Tim Cragg Film and Photography

Over the last twenty years or so I have worked as a freelance director of photography. Within that time frame I have worked across different genres: documentary, drama, and more recently 3D. Many of the films I have photographed have been fortunate enough to win awards. Most notably I received a BAFTA in 2007 for the photography in 'Power of Art: Van Gogh'. I was nominated for ar Bafta for photography for the film 'How Earth Made Us in 2010, and this film was also nominated for an Emmy for the cinematography in 2011. I won best Cinematography in the Televisual Awards 2008 for 'Earth: Power of The Planet', and was awarded the Award of Excellence, by the British Guild of Cameramen in 2006 for my work on the film Geldof In Africa.

This year I have completed a 120 minute film on the Amish for PBS and Sundance, directed by bafta nominated director David Belton. A BBC arts film on the Man Booker prize author Hilary Mantel, directed by bafta winning James Runcie, 3 x 1hr 3D film's presented by Sir David Attenborough for Sky 3D and another Imax 3D feature film directed by Emmy Award winning director Martin Williams, and a one off arts documentary on London directed by Sam Hobkinson.

I have an Imax 3D feature film - Flying Monsters with Sir David Attenborough released world wide. This film won a BAFTA in 2011 for best factual documentary. I have a feature article in the spring edition of the British Society of British Cinematographers magazine on my 3D experiences as director of photography.

I have a few small film clips from various films photographed available to view under my film clips. A list of my recent films photographed under film credits, and a film clip from the behind the scenes film on the Attenborough 3D film and some general stills from various 3D productions.

Whilst the concepts vary they underlying auteur tone is one of separation and detachment. Behind the Scenes is a sequence of views from hotel windows alongside left telephone messages. In Untitled a gasping shark's head stands erect in a foreign environment, out of place and alone, equally we see an isolated masked figure in Unknown set against a variety of abandoned landscapes. In Still Life the camera is fixed on two locations, the living room: featuring a birth of a child, and a crematorium chamber. The static nature of the camera emphasis the lack of participation as we witness the two events that as humans we have to experience on our own, birth and death.

My portrait photography falls under the heading anthropological. Cafe Culture is a look at the people who frequent a cafe in the historical town of Oxford in the UK. The staged isolated figures are set against a backdrop of voice audio recordings. Whilst at first this seems more of a documentation of a people, the manipulation of position, and composition juxtaposed against the audio creates an almost theatrical stage. This is echoed in My Space - a sequence of full-length portraits taken around the world. Uncomfortably they stand looking back at the viewer, unnaturally wide and awkward, alone and surrounded by their environment. In Film Stills we see a collection of celebrities: - actors, television presenters, and musicians, - solemn and introspective. The travel section encompasses the two big rival nations that had an impact on me whilst growing up: the USSR and the USA. I have had many visits over the years to these two regions.

The architectural and abstract chapters have a similarity in that share an appeal that I have towards a certain visual forms and design.