Born 1974 in Zimbabwe, I grew up in South Africa, where after my schooling I completed a 3-year diploma course in film, My career began in earnest during news coverage of Nelson Mandela’s historic voting in 1994 in South Africa.
I then moved to sports, and a huge amount of documentary style current affairs ( of which , in south Africa, there were many at that revolutionary time) and documentary production in South Africa and continued in this vein after leaving SA in 1995.
Sport ( especially “extreme” sports ) during the nineties was very much magazine–style shows , as such incorporating a multitude of production and camera techniques, from true multi-camera OB work, through guerilla style under-cover shooting graffiti in ghettos, strapped to the edge of mountains and out the sides of helicopters, to presenter–led studio set ups. Including green screen, back projection , multi camera studios, as well as the more traditional television backbone of interviews, coverage and GVs.
Also inserts or “features” were a huge part of sport productions, so more in depth scenarios were “acted“ out ,which led to my ability to cover and stage scenes in a more dramatic style. These experiences have taught me to be an efficient and quick thinking camera operator/DOP.
I have over the last 10 years I have become more interested in drama and lighting for drama.
As can been seen from my CV, I am now shooting more commercials , music promos, dramas, shorts and features, while maintaining a steady involvement in television production.
Because of the single and multi-camera nature of my experience ,and from directing and writing various magazine style shows and promos, I am able to plan and execute scenes with confidence.
I have shot in a multitude of environments, and sound stages/studios, within a multitude of different crews, I am a creative and hard working DOP, always utterly loving the job, whether it be perched on the side of a freezing mountain, or creating an appropriate beauty for the script.
Simon Weekes
Director of photography
reel coming soon