George Chan

GEORGE L. CHAN

Freelance Producer / Director / Editor / Writer for TV & Film
Work Tel: 0117 3300276; Mobile: 07811 347 946; dr_george_chan@yahoo.co.uk ; www.georgechan.co.uk

PERSONAL PROFILE:

• Producer / Director for television, specialising in Natural History & Documentaries
• Experience of investigative journalism; historical films; archive films; drama; presenter-led films; Blue-chip Natural
  History, CGI-intensive films.
• Exec. Producer of the BBC-Bristol Film Lab making short dramas and docs.
• Self-shooting P/D and editing with Final Cut Pro.
• Shooting time lapse on Canon 5D

2009 – TIME-SHIFT: How To Win At Chess. BBC4. 60’
• Producer / Director
BBC-Bristol. Some of Britain’s top chess grandmasters give us simple advice on how to improve our chess. Well known chess enthusiasts like novelist Martin Amis and journalist Dominic Lawson guide us through the weird and wonderfully colourful world of chess culture

2008 – TIME-SHIFT: Last Days Of Steam. BBC2&4. 60’
• Producer / Director
A history of British Steam trains. BBC-Bristol. This film tells the story of the last days of steam locomotives in Britain using a combination of archive material and interviews with historians and members of the railways industry and enthusiasts like artist David Shepherd and journalist Simon Jenkins.

2008 – Wild China: Beyond the Wall. BBC2. 60’
• Producer / Director
Specially shot film - one of 6-episode flagship series exploring the relationship between people, wildlife and landscapes north of the Great Wall of China. Intense deserts, freezing blizzards and fascinating nomads are the central characters in this film which had audience figures of 3.5 million viewers and an AI score of 91. Narration by Bernard Hill.

2005 – Planet Earth. BBC1. 60’
• Director
Directed a number of shoots over 6 months, including arctic shoots for Earth the Feature Film, aerials over the Amazon River using the Cineflex Heligimble gyroscope, macro-photography sequences based in studios in the UK, and time-lapse sequences for Earth the Feature Film using the MOSYS Motion Control system.

2004 - Natural World: Hammerhead. BBC2. 50’
• Producer
Specially shot in Hawaii, and using BBC Natural History Unit archive material to delve into the mysterious and elusive world of the Hammerhead Shark. Original music was written and produced by Brian Eno – his first score for a natural history documentary. Narrated by Ian Holm.

2004 – Time-Shift: Gambling Britain. BBC4. 40’
• Producer / Director
A history of Gambling in Britain. BBC-Bristol. Interviews with historians and punters like Willie Thorne and John McCririck, and using BBC archive, this film tells the story of Britain’s complex love-affair with Gambling.

2004 - Natural World: Wolf Pack. BBC2 50’
• Producer
Reformat film from National Geographic, re-edited with a new score & new narration. This film tells the story of a wolf-pack living in Yellowstone National Park, and the rise and fall of the fortunes of the leaders of the pack over several years.

2004 – Time-Shift: British Space Race. BBC4 40’
• Assistant Producer
Part specially shot, part archive film. Made for D&CF-Bristol.

2002-2004 - Nile. BBC2. 3x50’
• Assistant Producer
Directed 4 shoots to Ethiopia & Egypt, shooting for natural history sequences, CGI-based sequences and drama-reconstructions.

2002 - Whale Hunters. BBC2 & BBC4. 50’
• Assistant Producer
Organised shoots in Japan and directed 1 shoot in Japan. Investigative journalism. Based in BBC-Wales Factual department.

2001 - Ape Hunter. BBC2 & BBC4. 50’
• Assistant Producer
Assisting director in Cameroon, and directed 1 shoot in Brussels. Investigative journalism. Based in BBC-Wales Factual department.

2001 - Animals: The Inside Story. BBC2. 3x50’
• Researcher
Finding stories, setting up shoots, working closely with CGI-producers 4:2:2 to produce graphics-sequences.

1997-2000 – State of the Planet. BBC1
• Assistant Producer / Researcher
Series Researcher. Also directed numerous overseas & British sequences. Directed David Attenborough on several shoots. Assistant Producer credit on final programme.

1998 - Nature Special: Living with El Nino. BBC2. 50’
• Researcher
Finding stories, liaising with scientists.

CORPORATE / FREELANCE CREDITS:

2011 – Producer / Director / Camera / Editor:
• University of Bath & Life-Pilot: 2 x 3’ films about Higher Education programmes. [in production]
2011 – Producer:
• Writing & Producing short drama films. A training course for Bristol Foyer.
2011 – Director / Camera / Editor:
• Media Trust: 2 x 5’ films about Your Square Mile: Glyncoch & Bettws.
2011 – Producer / Director / Camera / Editor:
• e-Portfolios & NQTs. Department of Education, University of Bath. 14’30”.
2011 – Producer / Director / Camera / Editor:
• Henbury & Brentry Talent show. Bristol City Council. 5x3’ plus a 10-min talent show film.
2011 – Producer / Camera / Editor:
• Heather Ritchie talks about the Ecosystem Approach. WWF. 8’.
2011 – Producer / Director / Camera:
• The PISCES project. WWF. 6’.
2011 – Producer / Director / Camera / Editor:
• Digital Stories for Undergraduate Assessment. Department of Education, University of Bath. 12’30”.
2011 – Producer / Director / Editor:
• Swindon College Online Open Day. University of Bath. 4 x 90-second films.
2010 - Editor:
• Stakeholder stories for Cork Conference. WWF. 2’.
2010 – Script editor / consultant:
• Amazing Plants. National Geographic. 60’.

BBC FILM LAB SHORTS:

2008:
TRAPPED: Writer / Director / Producer. 13’57”
ALL MY DREAMS ON VHS - Producer. 13’00”
THE CLEANER - Producer. 6’45”

2006/7:
HONK – Exec. Producer. 6’30”
ONE-EYE – Exec. Producer. 90”

2005:
LOST – Exec. Producer. 90”
LOSING IT – Exec. Producer. 90”
LOST IN TRANSLOCATION – Exec. Producer. 90”
LOST TICKET – Exec. Producer. 90”
LOST PROPERTY – Exec. Producer. 90”
LOST OPPORTUNITY – Exec. Producer. 90”
MISS QUEENSHILLING – Exec. Producer. 25’

2004:
HUNG – Director. 90”
SCREWED – Exec. Producer. 90”
FLYING RATS – Exec. Producer. 90”
TAKING THE STAGE – Exec. Producer. 90”
AUTO-PILOT – Exec. Producer. 90”

TECHNICAL SKILLS / EXPERIENCE:

Final Cut Pro
Self-shooting: Sony Z1/7, Canon EOS 5DII, PD170,

OTHER EXPERIENCE:

In 2004, I set up the BBC Film Lab to help aspiring directors make their first short films for festival release. The Film Lab is funded through BBC Training, and has to-date, made around 20 short films. In addition, the Film Lab holds a number of master-classes each year with industry leaders to help inform and inspire our film-makers. Recent guest speakers include David Thompson of BBC-Films, acclaimed director Stephen Poliakoff, and triple-Oscar winner Nick Park from Aardman Animations.

REFERENCES:

• Jeremy Bristow (Freelance producer / Director for TV) 07980 981389
• Tim Martin (Exec. Producer - BBC Bristol) 0117 97 42139

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Hobson films: Final Cut Pro: (3 days) (2010)
• NFTS Short course: From Documentary to Drama (2008)
• BBC: Sony Z1 Self-Shooting (4 days) (2008)
• BBC: Setting up as a sole trader (2008)
• BBC: Display Screen Equipment Management (2007)
• BBC: Legal matters for Television (2007)
• BBC: Safeguarding Trust (2007)
• BBC: Final Cut Pro (2 days) (2007)
• BBC: First Aid Refresher (2006)
• BBC: Editorial Policy for BBC Television (2005)
• BBC: Risk Management for Productions (2005)
• BBC: Creativity for Productions (2005)
• BBC: DV Camera & Safety (2005)
• BBC: Journalism for the BBC (2005)
• BBC: Writing for film – John Truby Story Structure (2004)
• BBC: Research’s training (2003)
• BBC: Filming in hostile environments (2002)
• BBC: Storytelling workshop – Rob McKee (2000)
• BBC: Writing for Television – Elstree (2000)
• BBC: New Media for Television (2000)
• BBC: Multimedia Awareness for Television (2000)
• BBC: Single Camera Directing Skills – Elstree (4 days) (1999)
• BBC: Postural Awareness (1999)
• BBC: Working with Presenters (1999)
• BBC: Fire Awareness (1999)
• BBC: Body Ergonomic Training (1997)
• BBC: Location Safety (1997)