Freelancer Jonathan Sidwell is new to the industry and has been very successful as an Assistant Director both in 1st & 2nd position. He has accrued significant credits in commercial & music promotions, live Television and films. Jonathan recently worked on a Feature film for BigFoot Entertainment as a 2nd Assistant Director, and he shares his experiences.

The shoot was for a feature film named “DeepGold”. It’s set in the Philippines and I spent 4-5 months on location in Cebu. The film itself is an action/adventure where a military pilot is accused of stealing a plane filled with gold. His girlfriend attempts to clear his name in a race to find the missing gold. She later comes to realise she is not alone on her mission, and her competitors motives may not be as selfless as hers.

Shooting in the Philippines was a real change – many western ideologies did not apply. The climate was very warm and humid with sporadic storms. The landscape was incredible with beautiful beaches and clear seas, and the food was pretty simple, largely consisting of rice and fish.

The actual filming was a lot slower paced than I’m used to in the UK, and we worked with much larger crews. It was a challenge filming in those high temperatures (especially when you’re used to the UK’s milder climes) – the days were long and often tiring. On the plus side, the people are relaxed, happy and very laid back, which also has its down sides, as things often took a long time to get done. One of the striking differences was definitely the absence of the high intensity film atmosphere.

I couldn’t say whether or not I preferred working in the Philippines as opposed to the UK as both have their pros and cons. The weather was nice to relax in and hard to work in. I was treated like royalty and had everything I could ever want, mainly due to the strength of the Pound compared to the Peso. Also I was working for an LA based company which provided the crew with everything we wanted in terms of equipment and facilities. Everything was shot like it would be on a blockbuster budget and no short-cuts were made, which always makes for a satisfying experience.

From working in the Philippines I learnt a great deal about myself and how to work with different people from many different backgrounds and countries. Not speaking the language definitely brings its challenges even if we did work with on-set translators. The location work was very different to what I’m used to in the UK. The shoot took us to extreme places; one minute filming underwater, the next minute areas of great poverty. One day we were shooting in a graveyard village with people actually living in and around the graveyard.

All in all I really enjoyed the Philippines, and learnt more there than I have anywhere else to boot. It’s an amazing place with great people. During work hours I got to try filming underwater, from a helicopter, to shoot car chases and drive tanks.

Out of hours I experienced amazing scuba-diving, sailing, waterfall massages, spelunking (caving), temple visits, off-road motor biking, visiting floating island bars and remote islands…

Saying all that, I wish I could go back.