I have been making documentary films for more than thirty years. If you see this as a problem, you may be looking at the wrong profile. If, on the other hand, this makes you suspect that I might be getting the hang of it, please read on.

In that time I have worked for the BBC, ITV, C4, Sky, CNN, A&E, TLC and other broadcasters in th... Read More

I have been making documentary films for more than thirty years. If you see this as a problem, you may be looking at the wrong profile. If, on the other hand, this makes you suspect that I might be getting the hang of it, please read on.

In that time I have worked for the BBC, ITV, C4, Sky, CNN, A&E, TLC and other broadcasters in the US and elsewhere. I have made single films and short series on subjects as varied as the history of bank robbery; the Aberfan disaster; the Kennedy family; middle-class alcoholism; the murder of PC Keith Blakelock; the forensics of fire; the science of medical errors; Nina Simone; Laurie Lee; Buddy Holly; Grace Kelly; the Moors murders and the work of the Metropolitan Police's Clubs and Vice Unit.

Many of these films have had an observational element and I am comfortable with stories that unfold on camera. I am also highly confident making more constructed documentaries, turning 'non-visual' stories into compelling films with very high production values. I understand that television is better at emotion than information; more effective when seeing interviewees as characters than as contributors. Tell the story, treat your audience with respect and trust them to get it. They are at least as smart as you.

I have worked for current affairs strands that include World in Action, Panorama, This World and Dispatches. I am comfortable with difficult and legally problematic subject matter. I am a good journalist with sound editorial judgement and know how to focus research to bring sensitive stories to the screen and to do so in a visually interesting way. Poor Current Affairs films often feel like illustrated radio. Some executives of your acquaintance may even seem to prefer this, bustling into the cutting room the night before broadcast where they 'shuffle the blocks' in line with some unhinged internal logic, 'rescuing' films that did not require it. It is almost always possible to do better. Find the smallest window on the biggest view. Tell stories rather than explore issues; if you tell a story properly, the issue becomes obvious. Keep the faith. It won't be like this forever. Film making and Current Affairs need not be mutually exclusive.

I am happy working with reporters - the goat that travels with the racehorse if required. I understand the dynamic of presenter-led films and know how to get the best out of on screen talent. Reporters like me. I make them look good.

I also like working with actors and am always clear and focussed without being tediously prescriptive. Other people often have better ideas. Embrace them wherever they come from. Always share the credit. Never pass on the blame. Don't be afraid to say you don't know. A bit of humility goes a long way. TV is truly a team game. If you really do need to pull rank, do it as gently as you can. The director with a grand, fully formed vision is either a complete genius or more likely a bit of a fraud and more frightened than he or she appears. There's a lot of it about. I hire the best and smartest people I know and try not to get in their way. I aim to create the conditions in which they can do their job. That, after all is the way I like to be treated myself. 

My documentary films draw on the language of cinema. My drama has the authenticity of documentary. Take the viewer on a journey and know that sometimes the most rewarding journeys are the ones with the least signposts. And while we're at it, do try not to give away the whole story in the pre-titles. If you do, what reason does the viewer have to stay?

I enjoy - and am quite good at - mentoring less experienced directors, helping in a quiet way to foster the discipline required to deliver coherent, imaginative, intelligent films on time and within budget. I have done this in a formal teaching setting as well as on the job. Think more. Film less. No editor on earth will thank you for delivering a hundred hours of rushes for a 45 minute slot. 

My films are ambitious, layered, smart and cinematic. I try hard not to think of them as content. I know how to tell a story. Read Less