Theatre, Film and Television
Class of 2004
Producer – EQ Films and Across the Emerald Pond
If you studied your undergraduate programme at York St John University or founder colleges, did you go on to postgraduate study?
No
Why have you chosen this photo as your YSJ Snapshot?
Playing rugby at uni was a great memory for me; because of the friends I made, the games we played and the lessons I learned.
My chosen career path was to work in the film industry. A film crew is like a team, every person has a role to play from the actors/stars to the runners. If somebody doesn’t do their job at the bottom or the top, then the machine breaks down much like a rugby team. But most importantly it was a lot of fun and those memories last a life time.
What are your fondest memories of York St John University?
Some of my fondest memories was the 1st year play, The Bed Sitting room. We had a blast prepping and performing the play. Especially as it was dadaistic play which meant we had a lot of Latitude in improvising. Also our 3rd year film was pretty good. Playing for the Lions across the 1st team and 2nd team was an absolute blast and I made some friends for life.
Why did you chose York St John University or founder colleges?
At the time it was one of the few universities that offered a large practical component to the film making side of the degree. Which was very important to me, this was before the digital boom in cameras.
What have you been doing since completing your studies?
During my time at University, I studied a semester abroad in Denmark, I did work experience in London and then I secured an internship in LA at Silver Pictures, as Matrix Revolutions was being released in 2003. During my internship I learned how the Hollywood studio system worked versus the indie system and also the US film industry versus the UK industry. From 2014 I started working with US companies in order to sell my films to North America and the rest of the world, in addition to liaising with US film financiers.
Today I have a number of different companies, my main two production companies are: EQ Films and Across the Emerald Pond, I specialize in Producing feature films from $500k up to $10m. In addition to having a Product placement company Outsider Advertisement, which arranges product placement deals for all of my companies films. When teamed up with the tax credits, it provides a robust financial structure for the films.
My most recent film, Breaking Infinity, a compelling Sci Fi/Thriller will be having a cinematic roadshow across the UK in June. A screening will be followed by a Q and A with the director and cast, proceeded by a mixer at the bar. The film will be showing at the Seven Arts Cinema in Leeds on Thursday June 15th. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/sevenleeds/breaking-infinity-screening-and-q-a/e-xrygjk
What one piece of advice would you give to a current student, or one about to graduate?
Figure out what you want to be in the future, and study the best path to get there. You can always deviate from the plan, as long as the end goal is always in site. Don’t give up, if you find something hard, keep persevering because you will get there eventually.