If you're really interested in how many times I won the South Yorkshire sword dancing trophy, my time as a Bingo caller in Rotherham or as a tour guide at the Roman Baths, and why the future king of Norway once served me pancakes, then get in touch and let's go out for a beer. Otherwise please feel free to read on...
Sir David Attenborough & I holding the Life in Cold Blood Golden Panda Award, Wildscreen 2008
Holding a female horseshoe crab. Delaware Bay, filming for "Life" 2008.
Me, A Natural History
I
found my first fossil on the Yorkshire coast when I was 8 years old. It
was a broken pyritised ammonite, also known as an iron ammonite. Since
the moment I
picked up that fragment I've been captivated by
all things fossily
- to stare into the petrified eyes of a trilobite or to feel the
curvature of an ammonites whorls is to take a glimpse into a alien
world.
I now live in Bristol which is a stones throw from Dorset - giving me
the perfect way to escape the city. You can often find me strolling
along the Jurassic Coast on the search
for more palaeontological gems.
Migrating South
With a growing passion for palaeontology I slowly meandered south from my native Rotherham in South Yorkshire and passed through various universities. Along the way I picked up a degree in Geology from the University of Derby and an MSc's in palaeontology from UCL and science communication from the University of Bath. I was also pleased to be elected a fellow of the Geological Society of London and the Royal Geographical Society. These pieces of paper represented academic adventures in natural history and set me for a life of discovery. My next stop was the Natural History Museum in London where, of all things, I studied fossil algae - I find it hard to remember just how obsessed I was with this microscopic world but I do remember how beautiful those fossils were. I discovered a new species and my work was published in a German journal.
From Museum to Mountain
After
several summers working as a camp counselor in the US I had made good
contacts and I now found myself teaching environmental education for
Frost Valley environmental education centre and the University of Rhode
Island. It was a blissful life living in the wilds of the Catskill
mountains and the forest of Rhode Island. I quickly discovered a passion
and skill for communicating science, and entertaining students and
visitors. I specialised in forest and wetland ecology, geology and
astronomy and I helped to rehabilitate injured birds of prey - it was
one of the most influential years of my life and my path through
academia was rapidly redirected into the world of television.
About to teach a class with some help from our resident barred owl at Frost Valley Raptor CentreMy Lucky Break
My break in TV came
with the series 'Journey of Life', presented by Steve Leonard. The
producer, Miles Barton, needed a paleontologist and my CV just so
happened to land on his desk at the right time. I had two weeks work
experience to prove myself. Fortunately my first task was to find a good
story and location to film ammonites! A few days later I was on my
first TV shoot heading to the ammonite pavement west of Lyme Regis - a
site where I had spent many months as an undergraduate carrying out
research. I was hired at the end of the two weeks. My adventure in Television had begun.
Steve Leonard and I with a model used to show how big ammonites could grow
Incidentally
the beach where I studied and filmed ammonites also became the site
where I proposed to my wife Donna. Surely you can't more romantic than a
bed of ammonites as the sun sets!
A Brief List of Credits
How Life Works (In Production)
Animals Guide to Britain (2011)
Producer: Freshwater Programme
Assistant Producer: Woodlands Programme How Life Works (In Production)
Animals Guide to Britain (2011)
Producer: Freshwater Programme
BBC Natural History Unit, Bristol
Chris Packham presents the series that examines Britain from an animal's point of view. Each week he encounters an elite group of five animals each of which senses the world in a very different way. By understanding their needs, problems and histories on these islands, Chris reveals what they make of modern Britain - and its humans.
How the Earth made us (2010)
Assistant Producer, BBC Science, London
(60x5) BBC Four 2009
Building on the success of 'Earth, Power of the planet' Professor Iain Stewart explores the relationship between planetary forces and human civilisation.
Travelling two times around the planet we filmed in over 30 countries, everywhere from the tiny island of Yap in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from the Arctic to the Sahara desert yet nowhere could prepare me for filming in one of the deadliest places on the planet - The Giant Crystal Cave of Naica, Mexico...
Filming in one of the deadliest places on the Planet
It's 50oC and has a humidity of 100%, less than a hundred people have been inside the caves and it's so deadly that even with respirators and suits of ice you can only survive for 20 minutes at a time. Over three long gruelling days we spent a total of 8 hours in this environment, filming one of the most unique and geologically magnificent locations on the planet. A giant geode under the Mexican desert, containing the largest crystals in the world - more than 11 metres long!
The Giant Crystals of Naica. National Geographic have more amazing pics here.
Other favourite moments include:
Directing sequences in the golden dunes of the Sahara desert and in the ancient Mauritanian town of Chinguetti where we saw some of the oldest books in Africa.
A Blast of a Time
I have used high speed cameras many times but it was quite a challenge to coordinate a six-camera high speed shoot to film the UK's largest quarry blast. After several hours of preparation, we set the cameras running, ran into a blast shelter, turned the blast key and within seconds 200,000 tonnes or rock has been blasted around us. It was an awesome, exhilarating, moment and all captured at a breath-taking speed of 2000 frames a second.
Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour (2009)
Researcher, (10x60) BBC One 2009
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough. A major landmark series exploring the most spectacular, surprising and intimate behaviour of the major groups of life on the planet. Working primarily on the ‘Birds’ film I helped to develop and film ambitious sequences such as the mass migration of birds and Horseshoe Crabs in Delaware Bay and Burrowing Owls in South Dakota. My most challenging shoot involved four weeks camping in a remote arctic valley in Svalbard. With a two camera crew we aimed to film the fledging of Barnacle Geese chicks - something which had not been attempted since 1985 (and now I understand why!).
Chasing the Monsoon, South India
Presenter/Producer (June 2009)
A multiplatform (photographic, video and text) expedition through the Western Ghats of India with Wildlife Photographer Kalyan Varma. To highlight the importance of the annual rains to the wildlife and people. 20 stories were filmed in four weeks including encounters with endangered and rare wildlife, and interviews with top scientists, conservationists and policy makers such as the director of Nature Conservation Foundation, the head of the Agumbe King Cobra research station and the head of the Darjoli Sloth bear sanctuary. Photos, video and written accounts were posted during the expedition. This content is planned for Web delivery and BBC Multiplatform.
Sloth Bear, photographed at Daroji Bear Sanctuary, South India
Darwin's Struggle (2009)
The evolution of the origin of species (60x1)
To commemorate the bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species. This film explores Darwins own writings to delve into the development of the theory of natural selection over the twenty years he spent at Downe House in Kent. Through severe illness, the loss of a child and his immense concerns over the societal and religious impact of his theories.
Life in Cold Blood (2008)
Researcher, (10x60) BBC One
Sir David Attenborough presents the final chapter of his epic overview of life on Earth as he transforms perceptions of cold-blooded animals in this major BBC series. I directed Natural History shoots in locations across Africa, Canada & South East Asia.
My favourite shoot involved a close encounter with the Japanese Giant Salamander, which can grow up to 2 metres long. I had read reports from farmers that they had seen these salamanders fighting like crocodiles, engaged in deadly 'death rolls' several months later we became the first crew ever to capture this unique behavior on film... and it all happened around my green wellies as I tried desperately to follow the action with the underwater camera.
BAFTA (Best Specialist Factual series 2009)Golden Panda (Wildscreen Best Series 2008)
Journey of Life (2006)
Researcher, (60x5) BBC One
In a journey from sea, to land, to sky, life has evolved remarkable solutions to the challenge of survival. Journey of Life visits the crucial moments in life's journey to dominate the earth.
Britain Goes Wild (2004)
Story Producer/Monitor Recorder, BBC
Live broadcast following the antics of wild animals on a traditional British farm. The forerunner to the highly acclaimed annual series Springwatch and Autumnwatch.
Me and cameraman Michael Male filming spawning horseshoe crabs
Adisa, Legacies of the Slave Trade, Ghana
This was a project that I filmed in 2007, producing a series of short films for an exhibition on the history and legacies of the slave trade. Visiting Ghana and West Africa I followed a group of Bristol teenagers as they explored their African heritage and the sites of the Slave trail. Along with my photographs these films have formed part of several unique exhibitions on Slavery in Bristol and contribute to the permanent exhibitions at the Bristol M Shed. You can watch highlights on my YouTube Channel.
Kente Weaver, Ghana - filmed as part of the Adisa Expedition 2007TestTube TV & Science Communication
Working with fellow graduates from the MSc. Science Communication course I founded TestTube TV in 2003 to promote public dialogue around scientific issues. I am involved in several outreach projects, science festivals and conferences, demonstrating filming techniques and technology, and speaking about some of my specialist natural history subjects.
Web Production & New Media
Over 1.5 million views of my Youtube videos
Over 28,000 followers on my wildlife & environmental news twitter @Earth_News
Top 'Wildlife News' twitter in list of top 50 wildlife Twitters by Guardian online.
Over 21,000 followers on my personal Twitter @iron_ammonite
One of the first internal BBC bloggers
Creator of the first BBC video podcast
Presenting at Web2Live, a conference on Web2.0.
I am experienced with producing multiplatform assets from simple webpages to geotagging, augmented reality, and RSS. I am always keen to play with new and emerging technology and develop ideas to use these.
BBC Creative Research & Development
Innovation Team Researcher: (June 04 - Mar 05)
Working at the heart of New Media I was involved in a range of projects to promote 3D production and multimedia development. I researched and wrote several high industry reports (games industry, EPG's) which fed into pan-bbc strategy.
New Media Producer, Windfall Digital
I developed and pitched New Media proposals and produced interactive projects to accompany television commissions such as the Royal Society christmas lectures. I formed links with major public bodies and science communication centres such as the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, London.
