In the field as a cameraperson and drone pilot at the Elephant Valley Project, Mondulkiri
Angelo got in touch with me and wanted me to work as a cameraperson and drone pilot for him to film at the Elephant Valley Project (EVP) in Mondulkiri, Cambodia.
Angelo is a Portuguese actor who recently starred in the Brazilian Netflix drama Lady Voyuer. He was in Cambodia to shoot part of a pilot for a travel show. Having seen my work on Last of the Elephant Men, he asked me to come along for the ride.
It was great to catch up with some people I hadn’t seen for a long time and to be back in the jungle filming elephants. It was also great to meet Gee Pich (Diamond), the latest addition to the EVP family.
Gee Pich was born at the project after a heard of wild elephants entered EVP. Pearl ran away with the heard and 21 months after she came back she gave birth to Gee Pich.
While the staff at EVP would love to rewild elephants, this is not one of the aims of the projects as most of the elephants have lived in captivity for most if not all of their lives and simply don’t have the skills to survive in the wild.
Although the outcome is largely positive, unfortunately, this kind of encounter is becoming increasingly common as the wild elephants natural habitats are being destroyed. This changes their annual migration routes.
The heavy rain made for an interesting shoot - it was a challenge keeping all the kit dry, but it gives the jungle a wonderful enclosed atmosphere and makes for some great images.
Hopefully Angelo is successful in pitching the show and it’s coming to a screen near you!
You can see the trailer of the feature-length documentary about elephants I worked on as a cameraperson in Mondulkiri here and you can see other examples of my documentary work here.
Below are some frames from the footage I shot. All the images were shot in log and haven’t been graded.
Videographer for UNDP's Regional Office, Bangkok, Thailand
I was hired to work as a videographer by UNDP Asia and the Pacific to make a video for Human Rights Day.
The video was posted on UNDP’s social media channels and shows the journeys and hopes of 7 young human rights defenders and climate activists from across the Asia Pacific to inspire other youth to be more aware of the issues surrounding climate change.
The human rights defenders and activists hailed from across the Asia Pacific regions from countries including The Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal and India.
It was fascinating listening to the tell their stories about how the became activists and human rights defenders; the adversity they’ve faced; their optimism for the future and their suggestion for actions that youth can take across the region to increase understanding and awareness of a situation that is quickly becoming a pressing concern.
It was great to work with the UNDP team at their office in Bangkok, Thailand. It would be a pleasure to collaborate with them again on future projects.
You can see more examples of my videography work here and here.
On assignment as a videographer on UNICEF's Generation Future project
Nick Sells contacted me to work as a videographer to document UNICEF’s Generation Future programme in Cambodia. Generation Future is a mentorship programme for young Cambodians with big ideas. The project will form part of UNICEF’s celebration of World Children’s Day.
After being selected for the programme, a group of young Cambodians receive one-on-one guidance from accomplished mentors. They also get seed funding to budget for essential project costs and tailored training from UNICEF Cambodia. When they have completed the training, they take their projects into schools to engage other Cambodian youth about their ideas for social change.
The were a broad range of projects including projects about creating school gardens to grow vegetables, oral hygiene and engineering. The video follows the participants training and them delivering the training for their project at a numbers of schools in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The aim in the future is to expand the project, so school children all over the country can benefit.
It was a pleasure getting to meet the future generation of Cambodians. If they’re anything to go by, Cambodia is in safe hands. Hopefully the success of the project will mean that it returns in 2023.
You can see more examples of my videography work here and here.
Shooting PD for the BBC on a segment about Phare for The Travel Show
Working as a shooting PD (producer, director) on a segment on Cambodia about Phare for The Travel Show was one of those occasions where I feel lucky to have the job I do.
The shoot started at Phare Ponleu Selpak in Battambang to document the performing arts school before heading to Phare Circus in Siem Reap to catch a performance.
I’d never been to the school or the circus, but I’d heard a lot about both, so I was eager to find out what it was all about. The school is in a cool spot on the outskirts of Battambang. The walls are adorned with lots of colourful artwork, there’s a large practice hall and they even have a big top where performances are held.
I interviewed one of the founding members and one of the teachers before fimling some rehearsals and a performance that was taking place for a group of visiting school children.
From Battambang, I travelled to Siem Reap to film some interviews with some of the graduates of the performing arts school and to see a live performance. It was a great end to the shoot and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Siem Reap who wants to see more than just the temples. Roll Up! Roll Up! Get Your Tickets Here…
Once again thanks to Nick at the team at Hanuman Films for giving me the opportunity. The segment is in the link below and starts at the 12-minute 28-second mark. You can see another segment I was shooting PD on about the Angkor Archaeological Park here and you can see more examples of my video production work here.
Working as a shooting producer, director on a segment about Cambodia for BBC’s The Travel Show. I filmed the school in Battambang and the circus in Siem Reap.
Producer, Director, Camera Op on a segment for the BBC Travel Show
It was an incredible opportunity to work as a producer, director and camera operator on a segment for The Travel Show, filmed at the Angkor Archeological Park in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The segment was broadcast on BBC World News in over 200 countries around the world.
The team at Hanuman Films made a segment in May 2020 at the height of Covid, when there were no tourists at the temples. The idea was to catch up with the same three people they interviewed two years on to see how things had changed since the borders had reopened and tourists were starting to slowly trickle back.
Hanuman Films were busy on another project, so Nick graciously passed the work on.
It was a whirlwind shoot as I had to travel from Battambang, secure filming permission to film at the temples at the last minute, find Reaksmey, Korn and Ousa and film everything within the space of 24 hours.
Reaksmey and Korn were easy enough to find as we still had contacts for them, but Ousa had left he job at a stall at Angkor Wat and lived in a small village 20km away. When we finally caught up with her, she was heavily pregnant but very kindly agreed to film an interview and some b-roll with us.
It was a pleasure working with the team at The Travel Show. They did a great job putting the edit together in record time. Hopefully, I will get to work with them again in the future.
You can see more examples of projects I’ve worked on as a producer, director and camera op here and check out some more of the documentary projects I’ve worked on here.
A segment of the BBC’s The Travel Show, I produced, directed and shot at the Angkor Temples in Cambodia