Charles Maddocks

It’s about time to let everyone know why I’m no longer picking the phone up on a Tuesday afternoon… Good Friday marked the end of my first term at @nftsfilmtv on the @nftscinematography MFA. The last few months have seen so many dawns but it’s been quite a journey over the last 5 years to get here. Growing up without any exposure to the film industry, I had never really questioned what happened behind the camera before, but when I was 19, I discovered the role of a DP. Enchanted & unhappy with my office job at the time, I decided to pivot and move to London to study Photography at @unioftheartslondon focusing on learning the basics of composition and lighting, before applying it to a filmmaking context. 3 years later I graduated, but still didn’t have much knowledge of the mechanics of filmmaking, so I planned to try the more traditional camera assistant route. Jon and Danny @onestopfilms gave me my first proper post COVID job in the industry in 21 driving their vans. Within a few months I had made it into the kitroom, headed up by legendary @willesden_green & @axprismstudios at the time. 9 months later I’d gotten onto @uk_screenskills trainee finder program and started on my first feature with @nanusegal @cinesteel and @christopher_j_orr In the following months, I did another feature with @lawrenceafish and then @topboynetflix with @kaname.onoyama @jomar.omeally @dazz_johnson @peteyjt and many others. January 23 brought @changingendsofficial where I met @budders and @callumtunmore and introduced me to a family that would become a constant over the next 2 years. From traineeing on series 1, to loading B cam on series 2 and finally last summer, sharing loading duties with @j_ighodaro on A cam on series 3 & 4. Having applied to the NFTS twice before, I’d said to myself that 25 would be the last year I’d apply. All along the process, like most things in life, I knew it’d probably happen when I felt I needed it the least. It’s a surreal feeling completing the plan and looking further ahead. I appreciate every single one of you that has given me a hand up in the last 5 years and please get in contact if you feel like being a part of the next 10 🤩❤️

Ivan & Thor Some stills from an upcoming documentary short I shot on a mixture of 50 & 250D stock on the Bolex H16, about Ivan’s relationship with Thor, the Welsh Pony. During lockdown, Ivan, a sculptor by trade but short on work, perfected his sourdough recipe, which he then went on to start selling in the nearby towns of Rhiw, Gwynedd, North Wales. However, being secluded living on a mountain overlooking the sea, he needed some help transporting the 50 loaves of bread he was baking every day. Before meeting Thor, he was wheelbarrowing them up himself, but after buying Thor off a local farmer, he put him to work and devised a method of attaching the wheelbarrow to him in order to easily cart the bread up the mountain. The film follows his relationship with Thor that inevitably developed through the daily work they started doing together. The film is currently finishing up in post and will be released soon. Kit by @xdotrentals Shot on @kodak stock Processed by @on8mil Grade by @allie.barbs Big thanks to @allie.barbs and everyone at @on8mil for the support x

A selection of stills from “In The Same Space” shot with @timotejbaca in January. We did this one very minimally, with the crew consisting of myself shooting, Tim directing, Stevie on sound & Ben as a general assistant. A couple of challenging days with the high page count and the extra challenge of lighting dark rooms with only practicals, but a good exercise nonetheless. Hoping to be able to share the full film soon. “Set in Belfast over a twenty four hour period, the film follows Claire as she searches for clarity in her relationships and identity, caught between longing and the weight of her circumstances.” Director @timotejbaca DoP @cbemaddocks Sound @raggedglory91 General Assistant @benparatian Grade @suisvaleria Kit @onestopfilms Cast @roisinrbrowne @saorlaoith.b @_stevencooke #belfast #northernireland #shortfilm #stills #alexamini #super16mode

Some stills from “Interpreting The Scene” @nftsfilmtv A workshop in which directors and DP’s are given a scene from an existing film to reinterpret. @josephkreitem & myself were given Kramer vs Kramer, directed by Robert Benton and shot by the legendary Néstor Almendros. Joseph spoke about setting it at Christmas, in a similar vein to Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar. As the original scene is high key and naturalistic, we decided to go in the opposite direction, inviting shadows, contrast and using heavy diffusion to give the image a memory like feeling, whilst also creating a very domestic, familiar tone. I set myself the challenge of using no overhead lighting, aiming to light only through the windows and with practicals, which unsurprisingly, proved to be quite tricky shooting a night interior in a set build. I stuck to that rule for the most part, except for the one Coolie light over the table. I had no other practicals that made sense for story and as @tinufuhrer would say, it’s about as pleasing a top light you can get. Director @josephkreitem DP 🤪 Gaffer Larry Prinz 🫶 Spark @fiannmacleod Spark @jannisnewiadomsky Focus @shg_dp Colourist @ruxstaicu Production Designer @aragornhorner Mixer @rezsdani Boom Op cooper._roy Script Supervisor @caiqingyi 1st AD @beneditaet02 2nd AD @th_bakken Joanna @honorsantabarnes Ted @deangeoffreyl

“A double sun is rising outside the window. The shadows move over the walls at an unnatural speed. A silhouetted figure crosses the window - seemingly with two heads and one body” This was the first part of the silent one page script given to us by @oliverstapleton_bsc & @stuartrharris to light & shoot on 16mm in 3.5 hours on the rehearsal stage @nftsfilmtv With a script I felt fitted and with limited time, I decided to approach it as a oner, on a dolly slider. Here’s the first 20 odd seconds of it. The top to bottom sun was a 2k on a boom arm, operated expertly by @o_blowigi and the right to left sun was a 5k on a double wind up roller stand, operated meticulously by @jannisnewiadomsky Full credits below DP 🤪 Gaffer Larry Prinz Spark @o_blowigi Spark @jannisnewiadomsky Spark @rekureich Grip @israeljwilson Focus @shg_dp Loader @julia.lock 1st AD @nicoleatalla Alien @fiannmacleod Human @ravivadar #cinematography #lighting #16mm #nfts

So honoured to have my work screened at the @nationalgallery for those that missed it it will also be screened at @twilight_contemporary on Friday 6th March (1800) with live music from @cla.yfoot for Twilight Lates, come have a drink Written by @ffemilola Directed by @chedeedigan DOP @cbemaddocks Makeup @evebxwden Music by @mattheusbouwmeester Sound design @griffgregor Grade by Christopher Lewin @xdotrentals

A few frames I shot for the doc ‘Finding The First South Asian Lioness’ by @yourgirlabbey & @copa90 I only got around to watching this the other day but a super interesting & important story about south asian representation and the struggles in the women’s game The full film can be found on YouTube 🫶 #england #football #lionesses #16mm #16mmfilm

Winter Sun in California, January 2025. #hasselblad #120 #kodakgold #california #la

A selection of stills from the video for ‘Cowboy’ by Catherine Thompson shot in Yosemite National Park with a load of space cadets 👽🕶️ #yosemite #musicvideo #stills #super16mode #angenieux #cmount

Shot some 500T on @xdotrentals Arri 16s earlier this month with @akwasi and @wilfy.d for the visuals on his new EP “In My System” with @benjiflow #arri #16s #arri16s #16mm #kodak #vision3 #visualiser #musicpromo

Dora & Jib’s Fante wedding celebrations in Accra, Ghana, April 2024. #hasselblad #120 #kodakgold

Some stills from a promo for an unreleased @taliable project directed by @floraisabelscott shot on Komodo & my OM’s Talent @taliable Director @florascottstudio DoP @cbemaddocks Gaffer @omaradwan1 Focus Puller @stephofilms #musicpromo #komodo #london