About Me
Hi! I'm Spencer, so good to meet you. I am a filmmaker and a freelance photographer and videographer based in the North of England. I'm a Yorkshire lad, born and bred, but now live in Manchester after studying Film Production at the University of Salford where I graduated in July 2023. I am an extroverted guy with barrels full of energy at all times. Externally to creative work, I love gaming, sports and fitness. Anyway, enough about my personal life! Here's some information about my work:
Filmmaker - Camera dept & editor
While at university, I mainly specialised in the camera department, working with cinema cameras like the Arri Mini LF, Arri Alexa XT, Arri Alexa Classic, Arri Amira, Panasonic Varicam (35 and LT), Panasonic EVA 1, Canon C100 and Canon C70, as well as completing a module using an Arri celluloid film camera, learning how to load film and expose using a light meter. I also specialised in offline editing on software like Avid Media Composer and further trained my skill on Adobe Premier Pro which I have been using for 7 years. I also learned how to colour grade log footage on DaVinci Resolve. While there, I won an award for Best Student Short at KinoFilm Festival 2022 with the film, "Sinister Sales", where I was the Director of Photography, as well as our final year film, Milkshakes and Burger Phones being nominated twice at the end of L6 Awards Ceremony, winning Best Colour Grade and coming Runner-Up for Best Stylisation.
Externally to university, I have experience working as camera trainee on a Raindance Best UK Short winning short, BFI shorts and an Apple TV show, award-nominated dramas both in the camera department and as a boom operator and runner when I was younger, a horror feature film as 2nd AC, flying to Germany to be 1st AC on a short film shot in Berlin (that has 8 festival selections) and visiting Normandy on the ferry to shoot a documentary on the 80th Anniversary of D-Day.
I've had the pleasure of working with multiple Academy Award winning filmmakers and actors from narrative films and series such as The Danish Girl, The Sisters Brothers, Benidorm, Slow Horses, Sex Education, Coronation Street and Happy Valley and documentaries like Amy among many more.
I've also had the chance to work alongside MOBO winners and other iconic cinematographers like Oscar nominated Danny Cohen.
Photographer/Videographer
As a photographer, I have shot across many genres in the years I have been freelancing. I have covered everything from weddings, portraits and headshots, live music and sports, products and food photography. As a videographer, I have been a full-time content creator for Studio68, a YouTube production studio based in Manchester, since Summer 2023. Here I am the sole creative for Howson IRL shooting a wide variety of outdoors content, as well as shooting and editing the Head's Gone Podcast that releases on FIVE Presented by Rio Ferdinand every Friday as well as an occasional episode of Vibe With Five, including a special interview with Manchester City and England's Kyle Walker. I've also shot and edited Manchester United news content for the Stephen Howson and Stretford Paddock YouTube channels, including a 1-on1 interview with Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg. Not only do I shoot the entertainment content, I also shoot the sponsored segments for various channel which has meant I have shot ads for brands like Manscaped, Surfshark, NordVPN, HelloFresh, Ridge Wallets, Beer52, TenTrade, 7SevenLayer, Fum and more. This job has allowed me to work with people like Rio Ferdinand, Kyle Walker, Joleon Lescot, Ashley Williams, Jarrod Bowen and Joel Beya.
As a freelancer, I've shot music videos, interviews, weddings, promotional content and even gym workouts for PTs. Previous clients include reality television stars from shows like Love Island, The Only Way is Essex and Ibiza/Kavos Weekender, professional athletes from sports like football, boxing and rugby, brands like BooHooMAN and Gripz Socks, X-Factor and The Voice contestants, small bands and musicians, film and theatre actors, small businesses like cafes and charities, and online marketing experts. I have also been a camera operator for football matches and theatre productions on both roaming cameras and on jibs and cranes. I have also worked with Football Factory and Stretford Paddock FC.
UPCOMING pROJECTS:
Milkshakes and Burger Phones
I was the Director of Photography for our final university film, "Milkshakes and Burger Phones", a vibrant drama set in the '80s and '90s.
I'm so lucky to have worked with such amazingly talented and hardworking crewmates for my last ever university project, I hope I can work with them all again in a professional capacity within the industry.
I learned a lot about being a head of department on this shoot, especially due to having to manage five other people in the camera and lighting departments. I feel I delegated tasks well, leaving me to have conversations with the director about creative decisions, as well as solve logistical problems with the 1st AD, Holly.
I can't wait to show you all the finished product, it's going to be brilliant.
Directed by Bonnie Bennett.
Out of the Rabbit Hole
Alongside shooting Sinister Sales, I had the pleasure of shooting a much darker and moody drama called Out of the Rabbit Hole, written by Lauren Johnstone and directed by Luke Schofield.
Originally, this film was pitched by Luke at university as part of our core module and somehow it didn't get enough votes to be made. We decided to make it anyway and it's a project we are really proud of.
Starring the exquisite Emily Ash, this film tackles the trials and tribulations of a young drug addict who's habits ended up harming the people she loved. Inspired by Waves and Euphoria, this drama will shock and sadden you and potentially open your eyes to the world of the stories that come out of narcotics anonymous meetings.
We have recently handed over the footage to a NEW EDITOR, and thus it will be arriving to your screens later than we had first planned but that is a price we're willing to pay in order to have the best film possible. With any luck, this film will have a decent festival run as soon as we can get it submitted.
Werewolf
I worked as a 2nd AC, for the first time ever, on a horror anthology feature film, specifically the Werewolf section of the film. I learned a lot about slating/boarding that I can take onto future projects that I work on, which is extremely helpful and useful.
This shoot was also the first time that I handled a Blackmagic camera, which I can add to my experience of working with a wide variety of camera models.
We shot it across two days in a house in Hull. I met the Director of Photography, Ed Cotton, on the set of Huggo where he was the Gaffer. We got on so well and vowed to work together again, which turned into this project.
This was a great set to work on, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working with everyone in the crew.
