Some of mine and the teams work on #strangerthings
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#tv #tele #television #netflix #vfx #visualeffects #film #compositing #effects #cool #amazing #strange
My Emmy certificate arrived in the post the other day, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit chuffed.
The Penguin received several awards at last year’s International Emmy Awards, and I received a certificate in recognition of the work I did as a VFX Lead at FixFX.
It was an exceptional show to be part of - the level of craft and collaboration across every department was genuinely high, and it showed on screen. Everyone involved should be proud.
Now I just need to find a frame and a wall that can handle the weight of my ego now 😂 (kidding)
#television #emmys #thepenguin #visualeffects #award
We are descendants of mycelium. Mycelium is the mother of us all.”
Paul Stramets, Mycologist
SHOT03 of the Smart Trees Collection. More shots and editions to come.
More information at /smarttrees
#smARTtrees
#animation #art
#digital #digitalart #trees #nature #naturalworld #smart #mycelium #garden #crypto
This BAFTA-winning short was 90% green screen.
8 years ago, The Inescapable Arrival of Lazlo Petushki won BAFTA Scotland Best Short Film 2017—beating strong contenders 1745 and Plastic Man.
A surreal story about a man chased through a labyrinthine ship by his own past. Visually ambitious. Technically demanding. Practically no budget.
The set? Built in miniature by a talented art department. The characters? Shot entirely on green screen.
As VFX Supervisor, I composited around 90% of the shots myself, advised the team before the shoot, and led rotoscope trainees at Duncan of Jordanstone College to help bring it all together.
Low budget. High ambition.
This is why I’ll always make time for indie projects alongside the big productions. The creative freedom. The problem-solving. The passionate filmmakers who refuse to let budget limitations define what’s possible.
Funded by Scottish Film Talent Network, directed by Sven Werner, produced by David Brown.
These collaborations matter. They remind me why I got into this industry in the first place.
There are a few shows that remind you why you wanted to work in film & TV in the first place. Stranger Things was one of them.
It’s finally finished. Like most people, I feel connected to it, but for me it goes a bit further. I worked on the VFX during its run, so it’s been part of my life in a very practical way.
A few weeks ago Steph was showing me around London, the places she lived while studying there and also when she is working there as an actor. While we were there, we caught the Stranger Things live show, which kicked off a full rewatch when we got home. We wanted everything clear in our heads before the finale.
The writing, the performances, the level of craft across the whole show, this is exactly the kind of work I spent my early life hoping to be part of when I busy working on my craft. I love making my own projects and I’m grateful for the productions I get to work on day to day. But watching something you helped build, and genuinely enjoy, come to an end after all these years stays with you.
Also. Steph is not over the ending yet. 😭
Getting ahead of 2026 with two things I’m passionate about:
🏠 Finding killer property deals for investors
🎬 Creating amazing animations for creative projects
Ready to attack January? Whether it’s property or animation, slide into my DMs!
Let’s make 2026 legendary 🚀
#PropertyDeals #Animation #2026Ready #BusinessGoals #Entrepreneur PropertyInvestor CreativeProjects LetsGo DM January2026
Every investor has that moment - standing in front of a deal, numbers in hand, wondering if it’s the right move.
And the truth is, the answer is never in the noise around you.
It’s in the star you follow.
Think of the tree at Christmas.
Lights everywhere.
Decorations competing for your attention.
But your eye always goes to the top
the star that anchors everything beneath it.
Portfolios need the same thing.
Your north star might be:
yield that actually pays you now,
cashflow that cushions the rest of your life,
or long-term appreciation that builds wealth quietly in the background.
The problem?
Most investors forget which star they’re following.
They get distracted
a pretty refurb, a big headline rent, a tempting discount
and suddenly the strategy drifts.
But when you know your north star, decisions become clean.
You know which deals serve you and which ones just sparkle.
You know when to move fast and when to walk away.
You know what you’re building, and why.
The Star on the Tree is simple:
Choose your guiding metric, and let it direct every move you make.
The rest is just decoration.
If you want help aligning your next deal to your north star - not someone else’s -
DM me or comment below.
Every investor hits a moment where their portfolio starts to feel heavy
the question is why.
Think of Santa’s sleigh.
It can cross continents in a single night…
but only if the load is balanced.
Add too much, too quickly, and even the fastest sleigh begins to drag.
Portfolios behave the same way.
Take on three refurbs at once.
Stretch your cashflow across too many purchases.
Say yes to deals because momentum feels good rather than because they fit the strategy
and suddenly everything slows.
You lose agility.
Opportunities pass by.
The whole system feels harder than it should.
The investors who go furthest aren’t the ones who pile their sleigh the fastest —
they’re the ones who pace with intention.
One strong purchase.
One completed refurb.
One step that sets up the next three.
The Sleigh Load Principle is simple:
Take on what accelerates you - not what weighs you down.
If you want sourcing that grows your portfolio without overloading it,
DM me or comment below.
A beautifully wrapped gift always gets picked up first.
Sharp corners.
Perfect ribbon.
That satisfying weight in your hands that makes you think, this must be a good one.
But you don’t know anything until you open it.
The wrapping is presentation - nothing more.
Property deals are exactly the same.
Some arrive looking immaculate:
great photos, polished wording, flattering angles, big promises.
You can almost feel yourself being pulled toward it… the same way a perfect gift once pulled you under the tree.
But the real value isn’t in the presentation
it’s inside the numbers.
Inside the refurb.
Inside the rental demand.
Inside the yield that actually stands up when you stress-test it.
A good deal doesn’t need fancy wrapping.
It just needs substance.
Clarity.
A return that exists even after you’ve stripped away the shine.
The Wrapped Gift Reality is simple:
Don’t fall in love with the ribbon.
Open the box. Check the numbers. That’s where the truth is.
If you want deals where the value holds up after the wrapping comes off,
DM me or comment below.
A deal fell apart this week... not because it couldn’t make money,
but because it couldn’t meet the base it needed to stand on.
On paper it looked promising.
A solid area.
A good negotiable price.
A potential rental of £1500 if everything lined up perfectly.
But that’s the thing about “perfect.”
It almost never survives first contact with reality.
When the Home Report arrived, the Category 3 repairs forced our hand.
Refurb was £50k estimate on a good day.
Complications layered on complications.
Everything above the base started to wobble.
And rental projections?
£1500 comparables - but further pressure showed it could have been optimistic.
Drop that by a couple hundred a month and the strategy shifts just enough to question the opportunity.
It still worked - it could be for someone... but is close to not meeting 70% of investor criteria.
This is where criteria becomes the spine of the entire structure.
Your strategy.
Your risk appetite.
Your goals.
They’re the base of the tree - the stabiliser.
If a deal only works when every variable behaves itself, it’s not a deal.
It’s decoration.
So we stepped back.
We pulled it apart.
We checked it against the investor’s criteria - not the fantasy version, the real one.
And once we did, the truth was simple:
It could stand.
But not without leaning.
It needed a decent discount, which would have been possible.
Not without compromise.
Not without forcing a strategy that wasn’t designed for this shape of property.
The investor wasn't convinced enough.
And we understood.
Because deals that only stand upright on paper fall over in real life.
The Christmas Tree Strategy is simple:
Build with a strong base.
If the base doesn’t hold, nothing above it will.
If you want deals that match your criteria - not someone else’s optimism -
DM me or comment below.
Pick up a snow globe and give it a shake.
The world inside turns chaotic
snow flying, everything swirling, nothing where it was a moment ago.
But look closely.
The house in the centre never moves.
It stays anchored while everything around it goes crazy.
That’s what a strong investment should feel like.
Markets can shake.
Rates can shift.
Headlines can panic people who weren’t watching the fundamentals.
But a well-chosen property
the right area, the right demand, the right numbers, the right structure
stays steady, even when the world outside looks unsettled.
The Snow Globe Lesson is simple:
If a property only works when the world is calm, it isn’t a solid investment.
If it stands firm when everything shakes - that’s the one worth owning.
That’s the lens I use when sourcing for clients:
make sure the house inside the globe is unshakeable,
no matter how wild the snow gets.
If you want investments built to stay upright in any weather,
DM me or comment below.
