I started grading in 1996. We had real film and piles of cans and vinegary smells and the sound of the telecine whirring when you rewound the reels at the end of a session. Back then of course Soho was all fields and a coffee was called ‘Coffee’. I started by transferring archive newsreels. Then Super 8mm films for the art school graduates at MTV up the road in Camden. Then long form documentary classics like Equinox and Horizon. Then remastering classic movies including Mean Streets and Citizen Kane. For a while I was pulling a night shift grading dailies for Hollywood features but pretty soon it was back to long form docs and dramas. I started grading commercials when I moved to VTR in 2005 and have frequently made the Televisual top ten VFX artists list and been involved in countless award winning global campaigns for the worlds biggest brands. I was head of grading at Prime Focus, Glassworks and the London wing of Freefolk. Most recently I was senior colourist at MPC Advertising London.

All this has taught me one vital fact: pictures of kittens are popular.