Camera operator
The Kenyan Masaai Tribe, multi-million pound Asian weddings, toys and kitchenware are just some of the subjects that have been captured in Chris Hood’s camera. The freelance cameraman and jib operator ran his own company, rose to marketing manager in a successful toy firm and is now back to self-employment.
“I’ve experienced all walks of education and employment life,” Chris explained. “I ran my own company, sold it and then had it integrated it into another business. I’ve worked for agencies and advertising companies and now I get to travel all over, doing the jobs that I love to do.”
Operating under his own name from Birmingham since the end of 2015, Chris works with many large brands across the country, producing commercial and promotional content, from advertising to in-house training videos. He’s also occasionally employed by video production firms specialising in large scale events throughout the world.
Filming toys
Prior to setting up by himself, Chris spent eight years at Wow! Stuff, a toy manufacturer based in Wolverhampton. He started working at the company after its entrepreneurial owner decided to buy Chris’s video production company, Motionworks, in 2008.
“We were doing a lot of work for Wow! Stuff at the time, producing promotional videos for their in store advertising LCDs,” Chris recalled. “We ended up discussing copyrights for the video content we were producing with the owner and then he proposed buying our business and integrating it.”
Motionworks was three years old at the time and had been started by Chris and fellow Staffordshire University graduate Tom Prentice. After graduating with a degree in Film Production Technology in 2005, the company was initially set up in the University’s Business Village, receiving financial and advisory support. They later moved to Wolverhampton Science Park, where they made the connection with Wow! Stuff.
Chris joined the toy company as head of Digital Media, PR and Video Production. He was later promoted to Marketing Manager and put in sole charge of producing original content for the company’s global toy brands. “We produced national broadcast advertising and promotional videos,” Chris said, “as well as videos for distributor training and retailer pitching. I would always carry out the filming as that was the most enjoyable part of production. I was also in charge of social media content, managing marketing budgets, industry exhibitions and more.”
Behind the lens
“I always wanted to be an electronic engineer when I was a kid – I don’t think I knew what it was at the time,” Chris recalled. “I started to get into tech and gadgets and I knew I was quite creative and preferred the practical side of things. That’s when I came across film production at a careers fair.”
After completing a HND in media studies at N.E.W. College in Redditch, Chris chose a two-year degree at Staffordshire University to develop his video production skills. The practical side of the job always appealed and was the primary reason for leaving Wow! Stuff.
“I loved working there but wanted to seek more work variety. I still work for them now on a freelance basis. I enjoy physical production and camera work – that is what I’m good at – so I wanted to go back freelancing. I’m building a client base, working with video production agencies and producing content, primarily as a camera and jib operator. It gives me a great work life balance and I get see and film all sorts of different things. It’s what I always wanted to do.”
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