 Cameraman John Dakin
It was on an August day in 2009 whilst walking on the cliffs near Lands End in Cornwall, that I received a call on my mobile phone asking me if I could make myself available on September 12th to film a demonstration taking place at Thakeham in West Sussex – and to produce a DVD of the event.
Relishing the challenge and the eventual rewards, and knowing my client, I readily accepted.
 The background to this event, is that a brickworks situated at Thakeham in West Sussex, has for many years extracted clay from a large quarry on its land, and is now trying to sign a contract with a national waste management company to back-fill a large hole in the ground resulting from the clay extraction – with household waste and refuse from London and the South East of England.
Thakeham is a small village set in a particularly beautiful part of West Sussex on the edge of the South Downs, to the north of Worthing. Access to the proposed site can only be gained from a series of minor roads and country lanes, quite unsuitable for the heavy-type-trucks used by the waste management industry. Having filmed on waste management sites in the past and being very familiar with this type of industry, I could see that the local residents were not about to welcome the huge amount of heavy goods vehicles descending into their beautiful countryside, or accept the smell, dust, vermin and insects attracted by this type of operation.
 The client commissioning me to do this job was a member of the Thakeham Village Action Group which had been set up by villagers to contest the granting of the planning consent necessary for the land-fill venture to go ahead.
 The demonstration formed up at a point just off the A24 London to Worthing road at 10.30 am on the morning of 12th September 2009 – and planned to march along the narrow road for over a mile to just outside the brickworks at Laybrook – the position of the proposed landfill site.
I arrived at the starting point in good time and made myself known to the other cameramen, journalists, crowds marshals and Police. The .jpg) march was headed by fox-hounds from the local hunt, horses , combine harvesters and collections of vintage cars, tractors with trailers and other agricultural machinery, 500 or so “demonstrators” – men, women, children on all modes of transport, representing villages and communities of the surrounding areas, local councillors and local MP’s Nick Herbert and Francis Maude.
The march was very well organised, disciplined and good humoured and cheered on by many well-wishers from all walks of life. At the appropriate point adjacent to the Laybrook site – the march came to a halt. The demonstrators were addressed by various speakers and the two local MP’s – all of whom were very much against the proposed development, and gave passionate speeches outlining how far Britain was behind main-land Europe in dealing with waste by other methods other than dumping it in holes in the ground.
 After the speeches, I then filmed various demonstrators being interviewed by a journalist, asking why they did not want this land-fill proposal to go ahead, and all the “additional” bits of filming necessary to make the story complete.
The weather was all one could ever ask for – a lovely September day with the back-drop of the South Downs in the West Sussex countryside. The interviews and filming completed , the Thakeham Village Action Group provided me and many others - with a very nice lunch, which was a fitting end to a most interesting day.
Now John goes on to describe a typical day filming rugby
For the whole of the rugby season – starting in September until about May of the following year – on alternate weekends - I film the “home” games at Bath Rugby Club.
Bath Rugby Club play at The Recreation Ground – affectionally known as “The Rec” - an almost “gladiatorial” arena set adjacent to Poultney Bridge in this famous Roman City.
 I leave my home in Congresbury four hours before “kick-off” time – and drive the 25 miles to Bath – a journey that normally takes about 40 minutes – but depending on the vagaries of road and traffic conditions – this can vary – and I always like to give myself ample time to allow for any contingency.
The reasons for arriving early at “The Rec” are several. Although I am provided with Parking and Media passes, Match-Day traffic adds to the normal heavy weekend traffic into Bath – and to be one of the first into the parking facilities at ”The Rec” makes life easier than having to compete with the last-minute queuing cars of the public !
Parking completed – I now have to carry my kit bag, camera and tripod to the Heineken Stand and climb the almost vertical 12 step ladder into the Press Box – and then a further 15 steps up the vertical ladder onto Filming Gantry – and set up my tripod, camera and equipment . From this position , some 40 feet high - in front of me is the pitch on which the game will be fought – and behind – the River Avon – flowing under Poultney Bridge and over the weir – the roar of which gets dwarfed by the noise of the fans once the game has started.
I now have to connect my camera to a Firewire and other connections which will carry my video film, not only to a TV screen in the Press Box one floor below me, and another in the main Club House, but more importantly to a series of computers set up by the Club’s Media Analyst based at the bottom of the Press Box ladder – who analyses every aspect of the game during play – for statistical, analysis, post-match investigation, etc. etc. I also have a radio microphone link which connects the referee to my camera – recording all of his instructions, and deliberations throughout the game.
 Once all this is done – I am usually joined by 2 or 3 colleagues who are also contracted to film the match for Sky, the BBC or ITV sports channels. Now, after cameras are checked and set up – and ready for the game to start, is a good time to go and get a bacon sandwich and relax – or even go shopping for a while – totally relaxed – whilst the 11,000 odd fans bustle and jostle their way into the ground and their viewing positions.
Once the game starts – I “follow the ball” and what you would see on the film - is much as you would see if you watched the match on your own TV screens in the comfort of your own homes. For me – this is not always the case – as being exposed on The Gantry – completely unprotected from the elements – I can be soaking wet – very cold – or occasionally sun-burnt.
During the filming of the match – I have to apply total concentration - adjusting focus and aperture continually – as the ball and players travels back and forth across the pitch. There are 15 minutes of respite during the Half Time interval – before the final 40 minutes of the game.
After the “Final Whistle” a courier arrives to collect my camera tape – and takes it away for a further spell of analysis by a group of officiating bodies
at the home of England Rugby Football – Twickenham.
As for me – I now dismantle all of my kit – trek it back to my car – queue to get out of the car park – and drive my weary way home.
PROFILE
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE FOR PROFESSIONAL CAMERAMAN JOHN
If you need high quality films made for any application from corporate websites through to training DVDs and videos and covering a wide range of subjects from aviation to wildlife and sport, then professional cameraman John Dakin of Augenblick Productions can help.
For he has almost 50 years of first-hand experience in the UK film production industry and will again be a familiar figure covering West Country rugby for the Bristol and Bath clubs from now right through until late April.
And when John, who is also a qualified pilot, is not being tossed around the sky producing training videos and DVDs, he may also be found out and about making wildlife films.
 Indeed, his professional services have been retained by the UK Alpaca breeders for the making of promotional and husbandry films.
“This meant spending many hours in fields waiting for female Alpacas to give birth or filming many veterinary related procedures,” said John.
“So what I love about my work is its rich variety and the opportunities it gives me to produce high quality film for a diverse range of private and corporate clients who value a personal service,” he added.
On the medical side, Augenblick’s projects have included the filming of a Dorsal Column Stimulator being inserted into a patient’s spine to relieve pain and hernia surgery training videos.
John first learnt his trade as a freelance assistant cameraman with a West Country based television company and cut his teeth covering everything from local dog shows and electioneering politicians through to the international story of the oil tanker Torrey Canyon which ran aground on the notorious Seven Stones Reef off Lands End.
But away from all the action, he is equally happy helping amateur enthusiasts transfer their VHS videos to DVDs or editing family holiday films because, as he says: ”variety is indeed the spice of life.”
For more information, visit www.augenblick.co.uk
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