tv-bay Questions

Name & Title?
Giles Harvey DoP
Who are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?
With a degree in photography and BBC trained I run my own camera agency LUTTRELL PRODUCTIONS LTD providing crew for TV and film, documentaries and advertising. I tend to do most of my work for the terrestrial broadcasters as well as some of the largest ad agencies but also work with up and coming directors.
What do you do? What does your company do?
We do most of our work shooting features/openers for major sporting events, but my passion is shooting 35mm sensor cameras and I am a RED Epic owner. With the RED I shoot short films, music videos and ad's.
Tell me a little about your previous experience, what you've worked on and with up to your current position?
I have just returned from shooting a doc in Shanghai, China for Nike. But this summer has seen four Ob documentaries I have been working on aired; The Hungry Frenchman (BBC1), The Circus (ITV1), Racing with the Hamilton's (BBC1) and Back in the Saddle (ITV1). Early on in my career I cut my teeth on shows such Pop Idol and many live sports events including eight Champions League Finals and 30 England International football matches. 18 months ago I co-produced/directed and DP'd a world wide release seven part series for Redbull - The Wingman. We travelled from Hawaii to Tokyo and all through South America.
What specific project(s) do you have in the works?
I am down to the last 2 DP's to shoot in San Francisco with a super model with a decent budget. Would be a dream job so let’s hope it comes off. In addition I have 2 programmes with commissioning editors so hope to put one into full pre-production shortly.
What new technology are you working with?
A part of the growing demand of online broadcast delivery, I co-founded www.nuview.tv and now renamed www.quixel.tv. This has many exciting possibilities and is already being used by the BBC, IOC and Laureus world sports to name but a few. We have a unique patented upload while you encode system which is set to be revolutionary for this type of business so watch this space........
What new products/technology are you looking forward to the most?
In my quest to stay on top of all the current technology I am forever reading journals and chatting through concepts with my contemporaries on what the industry is lacking and how if i could come up with a camera or some industry technology that will make a difference in the market. So up pops the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera. Shooting 2.5k raw and then the holy grail of being able to shoot in edit format (dictated by the client) of pro-res or DnX. If this wasn't enough, the form factor and then price point means it cannot be ignored. Using Thunderbolt to off load the data has got all DP's ears pricking up with excitement.
During your career what was the biggest “turning point” in terms of new technology?
The biggest change in my career was the shooting on 35mm sensor cameras. I started with a 7D converted to PL mount and built it into a rig shooting with cinematic primes. This meant changing the way I approached filming. After studying photography I then went on to shoot broadcast cameras with zoom lenses. I became slightly detached from the essence of controlling depth and creating a look that you get when shooting with large sensor cameras or film.
What is your favourite and least favourite thing about working your job?
My favourite element of filming is when you know you have the gold in the can and the client is surprised by how much their expectation has been exceeded. The worst..... has to be sorting the money out before and after the job. No matter how clear you are and how many conversations you have there always seems to be a battle over the kit you require to carry out the task at hand.
What gets you out of bed in the morning to go to work?
My bloody kids....... love them really