Hi James, please tell us how you came to working in our industry?
I was studying engineering when I bought my first DSLR stills camera as a hobby, two years later I was enjoying photography but had zero interest in finishing my engineering degree. While I was investigating photographic courses to move into my partner at the time suggested I go towards film as I was already such a film nerd. So that was that, it was a great suggestion and one I’ll always be grateful for.

Who initially  influenced your career.
Team Picture Hire, Dai Cookes and Dave Gregan were the two who helped me get a foot in the door and guided me through my first years in the industry. It was the first film industry job I ever applied for and it couldn’t have gone any better. Their support, teaching and friendship will always be valued.

What did you do when you decide this was the career for you?
Unfortunately in 2017 my father passed away and it prompted a bit of a shakeup in my life. I decided I wanted to pursue cinematography more strongly and work full time as a cinematographer. In 2018 I went to AFTRS 2 days a fortnight, flying in and out of Sydney twice a month to study their grad certificate in cinematography, a fantastic course that sadly they don’t run any more. I enjoyed it so much that I decided that I wanted to pursue my master’s degree at AFTRS and with the support of my partner we moved to Sydney together to try and further my career.

What’s the best advice you ever received?
Easy. That work should be pleasant. Nobody wants to go to work and be miserable all day, so try and be polite, friendly and enjoyable to be around on set. I’m confident that my demeanour on set has got me more work than the quality of my work over the years.

How do you approach working on or shooting a new project?
I start by trying to get into the directors mind, what they envisage for the finished film. From there I just try and create a visual bible for the film, what is the standard aim with the lighting, how does the camera move, how are the characters framed, etc. Then I look to areas where I will need to break from the standard look or evolve it as the story requires. Finally it’s time to move into practical execution, will a scene require additional equipment or crew and if so what needs to be done there.
 
What keeps you motivated to do this job?
It’s fun! Keeps me out of the house and occupied.

 What is a common blunder that film creators make?
Big dreams are a necessary part of driving your work forward but excessive ambition often leads to a whole lot of wasted time.

I’d much rather execute a small project perfectly than a huge project poorly because the resources are only there for the small project.
The pic is when I was shooting my 1st short film back in 2012.

Please tell us what’s your favourite film or TV show?
I need to watch Sharp Objects again but that certainly stands out for me in the last few years in TV land. As for films I can bounce between the Lord of the Rings series to Prisoners to Pans Labyrinth and anything in between.

What piece of equipment or thing could you not do without on-set?
A stills camera to help find the frame, I just can’t get the same vibe out of a phone based viewfinder.

What has been your most interesting or challenging project so far?
I shot a short film last year that had cloned characters, so I needed to work out a variety of ways to show two of the same actor in completely different wardrobe and makeup in the same shot. Combined with a super low budget, every scene taking place in a new location and the fun of shooting as we were all adapting to working with Covid it was a great adventure that film. 

What’s your proudest moment so far?
I’m hoping to overtake this one soon because graduating from film school shouldn’t be the peak of your career but I was pretty happy to get my Master’s degree, going from almost failing high school, dropping out of Uni to get a high level degree was very satisfying.

What do you look for in people when selecting a crew?
I always want to work with hard working professionals who are fun and pleasant to be around.

Have you met colourful characters along the way?
Yes, every time I make it to the SA ACS Christmas drinks.

If you could change anything in this industry what would it be?
Working at home during lockdown and seeing my partner switch on to work more for her 8 hours and then living her life after that has made me think about an industry where 11-hour days aren’t the standard.

Now that you have finished Film school what’s your plan for the future?
Shoot shoot shoot, Covid and lockdowns have put a bit of a damper on things this year but there’s a few small productions in the pipeline.

The team on Outback Odyssey in Feb 2020 just before the world broke!

If you started your career over again would you have done anything different?
I wish I had gone for it sooner and just worked towards something I was interested in from the minute I realised that engineering wasn’t for me.

Do you have any advice for other young people who are thinking about attending Film School?
Dive into it and then once there, dive into everything that you can. It doesn’t matter if you know what you’re doing, as long as you work hard and think practically.

Thanks James and we will look forward to seeing your work in the near future, good luck.