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About me

I am a well organised, strong communicator with a passion for and an in-depth knowledge of films and film-making. I have a breadth of experience working to a high standard under pressure; of making good things happen; controlling budgets; paying great attention to detail; collaborating well with an assortment of people and drawing the best out of them; being able to work independently and as a part of a team; all without losing my sense of humour.

For over six years I worked as an Assistant Director in the Film and Television industries on 20 feature films and 8 TV dramas. The Assistant Director's department is responsible for the smooth running of the set, for ensuring that everyone involved knows what scene's they will be working on, which cast and equipment are needed and making sure that everyone keeps to schedule. This requires good team-work, the ability to work quickly under pressure and motivating others to do the same. It involved me being able to manage a range of 'talent' from big name actors such as Richard Attenborough, Joan Collins, Willem Defoe, Tom Hardy and Paul Bettany to the runners and other members of the crew. As an A.D. I created and produced call sheets; daily reports; controlled a budget; timetables; booked supporting artists; scheduled; oversaw health and safety; ensured good communication and worked to strict, tight deadlines.

Communication is high on the list of the person specification for many jobs. Being able to convey ideas or complicated technical information clearly to a range of people with different levels of understanding is a skill I have had to use regularly in both in my current role and my role as an IT technician in Primary Schools. Helping and training staff who varied hugely in their understanding of technology and willingness to learn; running lunchtimes clubs for children with a range of computing experience; taking e-safety assemblies and staff-meetings; dealing with parents who didn't know as much as their children; all required me to be able to interpret and modify the information I was communicating to the right level for my audience. Also writing the social media output for schools and my company meant understanding the organisation I was representing and putting messages out that were engaging and inline with the appropriate ethos. In my current job one minute I could be talking to an experienced Network Manager and the next a School Administrator with very limited IT knowledge.

Since leaving the world of Assistant Directing I have produced, directed and edited many different film projects. I have experience ranging from the very small, doing pretty much everything myself, to directing part of the feature film 'Nine lives London', and for the majority of these I have been responsible not only for the development of the big idea, but also all the stages up until the finished product. If not writing the project myself then working with the writer editing, proofreading, honing the script. Analysing and interpreting financial data in order to prepare the budget. Identifying the details, drawing together all the necessary elements of cast, crew, props, locations and equipment, keeping everyone inspired and engaged even though sometimes it was for little or no financial reward.

For 6 years my wife and I volunteered at Newday, a Christian youth event that runs for a week every year and gathers 6, year olds with over 900 volunteer workers. Four of those years we were responsible for the children's work, overseeing 4 teams who each run an age group (3-4's, 5-7's, 8-11's) and a crèche. We managed the teams and their preparation throughout the months leading up to the event. Then during the event itself we worked closely with the Safeguarding team, ensured the venues were set up appropriately, complied with Health & Safety and Fire regulations and that everything was in place for them to look after over 300 children for 3 hours every morning

During the last year we volunteered at Newday I also oversaw the Digital Media team which comprised of an audio recording team who covered 20 venues, a team of 3 stills photographers, a young video team and liaising with a Corporate Video company. One of my main roles throughout the week was mentoring and encouraging the young, talented video team to produce high quality video spots for the Big Top and an audience of 5000 young people.

I am a creative thinker who loves working with and drawing the best out of those around me. I have a wealth of experience putting projects together, identifying the practicalities involved, weighing the risks and benefits, and assessing the outcomes after they are completed. Both my work in the mainstream industry and the independent sector has helped me develop the ability to work well under pressure to a high standard whilst inspiring others to do the same and has given me a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw upon.

Details

AvailabilityLooking for work

ContractPerm, Freelance

LocationLondon: United Kingdom

Working LocationsLondon: United Kingdom

Skill LevelMiddleweight, Senior

Tagged Job TitlesFilm Director, Film Maker, Producer

Recommendations

Currently No Recommendations

Skills

Directing, Editing, Film, Filming, Post Production, Producing, Television

Sector Experience

Film (Feature), Film (Short / Documentary), Information Technology, Production, Television, Theatre

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Dez's CV/Resume

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Creativepool member since 3 April 2017

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