Don has had an extremely varied career. Starting out shooting thousands of hours of live performance, he honed his operating skills before putting on the Director of Photography cap and moving into specialised event visuals for the likes of Take That, Little Mix, Cheryl Cole, John Legend, Ellie Goulding and Olly Murs. These visuals also encompassed large events, such as the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony, Intimissimi on Ice, and 70 years of Ferrari.
The high-end nature of this work has led a natural progression into commercials, spots and TVC's. Don recently won a Clio award for Cinematography for his work on the highly successful Malaria No More spot, voiced by Stephen Magnan. His commercial work takes in brands such as Lego, Cadbury, Levi's, Thomas Pink, American Express, Blinds Direct, Amnesty, Clarks, Sheraton and The Trainline.
A million miles away from the polished nature of commercial, Don is equally happy shooting Documentary. He finished shooting his first feature, as main DOP, in 2015 – for the critically acclaimed The First Film – which went on to a successful cinema run, before finding a home on Film Four. Don has also worked on many TV doc projects, as well as producing a short doc, The Price of Love, which was screened on The Independent, The Telegraph and Russia Today – as well as being nominated for the Liberty Human Rights Award 2015. Don is currently main DOP on feature doc Postcards From The 48%, which is due to release in 2018.
His continued desire to learn the craft, led Don and Kieron Jansch to create the content for the Lee Filters Diffusion app, used by industry professionals; he tries to pass on learned knowledge through his blog and social media whenever he can.
The varied nature of Don's work, means he has learned how to light and shoot in a vast range of situations. Equally at home using natural light and practicals, as well as shooting studio and commercial setups. He is now steadily applying that knowledge to drama projects, where he can call upon a wide range of experience to accomplish unique director visions.
COMMERCIAL / SPOTS
Cadburys - 'Cadburys FC'- Real Crowd Pleasers. Stada Media
Blinds Direct - National TVC. Stada Media
Hopewiser - The Message
Ferrari - Studio visuals for 70 years of Ferrari
The Trainline - M-Ticket The Tortoise and the Hare
The Trainline - An Easier Way to Travel
Malaria No More - Winner - Silver Clio Award for Cinematography
Intimissimi On Ice - Visuals for 2016 Show
Sheraton - Delight My Journey
UNIDO - My Mum Is My Hero
Levi's - Series of brand films featuring innovators (Levi's Tailor Shop)
Lego - Duplo, Partners in Play
One M - Commercial for global mobile brand.
Kyara Pamyu Pamyu - Tate Modern, The World Goes Pop
Thomas Pink - The Travel Collection with Neil Laughton
Rugby World Cup - Filming key Visuals for RWC 2015 opening ceremony
Amnesty International - Commercial highlighting abortion laws in Ireland
American Express - Short Vine campaign for Am Ex
Topshop - Topshop Magazine
Skroppy - Children's toy commercial
Amnesty International - Commercial to support International Roma Day 2015
Healthcare UK - Commercial aimed at pitching UK healthcare overseas
Clarks Shoes - Creative visuals for a Clarks Shoes fashion show
Healthwatch UK - Commercial using miniatures
MUSIC / VISUALS
Shaun Mendes - Studio visuals for 2018 tour
John Legend - X Factor live performance visuals
Ellie Goulding - Visuals for 2016 tour
Ellie Goulding - X Factor live performance visuals
Take That - Visuals for Take That 2015 tour
Alyusha - Music video shot on Arri Amira
Union J - Visuals for Union J 2014 Capital FM Summer Ball performance
Cheryl Cole - Visuals for Cheryl Coles 2014 Britain’s Got Talent Final
Capital FM Summer Ball - Opening visuals for the Cadburys summer ball
Little Mix - Huge variety of lighting setups for Little Mix 2014 tour visuals
Dizzee Rascal - Time lapse for Dizzee Rascal visuals (Capital FM Winter Ball 2013)
The Rifles - Music video for The Rifles, Minute Mile
Olly Murs - Green screen shoot for Olly Murs2013 tour visuals
Little Mix - Green screen shoot for Little Mix 2013 tour visuals
DOCUMENTARY/DRAMA
Postcards From The 48% - Feature documentary. June 2018 release
The Impact - Part of feature drama project, starring Olivia Williams
The First Film - Feature length documentary, cinema release. FILM FOUR
Meet The Nativity - Series of Christmas films
Chartered Society Physiotherapy - Rehab Matters. Short film to highlight rehab inconsistencies
Immigration: Tearing Our Family Apart - Channel 5 documentary (Cameraman)
Seeing Him - Multi award winning short film
Ground Mending - Short film for Channel 4's Random Acts
The Price of Love (Director/DOP) - Liberty Human Rights Award shortlist priceoflovedoc.com
Deviation: A Journey Into Night - BTS documentary for Danny Dyer feature