Tony Steyger
Inside The World Of Tinnitus (BBC 2020)
Documentary shot for the BBC on the Isle of Wight, telling the story of Rupert Brown, an acclaimed drummer with the little-understood delibilating auditory condition.
Rupert creates soundscapes recorded across the island, his "orchestra" as he calls it, helping to lessen the effects of Tinnitus for himself and others. Inside The World of Tinnitus charts his journey to bring his therapeutic treatment to a wider audience, and he meets carpenter, Anthony, who has been around loud machines and workplaces all his life.
Vectis Radio (BBC 2020)
An uplifting documentary telling the story of one of Isle of Wight's great success stories. Vectis Radio serves the island's listeners but also empowers young people with additional needs to develop and present their own radio programmes - - - with some remarkable consequences.
Lack of confidence and autism are tackled head on by the stars of this film through the process of radio production and presentation. The radio station continues to win national recognition for its inspiring work and innovative approach to transforming lives.
Showcase Cinemas (Trailer 2019)
Cinema trailer for the new Showcase X-Plus cinema in Southampton, featuring 360-degree sound effects to tell the history of film and how storytelling has evolved alongside cinema technology.
Less than a minute long, this project was made by young professionals at the edge of their comfort zone, with complex sound and VFX throughout.
Love Beyond Borders (2019)
Shot in Amsterdam and the UK, the autobiographical project began as a way of understanding my identity growing up with a Dutch father and English mother.
"I knew I was half Dutch and Half English, but which half?"
The film is about love and loss filmed over a decade during which my mother died and the UK voted to leave Europe.
Available on Vimeo using the password, Love Beyond Borders Click here.
Island Pride UK (BBC 2018)
Made for BBC South, this documentary tells the story of the UK Pride national event held on the Isle of Wight during the hot summer of 2018.
The island is not known for its progressive outlook yet Island Pride UK interweaves the staging of this event whilst uncovering stories from islanders intent on change. There is a hidden history explored here too, with one contributor in his seventies who has been relectant until relatively recently to declare his sexuality.
"Wonderful on every level and cleverly done, weaving together so many characters", Jason Horton, Head, BBC South and South East.
Freedom to Speak Up (NHS 2018)
Commissioned by NHS Hampshire Hospitals, this educational video for staff was rolled out nationally. The objective was to address the challenges of bullying and poor management across the organisation.
Through the Freedom to Speak Up Guardians confidential new service, the video demonstrates the success of sharing concerns between staff and how this transforms the workplace experience to combat stress and anxiety quickly.
South Home Town: Stranger Than Known (2015)
Official Selection, New York Independent Film Festival, 2015
Made with Steve Hawley, this experimental documentary, South Home Town, is a "stunning and poetic" evocation of a port city without an identity, Southampton, known for transit and fugue rather than the people left behind.
Southampton receives 1.8 million visitors annually yet mostly all of them leave immediately via the cruise ship terminal.
This stunning flaneur style project uses super slow motion to forensically dissect the city streets and was originally screened as part of an installation celebrating the city's 50th anniversary.
The Last Taboo (Community Channel / Journeyman Films 2013)
Winner, Best In-House Production at the Learning on Screen Awards 2014.
Official Selection at the Ethnografilm Festival, Paris 2014.
Poor sanitation and open defecation kills three children under 5 every minute. The Last Taboo tells the story of a new approach to changing behaviour and busting myths.
Firstly, Chief Charro takes his villagers through an extraordinary “triggering” process, collecting fresh feaces and shocking his rural community into digging pit latrines. And then, in the privately-owned slums of Nairobi, Mambo Dennis "makes s**t his business", bringing people together to demand healthier behaviour and change through community action.
Video Nation (BBC 1994 - 2001)
Winner, European Prix Iris
Winner, Race in the Media
In 1994 a new type of television programme was launched, shot entirely by members of the public on camcorders. These edited shorts were very short indeed and they captured reflections on ordinary life, everything from cleaning to cooking, dreams to death, race to religion
The Video Nation project represented a litmus test of the UK at the end of the twentieth century, pre-digital and pre-YouTube, a kind of anthropology of everyday life, and has generated a huge archival record.
“The immediacy of these programmes is entirely different to anything shot by a crew. There seems to be nothing between you, not even the glass…” The Guardian
Going For a Song (BBC 1996)
The original series was a well-loved classic with Arthur Negus and the famous caged bird, marrying the passion for antiques with a celebrity parlour game for the first time. This reinvention devised a decade lat reintroduced Michael Parkinson to the BBC. It also made a household name of Eric Knowles and his bottomless collection of bow ties.
The series was developed at Maverick Television before being taken back in-house by the BBC, recording three programmes in a day and broadcasting Going For a Song across daytime slots for several series. The success also provided a mainstream platform for the likes of Mariella Frostrup, Tony Slattery and Helen Lederer.
Trade Secrets (BBC 1995)
Commissioned by the BBC with development by Saul Dibb, this new series knowingly utilised some of the video diary screen grammar such as the direct address and lack of cutaway by positioning 'real people' as the experts, sharing their tricks and tips, everything from cleaning to cooking.
Trade Secrets became a staple of the short form non-fiction genre for the BBC, transmitting mid-evening for several years and was described lovingly as a "hidden gem" by Controller BBC2, Michael Jackson in his review of the year in 1995.
Comic Relief (BBC 1995)
Winner, RTS, Best Documentary
One of a series of films made in the 'video diary' style by Maverick Television for BBC's Comic Relief campaign in 1995. Peope shot their own projects, which carefully crafted guidance from producers, to reveal daily struggles and the impact of the work of charities on transforming their lived expereience.
This abridged version, introduced by Robbie Coltrane, is the story of Michelle from Belfast, fighting her addiction to drugs and alcohol, glimpsing a twilight world rarely seen this close-up.
Language Lessons (Channel 4 1994)
Experimental documentary on the strange and wonderful history of the artificial language movement, made with Steve Hawley and commissioned jointly by the Arts Council and Channel 4 and described as another "hidden gem" by C4's Commissioner, Robin Gutch.
Esperanto, Volapuk and Sol Re Sol are some of the hundreds of artificial langluages featured together with their devoted speakers, who suffered persecution by Stalin and Hitler alongside gypsies and homosexuals.
As well as its broadcast in 1995, Language Lessons had a special screening at the 2018 Clermont Fim festival and is in the permanent collection of Fundacio la Caixa, Barcelona.
Trade Secrets (BBC 1994, pilot)
Commissioned by the BBC, this long-running series was a key part of Maverick's early programme output, helping to establish the company, and possessed the company's hallmark of the 'first-person' approach..
This was the pilot for Trade Secrets, commissioned by John King at BBC Birmingham and directed by Iain B MacDonald, becoming an instant favourite for its affectionate humour and invaluable 'life hacks'.
There was an anti-celebrity stance, positioning ordinary people as the stars, prefacing the incoming world of the internet, Jennicam and the burgeoning genre of reality television.
Three Minutes (ITV 1993)
Described by the ITV Meridian continuity announcer here as "a new access programme in which viewers tell their own stories in their own words".
Three Minutes combined the intimate authenticity of first-person storytelling to camera with more considered visual compositions, combining the vernacular of access tv with the expectations of teatime telly.
The series used a strict formula of three live action shots and five captions enabling several programmes to be shot each week across the south of England. Three MInutes soon became a Meridian staple during the 1990's.
In Bed With Chris Needham (BBC 1992)
Now something of a cult classic, this BBC Teenage Diary follows Chris Needham, a 17 year old aspiring rock star from Loughborough in his bid to make his mark on the world of heavy rock.
The unflinching portrayal of adolescent life, In Bed with Chris Needham, has become a touchstone for disaffected teenagers everywhere, raging at the world. As Chris says, “All you fogies and old people may as well switch off now!”
Both Video Diaries and Teenage Diaries generated hundreds of hours of rushes and were carefully co-created in the edit suite, often in conjuntion with the diarists themselves.
Between Two Worlds (BBC 1992)
Commissioned as a companion series to the Emmy award-winning Video Diaries, BBC's Teenage Diaries also uses first-person storytelling techniques to chart a year in the life of twelve year old Rachel, a new age traveller who spends her time on the road outside the school system.
Between Two Worlds was filmed by Rachel, a 13 year old girl who had never been in regular school, preferring to travel the country, sometimes with her mother in her converted truck, sometimes with staying with friends, exploring her identity and path ahead.
A remarkable and unique insight into the world of raves and free festivals, straddling both cultures as society pivoted fully towards a more individualistic outlook.
Paralympics (Channel 4 1984)
The first television sports documentary on the Seventh World Wheelchair Games, becoming known ever since as the Paralympics. This project integrated mainstream event coverage with individual profiles of athletes from across the world.
Paralympics was repeated on Channel Four as the viewing public demonstrated an appetite for wheelchair sports - particularly the heroic marathon races and iconic basketball matches - and the first Paralympics were held four years later in Los Angeles, televised just like any Olympic Games.
Interface Productions had succeeded in helping to represent sporting prowess as no different to any 'able-bodied' counterpart. Narrated by Adrian Metcalfe
Early Channel 4, 1984 - 1986 (compilation)
Compilation of several full-length documentaries made for Channel 4, when the broadcaster rigorously pursued its remit to represent new and unheard voices on television.
Interface Productions was largely staffed by people with disabilities who won commissions to make programmes with a new point of view, exploring Art, Sport, Religion and School amongst others.
Jonathan Ross cut his teeth here as an interviewer, before launching his debut chat show, The Last Resort in the mid 1980's.
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