annual contemporary music festival, staged in the heart of London.

It was one of the most intense working weeks I’ve pulled off in a long time, completely fuelled by coffee and adrenaline, but totally worth it. Getting to film upfront during performances of bands such as Deftones, Manic Street Preachers and Mogwai were definite highlights.

I learnt loads of lessons during this project – particularly the need for agility and the importance of hanging around backstage to grab last minute interview opportunities!

Special thanks also needs to go to Philip Jenkins and Ben Smith who provided much needed production support!

Mogwai

'The Cure were one of the first bands I got into as a teenager so I actually know how to play more of their songs than of any other people's songs,' said Barry Burns of Mogwai, speaking to Southbank Centre before the band's performance as part of Robert Smith's Meltdown.

Yonaka

Highlights from YONAKA's explosive Meltdown performance. Subscribe for the latest videos from Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room + more: http://bit.ly/SBCsubscribe Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/southbankcentre on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southbankcentre and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southbankcentre

Deftones

'We're just honoured to be a part of this'. American alternative metal band Deftones take a look around Royal Festival Hall ahead of Robert Smith's Meltdown. Deftones are just one of a number of high profile bands lined up to play the 25th edition of Meltdown festival at Southbank Centre.

Video: Praying Mantis | National Insect Week

I was recently comissioned to produce a short film for National Insect week, working with the Royal Entomological Society and presenter Dr Tim Cockerill. It was an absolute blast to shoot and a wonderful location, filming inside the colourful bug houses of insect breeders Janice and Graham Smith! I think I may get one as a pet!

Check it out below.

Dr Tim Cockerill looks at the sophisticated hunting strategy of the praying mantis, one of nature's deadliest predators! Produced by Ed Prosser Presented by Tim Cockerill Supported by the RES Goodman Award. Follow National Insect week on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nationalinsectweek Follow National Insect Week on Twitter https://twitter.com/insectweek

The bug houses had a lovely mix of diffuse light and the tank lights provided night back-lights for our presenter Tim! We shot this on a Sony A7s ii using mostly Canon L lenses, the macro was shot on a RED Epic.

We also produced some shorter social content for FB / Insta, we optimised the content with text and by outputting the vids in a 1:1 square ratio.

One of the examples below!

Follow National Insect week on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nationalinsectweek Follow National Insect Week on Twitter https://twitter.com/insectweek

In The Gallery | Ralph on Gursky

A new series I'm producing takes you up-close, behind the scenes and between the lines at the Hayward Gallery.

Subscribe for the latest videos from Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room + more: http://bit.ly/SBCsubscribe Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/southbankcentre on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southbankcentre and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southbankcentre

The first instalment features Ralph Rugoff, director of the Hayward, taking a closer look at some of Andreas Gursky's iconic images.

Blood, rats and anticoagulants: The story of Warfarin (video commission)

This film I produced and narrated for Nature tells the story of how a bloody beginning gave rise to the life-saving medication, warfarin. This anticoagulant is one of the worlds most widely prescribed drugs and its history is littered with the bodies of sick cows and poisoned rats...

The history of Warfarin, one of the earliest anticoagulant drugs, is littered with the bodies of sick cows and poisoned rats. This animation tells the story of how a bloody beginning gave rise to a life-saving medication. Find out more about the history of anticoagulant drugs in this interactive timeline: https://www.nature.com/collections/hbcnxgwklt/timeline/ This Nature Video is editorially independent.

Experience Composite (Video Commission)

What is in the contents of your head at the moment of the beep?

Experience Composite A film by Ed Prosser (http://www.edprosser.com) This film was commissioned as part of a residency within the Wellcome Collection's Hubbub Group and exhibited at the "Rest & its discontents" exhibition at Mile End Art Pavilion, London October 2016. Using playful imagery the film presents a collection of short vignettes that explore the strange and often abstract nature of our everyday inner experiences. The experiences were documented through a process called descriptive experience sampling (DES), a technique developed by American psychologist Russel Hurlburt that aims to document inner experiences - the thoughts, feelings, sensations and bodily experiences that constitute our everyday consciousness. Participants of DES wear a small beeper which sounds randomly throughout the day, at the moment of the beep, individuals are instructed to note down the exact contents of their experience (this could include internal monologues, physical sensations or visual imagery). Follow up interviews tease out the information of the experiences and distill them into short summaries. These so called "beep summaries" provide wonderfully vivid depictions, almost like a dream diary, for seemingly mundane everyday experiences. Using material gathered by several members of the Hubbub team, this film translates and re-interprets the contents of the beep summaries, referencing the distortions and adaptations that occur when we try to share our inner experiences with others. Find out more about the Hubbub Research group here: hubbubresearch.org

This film was commissioned as part of a residency within the Wellcome Collection’s Hubbub Group and exhibited at the “Rest & its discontents” exhibition at Mile End Art Pavilion, London October 2016.

Using playful imagery the film presents a collection of short vignettes that explore the strange and often abstract nature of our everyday inner experiences.

The experiences were documented through a process called descriptive experience sampling (DES), a technique developed by American psychologist Russel Hurlburt that aims to document inner experiences – the thoughts, feelings, sensations and bodily experiences that constitute our everyday consciousness.

Participants of DES wear a small beeper which sounds randomly throughout the day, at the moment of the beep, individuals are instructed to note down the exact contents of their experience (this could include internal monologues, physical sensations or visual imagery).

Follow up interviews tease out the information of the experiences and distill them into short summaries. These so called “beep summaries” provide wonderfully vivid depictions, almost like a dream diary, for seemingly mundane everyday experiences.

Using material gathered by several members of the Hubbub team, this film translates and re-interprets the contents of the beep summaries, referencing the distortions and adaptations that occur when we try to conceptualise our inner experiences with others.

The film was shot over the summer of 2016 on a Sony A7s. I used old M42 lenses to help give the piece a faded, dream like quality – which was further aided by adding film grain and muting the colours slightly in post. Most of the portraits were shot on an old Takumar 50mm 1.4 lens which has a beautiful vintage bokeh, which is full of character and lacks the somewhat clinical precision of a modern lens.

Find out more about the Hubbub Research group here: hubbubresearch.org

Animation: Marie Tharp – Revealing the Secrets of the Ocean Floor

Mapping the ocean floors

An animation I produced last year with animator / illustrator Rosanna Wan for the Royal Institution.

Continental drift is common knowledge now, but when the idea was first proposed it was revolutionary. Helen Czerski tells the story of how the maps of one of history’s finest cartographers shifted our view of the planet. In the early 20th century, Alfred Wegener proposed a revolutionary idea: that the Earth’s continents were once joined together, and had gradually moved apart. The idea contradicted almost everything scientists thought at the time, and it took the detailed work of a brilliant cartographer to prove him right. Conventional ideas held that the ocean floors were flat, featureless planes. As expeditions started to go around the world collecting ocean depth measurements, Marie Tharp – not allowed to join the expeditions herself – processed the data and began to craft detailed, revealing maps of the hidden ocean depths. She discovered that the ocean floor was in fact a complex assortment of peaks and troughs. In particular, her profiles revealed stark rift valleys, which supported Wegener’s controversial ideas. Even then, it took a long time to convince the scientific community that her findings were correct. Eventually, however, she was proved right, and Marie Tharp took her rightful place as one of history’s finest cartographers.

Rosanna’s distinct visuals incorporate a hand drawn style that tell the story of cartographer Marie Tharp, whose work helped to detail the complex geography of ocean floors around the world.

Her maps helped to demonstrate that the ocean floor was in fact a complex assortment of peaks and troughs – which went against conventional wisdom at the time. Despite fierce opposition, she stuck fast to her findings and as more data was collated, the tide of opposition turned, paving the way for our modern understanding of plate tectonics.

Directed and animated by Rosanna Wan.

Produced and scripted by Ed Prosser.

Narrated by Helen Czerski.