For 8 years now I have imbedded myself with people who live and work outside of the norm to bring back compelling stories for Factual TV.
I’m at my best working with small film crews from remote locations, problem solving on the spot to roll with ( and on ) the punches.
With experience in the field, in pre prod and in post, I have big picture appreciation for the calories burnt and trust required to safely and efficiently extract stories from the trenches and deliver them in an organized manner to be ingested.
Here are a few highlights of the wonderful subjects I have covered recently. You can find my CV in the ‘DEPLOY’ section for more specifics as well as Kit rental possibilities.
Getting the story from the trenches to your timeline
"BIG RIG WARRIORS ": Series Director / Story Edit (10 x 30m) - HISTORY
Big Rig Warriors follows 2 truck-racing series for the History channel. The Challenge was taking two very different types of what seemed like the same sport, and packaging it into one product, for a non-sports channel (a do it in a 22 minute show). It was a blast.
BRW truly is documentary, I did not want to softly-produce anything and truthfully, we couldn’t have if we tried. I'm proud of that. Our team had to be on our toes at all times ready to roll on story when it was unfolding.
We only had 1 to 2 days of actual racing from which we needed to build our entire episode, by the end, we had 17 cameras on race day. Although not always the case on other shows, the extra cameras actually sped things up in post for us. Creating the racing shots we needed to tell our stories took far more time than digging through all the cameras - thanks to a dedicated team of editors and assistants who developped the workflow needed for such a heavy project.
It was an adventure - we travelled all over the States and to remote Northern Quebec with a crew that quickly became family. In Post, many great editors spent many late nights, adding their own touch to a show we all grew to love.
The show premiered April 2019
Trailer can be found HERE
"HELLFIRE HEROES": EDIT. SUP. / STORY EDIT (8 x 1HR) - DISCOVERY
In 2018 I went back to school - on Hellfire Heroes that is. I’ve been taking post experience wherever I can for a few years now. The benefits in the field afterwards are clear and it has helped me get a better understanding of the craft and requirements to shape these shows.
The series follows first responders in rural Alberta. Each year they hold the line, using what resources they have to keep their town from being flattened by one of the hundreds of wildfires in the province each year. In 2011, they lost nearly half their town to a wildfire. But in 2017, there were virtually no wildfires and then shooting had to end. The scope of the show had to completely change as its air date approached.
Hellfire was my first experience working solely in post and I must admit - each day I watched the footage come in, I longed to be there in the trenches. In the end, thanks to a great team from top to bottom, the series was a hit and got renewed - but we felt the heat, and it was an eye opener to see how a show can pivot and take on many new shapes in post.
Season 1 premiered in the summer of 2018
"ICE ROAD TRUCKERS 11 " : Field Producer (10 x 1hr) - HISTORY
I was fortunate to return to many of Ontario’s northern-most communities for IRT 11. If you don’t believe in Global warming, no need to go far. Hitch a ride with any of the trucks driving in and out of these communities all winter.
As you bounce violently in your seat, they will tell you how these isolated reserves are only accessible via (ice) road. When the ice melts early March, the season ends and supplies need to be flown in, blowing costs out of the water. These shorter seasons result in a frenzy of supplies being shipped in and out of these communities.
Season 11 was unlike any other: It was non-stop, weather fluctuated, and shooting was around the clock as temperatures were coldest at night. With no chance to get pick ups down the road and only a day or two to shoot your truck's portion of an episode, no show has ever tested me harder on rolling with and on the punches, while demanding ownership of your own sound, multiple cameras and big personalities. I can't wait for you to see the results.
"RESTORATION GARAGE 3": Series Director (12 x 30m) - VELOCITY
On this season of Restoration garage, I got to spend significant time in post, story editing 8 of the 12 episodes. While a new format (30 minutes) changed the nature of the stories we needed to capture in the field – so did a tighter deadline. No more waiting all year for a car to be restored. We needed to get in, find our stories, finish them and get out to then feed post.
A good friend of mine once told me post was “Director’s purgatory”. It sure was, at first. I didn’t know where to hide when the editor would ask where my extreme closeups, walk-ins and non-synch wides were.. assuming I had gotten them.
However, after working so closely with my footage for so long, my process in the field became streamlined. I learned to quickly find the story, create a mind-movie and knock off the shot list while adjusting for the unpredictability of non-fiction. It was also incredibly rewarding to put your episodes together as you had set out to shoot them - a rare luxury in non-fiction TV.
"MEGA TRAINS": Camera Operator (6 x 1hr) - DISCOVERY INTERNATIONAL
From the Gulf of Alaska, the cotton fields in Georgia to the ports of New Zealand, our small two-man crew followed some of the world’s biggest rail operations to show you the work it takes to move freight around the world.
"ICE ROAD TRUCKERS 10 " : Field Producer (10 x 1hr) - HISTORY
This winter I travelled to several remote communities all over northern Canada while shooting the 10th season of History Channel’s iconic show, Ice Road Truckers.
Between a short winter, thin ice crossings and sleeping in the back of a GMC Yukon, IRT was by far one of the most challenging shoots I’ve been on. It was never a matter of “if?” but more a question of “when?” will we be broken down in the bush.. I tell you, surviving off cold cans of Chef Boyardee while shooting (around the clock) one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, will truly put any team to the test.
"COLD WATER COWBOYS 3" : Director / DOP ( 8 x 1hr) - DISCOVERY
In the early spring of 2016, I was shipped back out to the frigid coast of Newfoundland. Assigned to the Sebastian Sails, DOP Aaron Denault and I set out for sometimes 2 weeks at a time following Skipper Morris Anstey and his crew as they went at crab.
Without a cell signal for weeks or even view of land, we knew we were well beyond the reach of the air-born coast guard. But don’t get me wrong, we ate like kings, caught a ton of crab and even the odd rogue wave was hard pressed to dampen the mood of these hardy Maritimers.
Season 3 airs March of 2016 on Discovery Canada. Find Episodes online HERE
"KEEPING CANADA ALIVE" : Director (1 x 1hr) - CBC
On may 6th, 60 camera crews from across the country descended upon the Canadian health-care system, catching a rare glimpse of what life is really like for doctors, nurses, technicians and patients across the nation.
My team was sent to the Montreal Neuro to witness the removal of a brain tumor.
Based on the British ITV format, “Keeping Canada Alive”, is a 6 x 1 hour documentary series produced by Force Four entertainment for CBC.
Full Episode can be viewed HERE
Uncut raw footage from our shoot can be seen HERE
"COLD WATER COWBOYS 2" : Director / Shooter ( 8 x 1hr) - DISCOVERY
For seven weeks I was aboard a 45-foot fishing vessel "The Midnight Shadow" as its six-man crew set out off the Cost of Newfoundland, braving the Norh Atlantic in search of Herring and Mackerel.
By far one of the most challenging shoots I have worked on yet, Cold Water Cowboys was one heck of a ride. We were a two-person film-crew, at times given a mere 30 minute heads-up that we were headed out to sea for anywhere from one day to two weeks.
Yes, I did get seasick, it can be absolutely crippling. When I slept, it was on the wheelhouse dash, and showers? .. I forgot what those felt like after two weeks at sea. But who cares, I got to steam around "the Rock" with some of the funniest (and perhaps toughest ) group of men I have ever met. And herring taste better fried.
Season 2 will air on Discovery in Canada early 2015
RESTORATION GARAGE : Director / Assistant Dir. ( 17 x 1hr ) - HISTORY
From Donnington to Detroit, Manhattan beach to Milan, the world of high end car restoration took me to some cool places around the globe. For two seasons we followed the specialized craftsmen at the Guild of Automotive Restorers in Ontario as they restored Alfa Romeos, Jaguars, a Bugatti and a lot of American muscle for car shows and clients the world-over.
On season two I Directed and shot several weeks on the production. This series was a good mix of character drama, run and gun action, shameless car-porn and of course, grandiose reveals. Despite coming close to buying a number of cars at auction myself, my ride to work remains an 18-speed bicycle.
The show airs on History in Canada and National Geographic in the US.
Click HERE to watch episodes online.
LICENCE TO DRILL: LOUISIANA : Field Supervisor ( 8 x 1hr ) - DISCOVERY
I mention this season apart as it was an entirely different beast. As the Field Supervisor for 4 crews shooting days and nights in Central Louisiana over 8 weeks, I learned that my phone rarely rang with good news. Staying on story while trying to sync union crew schedules with that of 24hr drilling operations was no easy feat.
The show aired on Discovery in Canada
Click HERE to watch episodes online.
LICENCE TO DRILL 2 and 3 : Assistant Dir. ( 16 x 1 hr ) - DISCOVERY
As a BC boy, I thought the Montreal winters were as bad as they came. Turns out that was false. For 2 winters I immersed myself into the world of high stakes oil exploration. Licence to Drill took me from the frozen tundra of the North-West Territories to dry and desolate central Alberta. Two seasons on the rigs as an AD taught me more than simply the realities of oil industry; rig hands taught me a little something called “grit”,
The show airs on Discovery in Canada, and The Science Channel in the US as “Cold Diggers”
Click HERE to find episodes online.
JACKED! : Assistant Director/2nd Camera ( 10 x 1hr) - DISCOVERY
In Louisiana, as an AD and second Camera, we went all over and around the ‘Big-Easy’ covering the rock and roll "house-jacking" industry. Basically, New Orleans was built on a swamp, and on top of yearly floods, the city is slowly sinking into the bayou. We literally followed construction crews as they burrowed beneath condemned houses to then elevate them 6-10 feet into the air, hoping the foundation wouldn’t collapse above us all.
The show airs on Discovery in Canada.
Click HERE to watch episodes online.
For a far more complete list of my latest credits, please find my CV on the DEPLOY page.