It’s Good to be Ambitious.

It’s good to be ambitious. I find myself saying that on more and more projects. We’re there to make the best work we can, and when you push creativity to its limits, it’s hard to fit it all in.

Tighter budgets lead to more shots per day, making for demanding shoots. It can get difficult, but I love the challenge, and at the end of it all, that’s why they go to me.

I get it done.

One of these ambitious jobs was a two-day shoot in which we were delivering six videos for Jade from Little Mix. Visualisers would be the category of project, but I dismiss this term because I don’t agree with it. A visualiser is a stripped back music video that isn’t published in the same way as a traditional one. The thing is, it’s 2026, and these videos get a similar exposure to the real thing thanks to how we consume media in this age.

The reason I won’t use visualiser to describe this shoot is that half my catalogue of music videos carried a smaller budget with less energy. We had all the tools; complex set builds; elaborate look changes; a large, varied cast; and a passionate creative led by our wonderful directors, Fa & Fon.

The production company was Pulse Films, and I was introduced to the project by the delightful Millie O’Brien. We’d shot a crazy video together with Sinclair Bryant directing the month prior, and I was told it would be similar levels of chaos. Matthew Sarrafini and Millie were our producers, leading the charge.

The DOP was the phenomenal Toby Leary. A guy that seems to go above and beyond on every project he’s on. Old-timer Charlie Hippisley was our Production Designer. He’d hate that I call him old, but when I was running, he was an inspirational presence on set, and it was great to work with him again in this capacity. I had industry legend Jacqui Moore as my 2nd AD, and one of my all-time favourite people, Mike Glynn, was the location manager.

Also, I just wanted to say this shoot couldn’t happen without Jade and her team’s amazing work ethic. We’re delivering a project for the artist at the end of the day, but Jade’s hard work and enthusiasm really stood out to me compared to some of my other jobs. She was highly committed to the creative, which allowed our more technical set-ups to be achieved in record time.

Day 1, we started with one half of the video for Lip Service. Jade had a complex make-up look and performed in a Babe Station inspired set. We would later finish our day with coverage of a heartthrob obsessively watching the channel from their room. This was to give us time to upload Jade’s footage onto an old TV for the heartthrob to react to. There were many funny moments shooting this, and it was a great set to start and finish our day on.

We then moved to a public hall across the road to film old people enjoying a disco for Silent Disco. We featured a dance in the middle of the floor performed by old alternatives for Jade and Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens. Our hero talent then performed in the same set-up, implying the characters were lost in their youth in their embrace. Once we finished with Jade, we mopped up the rest of the sequence while she changed to shoot Self Saboteur with the 2nd unit on another set.

We opened Day 2 with our most complex shot - a 45-second oner for the introduction to Glitch. While Jade finished her look in the chair, we choreographed a set-up with intricate blocking across two floors. We rehearsed until we nailed it every time and shot it very quickly once Jade was on set and in the groove. We then moved on to tableaus with the cast in various rooms for the rest of the video before breaking for lunch.

After lunch, we went to work on our most ambitious set-up yet. Jade was performing in a giant mug of tea to a panel of judges styled in high-concept looks from her previous videos for Headache. The cup was a saucer from the fairground ride, and it was filled with water coloured to resemble the iconic beverage. We shot coverage of the judges first and then turned around for the tea. I was very conscious of the safety involved in having the talent submerged in water for extended periods and pushed to shoot this quickly.

Also, throughout both days, we shot sequences for Unconditional using handheld DV cameras and rigged GoPros replicating security cameras. In each of our set-ups, there would be additional coverage required of Jade dealing with the chaos that showbiz forces upon you. While we repositioned for the tea we shot the climactic scene where it’s all finally too much for Jade, and she flees the building. Trust me, I know the feeling.

After a hectic couple of days, we came away with gold. Thanks to the team involved, we finished on time on the first day and 20 minutes early on day two. Expectations were high, and we absolutely smashed it. An amazing effort from the whole crew, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished.

There’s nothing I love more than a seemingly impossible job. When it all goes well and you prove it can be done, the feeling you get is so overwhelmingly satisfying.