Mitch Mitchell

Mitch joined BBC’s Camera Department in the staff expansion required for BBC-2.  He trained on mostly Stewart Morris light entertainment shows but then specialised in drama such as the Wednesday Play and Dr. Who as an assistant and then operator. He suggested the need for a camera effects department and became a founding member of what was initially called electronic (later video) effects and worked on numerous early BBC chroma key and other effects shows including many Dr Who and Blake's 7 episodes. In 1980 he left BBC and joined The Moving Picture Company where he worked for two decades as effects supervisor on commercials using their larger budgets, to experiment with new digital techniques. These included Paintbox, Harry, CGI, motion control and also the filmtel video to film transfer system.  After a short period as a freelance VFX supervisor - mainly on commercials but also “The 10th Kingdom” - he joined Cinesite as head of imaging responsible for digital intermediate and with his knowledge of film recording, helped develop the super2K scanning and recording processes first used on Harry Potter, but then on many other productions such as Sherlock Holmes and the DaVinci Code.  When Kodak shut down Cinesite’s imaging department he moved to fulfil the same role at Technicolor during the tumultuous transition from film to digital and the closing down of laboratories.  Mitch lectured extensively on imaging and effects, wrote a best selling focal press media manual on the subject, is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and BKSTS and was appointed Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University.