COLLABORATE
BIO
I reached London in 2001, spending 5 years getting lunches & learning Flame, enjoying late nights and night shifts. I worked full time & freelance at Clear, Condor, Rushes & MPC, then emerged with my own mini Flame department at Sapient Publicis. Working mainly on the Sky account, it was stable, the perfect backdrop to put down roots. Nearly 10 years later I was one of the first Flame Artists to set up shop on their own. GVFX, now in its 8th year, I have been fully remote since long before Covid.
I’m qualified to masters degree [BSc hons MSc Electronic Imaging] but favour practical application. I like that the TV industry, more by necessity than design, will ask ‘Can u do it?’ without the need for a qualification. This trend, now prevalent in the modern workplace, aligns with my values for getting things done. Conversely, my default setting in downtime is to go slow, take everything apart & figure how it works.
I grew up & was privately educated in Glasgow, a complex & sometimes contradictory background. After uni I was entirely preoccupied with writing music for several years. At the height of Britpop, we signed with Alan McGee at Creation Records, the home of Oasis. After several riotous years on the scene things cooled & when Creation sold to Sony, I had set my heart on becoming a Flame Op in London.
I’m ADHD & ASD which has undoubtedly been the main the driving force behind everything I have done. Occasionally, I need a moment to regroup.
Leaning slightly left in the current climate, but here is not for politics.
TERMS
OF BUSINESS
There are no hard & fast rules, just common sense & fairness. Assumptions cause problems. What we can say upfront will be of enormous benefit later, but then I often forget.
My standard rate is £700 per + VAT.
Overtime is not always available. Scheduled overtime is charged at the standard rate x 1.5, however a last minute arrangement might be x 2.
There is a minimum booking of one day per job. Does not apply to ongoing projects.
Pencils are not binding & may be cancelled by either side without notice or cancellation fees. Pencils that are backed up with regular communication are the gold standard.
Payment terms are 30 days.
On short jobs, where the scope of work tends to be clearly defined, revisions that fall outside of our agreed period will be billed at £70 per hour + VAT.
Upon completion, your project will not be archived and will further changes will not be possible. Archiving requires significant file size optimisation & verification, plus media costs, write, upload & collection times. A new quote will be provided based on £70 per hour + VAT. LTO tape stock is charged at approximately £100 + VAT.
My working day is 9 hours approximately, between 9am & 6pm, never more than 12 hours a day. Overtime during the week is always charged @ x 2, which is £140 per hour. For me, early starts beat late nights every time.
If feedback is delayed, ongoing, or cannot reasonably be completed within standard working days —and all reasonable efforts have been made—our agreed delivery dates may no longer be valid. Please ensure you allow for contingency time in your delivery planning.
If job start times are delayed, I can usually stand down for a short period, during which I will be unavailable. If delays affect other bookings, a holding fee of 50% of my standard day rate may apply, or I may need to withdraw my availability.
If I have to be out of office you will be notified in advance. For unplanned emergencies, the time will typically be made up, or removed from your bill.
If you are unhappy for any reason you may end the job at any stage without further charge or cancellation fees. You will be charged for work that is complete. An archive can be made available, but will be chargeable.
I will be available & responsive at all times during work hours. Outside of working hours notifications are turned off & I will action any messages first thing next day.
There is not is fault free service.
Completion dates may be affected by circumstances beyond what can reasonably be controlled & I cannot be held responsible for onward impact of missed delivery dates.
There have been no significant mishaps in the 240 jobs delivered in the 8 year history of GVFX.