Mr John Podpadec

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About me

I come to UWE Bristol after having spent some 35 years working in the Broadcast and Independent Film Industry as a Cinematographer and Filmmaker. I worked on many high-profile productions for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 including Horizon, Equinox, Secret History, Trouble at the Top and Blood on the Carpet, a number of which went on to win awards at BAFTA, The RTS, BEMA and The European Commission. I was awarded a Royal Television Society Award for Best Broadcast Cinematography in 2004.

For over ten years I was a member of Forum Television Co-operative, a Bristol based television company that produced many innovative programmes for broadcast including a number dealing with restorative justice and the reconciliation between communities in conflict.

I have built strong relations with artists and those working within the arts. I was Director of Photography on three feature documentaries, 'Bataville', 'Living with the Tudors' and 'Jaywick' directed by the artists Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie. (Bataville won The Northern Arts Prize in 2009). In 2020 I worked with Swedish artist Jo Billing on her film 'Each Moment Presents What Happens'.

Over a number of years, I contributed to the BAFTA winning educational websites of both the National Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company, filming many rehearsal sessions and stage productions.

Working with Illumina Digital and the BBC I was involved with much of the early documentation of the internet and its possibilities, realising interactive drama and factual productions that helped pioneer a number of technology platforms across the broadcast, cultural and education sectors.

Prior to working in Film and Television my photographic work was exhibited widely in this country and throughout Europe. I was a member of Bristol's Rainbow collective and together with a number of photographers working in colour I was concerned with novel approaches to documentary. In 1982 I established the Bath Community Darkroom Project which went on to become the influential F Stop gallery.


Area of expertise

  • Fiction and Non Fiction film production
  • Celluloid and Digital acquisition
  • Observational Documentary
  • Natural and Dramatic Lighting Techniques
  • Drama and Dramatised Reconstruction
  • Work with High Profile Presenters
  • Work with Artists and Stage Productions
  • Medical and Surgical film work
  • Work in Schools

Publications

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