Born and educated in Edinburgh, I initially developed an interest in theatre lighting whilst working with Bristol Revunions Theatre Company during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I then studied Photography at Napier University, followed by work as an OB cameraman with Moray House University outside broadcast unit, and subsequently I decided to pursue a career as a freelance cameraman.
I have since achieved wide recognition as a documentary cameraman, working all over the world from Tihar Jail in Delhi (Asia’s largest jail) and the war zones of Angola (BBC’s DEAR BILL) to the exotic Tropicana Club in Havana.
In the UK, I worked with brothers Andrew and Kevin MacDonald on the ITV series SHADOWING and subsequent BBC documentary DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE, in which director Kevin followed his brother Andrew’s attempt at producing his first film, Shallow Grave. A working partnership with director Francesca Joseph led to the hugely successful BBC docusoap DRIVING SCHOOL, followed by BBC’s RTS Award winning FOUR TARTS AND A TENOR.
In ‘97 I began working on television drama. BOMBAY BLUE, a £2.2 million detective drama series, was Channel 4’s largest commission in Scotland at that time. It was one of the first high-profile drama series to be filmed on digital format, and Sony exhibited my work at industry events to illustrate the benefits of originating television drama on digital as opposed to film. I was cinematographer on the BAFTA-nominated (Best Short Film category) 35mm short film CANDY BAR KID with director Shan Khan, for which I received a Kodak BAFTA Award, and I subsequently worked for two years as DOP on BBC Scotland’s soap RIVER CITY.
Still in demand as a documentary cameraman, I filmed the 13-part series HOLLYWOOD DREAMS, a new entertainment series for Cineflix International, and most recently the series BUILDING THE BIGGEST, filmed on HD for the Discovery Channel, whilst my drama work continues with the recently completed full-length feature film GAMERZ, filmed in Scotland on HD and enjoying success at film festivals around the world. GamerZ has been twice nominated for a Méliès D’Argent Award, has secured distribution in both the US and UK, and has its UK theatrical release in February 2008 via Cineworld.
Tags: Paulgavin Cinematographer Dop Lighting Cameraman Bafta Edinburgh Scotland
