This well illustrated lecture is a retrospective of the special effects advertising work I did, mostly in the 80’s, 90’s.  It also includes effects work going right back into the 70’s and earlier.  The talk is called “Doing it the Hard Way” and documents some of the extraordinary measures necessary to produce impossible images in the days before computers.   The program then ventures briefly into the middle 90’s and beyond when I began to use computers myself, often in combination with techniques developed years earlier.  Although many of my methods are obsolete, there remain techniques, such as studio explosions, which can be used today to create effects, which would still be challenging, even with modern computer technology.  The lecture is liberally illustrated with many behind the scenes photographs taken during the productions. To expand on this I have recently edited some of the videos I shot at the time, 30 years ago. These videos show the reality of special effects photography of the era. Times have indeed changed

Some of these images are on this website and in many cases the text contains information on how the image was produced.  See Back Room above for even more information on the techniques.

The talk is usually two sessions of about 45 minutes with a break in the middle.  I am very happy to have a Q&A as well and will talk for as long as you can stand listening to me.  I will be showing a power point presentation.  (If I am appearing in person, I would require a suitable HDMI projector.)I normally charge a moderate fee plus expenses.  If the venue is not overly far from my base in Southwest Oxfordshire, the only expenses is mileage at the RPS rate, presently 45p/mile

COVID19 … As of March 2022 legal restrictions have been removed but I am quite happy to conform with whatever policies you have in your venue.  Of course, I remain able to successfully conduct this talk over ZOOM or similar platforms.  This eliminates the need for travel and lowers the cost but I believe the talk is much more interesting given live. The interaction with the audience adds a big plus in my view.