| Director / Long Live My Happy Head / BBC Scotland / Melt the Fly / Dec 2019 to Mar 2022 / Tony Nellany |
| Production Title: Long Live My Happy Head Company: Melt the Fly Line Manager: Austen McCowan Programme Length: Feature Length Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Broadcast Television Description :
Additional Roles:
Co-Director, Cinematographer, Editor.
I spent 4 years making this film alongside Austen McCowan, over this time we became close friends with the protagonist Gordon and I deeply miss him. The film is my proudest work and I am so pleased to have done it. Everyone involved in the production gave it their all, Alexander Hamilton-Ayres with the original soundtrack, Ross Hogg with the animation and Barbara Toennieshen with the edit, it was working with Barbara that inspired me to pursue doc editing as my main outlet.
“Funny, poignant, and profound, Long Live My Happy Head introduces us to the unique talent, understated wit, and unenviable journey of Gordon Shaw, a Scottish comic book artist who is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in his early 30s. Not the least bit self-pitying but with puckish humor and admirable honesty, Gordon allows the film to accompany him and his long-distance true love Shawn—a sweet American living in Virginia—as they navigate the fragile rollercoaster of health challenges and caregiving amid the onset of COVID.
Gordon’s understated bemusement and inherent comic brilliance leaven the medical scenario with surprising moments that illuminate the realities of living with a terminal illness. In one scene, Gordon turns the relentless, overbearing sounds of an MRI scanner into a danceable soundtrack. Through his smart and funny artwork, Gordon finds an imaginative way to communicate what he’s feeling inside. Despite the ominous subject matter, this brave and somehow inspiring film shines light and love into a world immersed in intense human challenges.” - Frameline Film Festival |
| Editor - Broadcast / Love & Trouble / ARTE / Sonja Henrici Creates / Sep 2023 to Nov 2023 / Bernd Seidl |
| Production Title: Love & Trouble Company: Sonja Henrici Creates Line Manager: Sonja Henrici Programme Length: Feature Length Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Broadcast Television Description :
Additional Roles:
Additional Camera |
| Editor - Broadcast / The Hermit of Treig / BBC Scotland / Of the Wild / Oct 2021 to Feb 2022 / Louise Thornton |
| Production Title: The Hermit of Treig Company: Of the Wild Line Manager: Naomi Spiro Programme Length: Feature Length Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Broadcast Television Description :
“Ken Smith has spent the past four decades living in a log cabin nestled near Loch Treig, known as 'the lonely loch', not too far from Fort William. He has no electricity or running water. He lives off the land, fishing for his supper, chopping wood, and even brewing his own tipple. Director Lizzie MacKenzie has known Ken since 2012 and filmed him through changing seasons and challenging health problems. Her warm, captivating documentary, fondly celebrates a man in the wilderness and records the friendship that has grown between them.” - Glasgow Film
I was handed the feature length cut of ‘The Hermit of Treig’ and tasked as an Editor to re-cut it down to 60’ for broadcast. It was a joy to do and the 60’ version went on to win the Scottish BAFTA for ‘Best Single Documentary’. I’ve also travelled out to Ken’s remote cabin as a camera op with Melt the Fly.
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| Assistant Editor / The Final: Attack on Wembley / Netflix / Rogan Productions / Mar 2023 to Sep 2023 / Jonny Taylor |
| Production Title: The Final: Attack on Wembley Company: Rogan Productions Line Manager: Emma Scott Programme Length: Feature Length Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Video on demand Description :
“With England finally in the contention for a major championship, 6,000 ticketless football fans storm Wembley Stadium, leaving destruction in their wake.” - Neflix
I was fortunate enough to get selected onto the ‘Grierson/ Netflix Doclab: Focus on Editing’, as part of my placement I have taken on the role of Assistant Editor on a Netflix Original documentary produced by Rogan Productions. I am having the best time shadowing esteemed editors Danny Collins and Ferg McGrath, so thankful for the opportunity and I’m absorbing everything like a sponge. |
| Editor / Sink or Skim / BBC 1 / Melt the Fly / Mar 2018 to Feb 2019 / Louise Thornton |
| Production Title: Sink or Skim Company: Melt the Fly Line Manager: Austen McCowan Programme Length: 30 minutes Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Broadcast Television Description :
The World Stone Skimming Championship is held on the tiny Scottish island of Easdale every year. Two obsessed skimmers show us what it takes to become the world's best.
Sink or Skim was the highest performing programme across all of Scotland's digital channels on its premiering night.
“... a beautifully made piece and it was funny watching it go out and looking at social media because people were going ‘I can’t believe they’re doing something about stone skimming. Is this part of their sport portfolio?’. But by the end of it the same people were going ‘That was really good’.”- Steve Carson, BBC Scotland’s Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning.
This was my debut broadcast documentary that I edited and Co-Directed with Austen McCowan. It was the seed that created the production company Melt the Fly. It did so well on BBC Scotland it was uplifted to BBC One’s ‘Our Lives’ series in a primetime slot. On of the most fun years of my career making this and I’m quite good at stone skimming now too. |
| Editor / Harmonic Spectrum / Melt the Fly, Scottish Documentary Institute / Sep 2019 to Nov 2020 / Flore Cosquer |
| Production Title: Harmonic Spectrum Company: Melt the Fly, Scottish Documentary Institute Line Manager: Austen McCowan Programme Length: Under 30 minutes Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Short Film Description :
Sean uses the Piano to navigate life on the Autistic Spectrum. As he is drawn into new musical collaborations he must learn to balance his enthusiasm and compulsive energy with understanding and compromise, redefining his perspective in the process.
This short doc was developed and commissioned through the ‘Bridging the Gap’ scheme organised by the Scottish Documentary Institute. Produced with ‘Melt the Fly’, Edited by myself and Co-Directed and shot with Austen McCowan The film won the Scottish BAFTA for ‘Best Short Film or Animation’. Sean Logan has become a great friend and goes from strength to strength with his music, recently appearing on the final of Channel 4’s ‘The Piano’ and releasing his own album. |
| Editor / Have You Seen the Beast? / Melt the Fly / Nov 2019 to Feb 2024 |
| Production Title: Have You Seen the Beast? Company: Melt the Fly Line Manager: Austen McCowan Programme Length: Under 30 minutes Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Short Film Description :
A cold case rumour-mentary about sightings of an alien big cat in the rural Welsh countryside told through eyewitness telephone accounts.
On a trip to mid-Wales a few years ago, the directors heard a story of a mysterious creature in the small town of Llanwrtyd Wells. The story goes that a man and his wife were driving home one night when they were forced to stop their car for an animal crossing the road. You guessed it, it was a large black cat. Upon returning home, the filmmakers decided to investigate this further and began calling pubs, hotels and other local businesses in the area to see what they could find out. This film documents the conversations they had. |
| Editor / Instruments in the Architecture / Melt the Fly / Mar 2018 to Aug 2019 |
| Production Title: Instruments in the Architecture Company: Melt the Fly Line Manager: Austen McCowan Programme Length: Under 30 minutes Season: 1 Genre: Documentary Sector: Short Film Description :
Pianos are being thrown away at a tremendous rate – hauled away, set on fire and their valuable heavy metal sold for scrap. Tim, Leon and their team of inspired artists, musicians and volunteers have reclaimed these unloved instruments to build the world’s first 100-seater amphitheatre made entirely from up-cycled pianos. Balancing the artistic integrity of Tim’s vision with Leon’s practicality and realism tests the strength of their relationship as they race to complete the Pianodrome for its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
I worked with production company Melt the Fly and Co-Director Austen McCowan to create this short doc. We spent a lot of time and labour moving grand pianos & motorised timelapse kit around Scotland for this shoot. Creative collaboration, conflicts, sustainability, music, this film hit all the notes and had a very successful international festival run getting selected for 24 festivals internationally. |
