Box Of Frogs Films Ltd
Tim Maurice-Jones BSC
Director of Photography
Tim started out as an illustrator and artist then joined the BBC working on animation projects. He wandered on to a film set one day and knew that was where his future laid. He then found himself at the birth of the cutting edge and stylised pop promo scene. Shooting Blur’s ‘Park Life’ and winning several awards for it. He later shot many commercials and with a great eye for light and made some world renowned commercials, winning the Hitchcock D'or Dinard Film Festival Best Cinematography "White Lightnin", Samuelson Award for Best Cinematography "Polaroid Resignation", Creative Circle Gold Cinematography Award "Polaroid Resignation", Creative Circle Gold Cinematography Award "Levis Drugstore", D&AD Silver Cinematography "Levis Drugstore" , British Television Advertising Awards Best Cinematography "Heinz Ice Station", British Television Advertising Awards Best Cinematography 'Smirnoff Smariensberg" and Creative Circle Gold Discovery Channel 'Mosquito'.
Guy Ritchie wanted his innovative style for a ‘Lock, Stock and Two smoking barrels’ and ‘Snatch’. Tim then went on with Guy to shoot the slick action film ‘Revolver’ and the reshoots on ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Tim’s other notable films include –Matthew Vaughn's ‘Kick Ass & Kick Ass 2, James Watkins Woman in Black, The Take, The Ipcress File, and Black Mirror, Simon Kinberg's The 355 and The Expendable 4. Tim’s versatile approach and talent was much appreciated by Jimmy, a long-time collaborator and he captured a great look for AEP. “Jimmy wanted the film to look like the kind of film the guys were trying to pitch, as well as feel that we were amongst them joining in the conversation. I was excited by the lighting changes he wanted during the pitches, particularly the ‘Wizard of Oz’ one, where I went for a real technicolour feel and Jimmy wanted the transition to happen in one shot with no cut in-between light changes, so it was quite a challenge, but the results look great.’
Russell De Rozario
Production Designer
Russell De Rozario’s production design can be seen in over twenty films, as well as more than two thousand commercials, music videos and promos. His work has garnered him considerable recognition for creating imaginative and empathetic visual environments for a huge breadth of projects spanning a wide range of styles and budgets. His latest achievement is being nominated for a 2022 Emmy Award for his set design on Jolt an Amazon Original.
First spotted by highly innovative British production company, Tony Kaye films, who invited him to join their team of creatives as art director for commercials and music videos, De Rozario’s award-winning talent soon led to high profile campaigns for, among others, SKY TV - and a subsequent meeting with director Barry Skolnick. It was Skolnick who persuaded De Rozario to take on his first feature film project with 2001’s Prison Tale, Mean Machine, and this in turn led to Guy Ritchie’s comedy/romance Swept Away, released the following year. Other notable feature credits include: Nick Moran’s films Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008) and social drama, The Kid (2010); Matthew Vaughan’s action comedy Kick-Ass (2010), followed by Jeff Wadlow’s follow-up Kick-Ass 2 (2013); Jack Eve’s Bees Make Honey (2017); Jason Fleming’s vampire comedy horror, Eat Locals (2017); Dan Caden’s wrestling comedy Walk Like a Panther (2018); Patrick Hughes highly successful action comedy, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson and Salma Hayek; and Ric Roman Waugh’s popular action thriller, starring Gerard Butler, Angel has Fallen. De Rozario’s work will shortly also be seen in follow-up The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and Tanya Wexler’s action comedy thriller Jolt, which stars Kate Beckinsale and Stanley Tucci. Most recently he was asked by his old friend Matthew Vaughn to work on Argylle, which galaxy of stars includes Bryce Dallas Howard,Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill Bryan Cranston, Samuel L Jackson. De Rozario has a BA Hons in Fine Art and Sculpture from Chelsea College of Art and Design and went on to achieve an MA in the same at the University of East London. His sculpture exhibition, ‘The Harder They Come,’ following his graduation, caused such uproar for it’s explicitly anti-establishment message that it was eventually banned. But that was where he was spotted, so there are definitely no regrets and these days De Rozario largely keeps his ‘venting’ to his long-suffering friends!
John Whetstone
Original Script Writer
John Whetstone grew up within walking distance of a movie theatre in Grand Blanc, Mich. and spent many summer days enjoying a variety of films. He blended his love of movies and writing while in college and wrote his first screenplay at Michigan State University. John is a former newspaper reporter and editor who graduated with a journalism degree.
He is the winner of the Palm Street Films Screenwriting Contest.
His film, "The Interrogation," screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles.
John co-wrote the feature film, ‘Baby Bulldog,” which is currently streaming on various platforms.
Ben Simon
Editor
Working primarily as an editor for over 25 years, Ben caught the bug early, making 8mm films featuring an original Kermit The Frog puppet from The Muppet Show that his Dad worked on at Elstree Studios, before using video to document local life, leading to his first professional steps as a camera operator, lighting cameraman and editor. Short films followed, including international festival award-winning sci-fi drama The Message, as well as music promos, concert programmes, charity fundraisers and documentaries, eventually moving full-time to Thames Television for over five-years. This period included show development and shepherding of pilots and programmes through post, including Channel 5's flagship Open House With Gloria Hunniford, one-off docs on the Battle Of The Somme, the impact of 9/11 on its first anniversary, Cliff Richard, David Bailey, and early incarnations of Disctraction!, Pop Idol and The X-Factor. At Elstree, Ben formed post- production facility VideoHouse Digital, writing and directing concepts for children's shows as well as continuing edit work, including art-house installation feature film La Prochaine Fois, and providing voiceovers for numerous projects. Most recently, Ben has continued editorial involvement with longtime collaborator James O'Donnell for stunt previz on features including Bollywood movie Kick, Murder On The Orient Express, Artemis Fowl and The 355, as well as directorial credits on kids action comedy Ginja Ninja and 2021's well-received comedy-drama Hand-To-Mouth, and is pleased to be teaming again with James for Aping Edwin Porter.
Simon Clark
Production Sound
Simon Clark is a freelance production sound mixer.
Hooked on the process of recording and reproducing sound from the age of 10 he started his professional life in TV sound post-production, worked in documentaries for 15 years travelling around the globe before making the world of location drama his professional home in the 1990’s.
Chairman of the Institute of Professional Sound he is a passionate advocate for structured training within the Film and TV industry. He is Head of Production Sound Recording at the National Film and TV School and writes regular technical articles for “Resolution” magazine.
TV drama credits include 8 series of Waking the Dead, Line of Duty, Skins, Mad Dogs, Burton & Taylor, An Adventure in Time & Space, Cormorant Strike – The Silkworm, King Lear, Darkness Rising and Alleluia.
He was BAFTA nominated for The Promise and won the 2016 Sound Craft BAFTA for Wolf Hall both directed by Peter Kosminsky.
Ailsa Windsor
Costume Designer
Ailsa is a creative and ambitious Costume Designer with a passion and drive for storytelling through costume. Her path into designing has been informed through her experience as an Assistant Costume Designer on both contemporary and period productions. She is an imaginative and resourceful designer who works collaboratively to tell stories with a focus on character.
Ailsa studied Costume at Undergraduate and then Masters level at The University of Huddersfield with a focus on the use of embroidery within costume, both historical and contemporary.
Her more recent credits include Assistant Costume Designer for The 355, The Little Drummer Girl, and Harlots Season 3 and Aping Edwin Porter of course!
Emily Dodge
Hair and Make up Designer
Emily is a professional London based freelance and passionate Hair & Makeup Designer who enjoys working on both period and contemporary projects.
Emily has worked on numerous productions over the years, including Death on the Nile, Belfast and The Marvels and enjoys being part of the process that brings characters to life and screen.
She trained in Beauty, Fashion, Prosthetic FX, Postiche and Character Creation.
Dave Watkins
SFX Supervisor
Dave Watkins has been around the film industry for most of his life and worked with the legendary Corbould family learning his trade under the best. He worked his way up through the ranks and became a SFX Supervisor, where his charming personality, organisational skills and knowledge of Special Effects, saw him fly in the role as an innovative, creative and safe SFX supervisor.
His credits include: World War Z, Jack Ryan, Cinderella, Death on the Nile, Fantastic Beasts, Life, Artemis Fowl, Belfast and The Marvels to name but a few.
Anna Brabbins
First Assistant Director
Anna started her career in comedy, thanks to having known the great comedy writer John Sullivan. She worked as an assistant director on the British classic comedy show ‘Only fools and horses’ as a result. Anna stayed at BBC Comedy for ‘The League of gentlemen’ and then moved into drama on shows such as ‘Silent witness and ‘Wallander’, where she met Sir Kenneth Branagh. She did two series of ‘Wallander’. And then joining up again with long-time collaborator and 1st Assistant Director, Martin Curry, joined ‘The Ken Branagh Company’ (TKBC) and her journey with Ken began.
Anna has been involved on all Ken’s project since ‘Murder on the orient express’.
Her credits include Death of Stalin, All is true, Artemis Fowl, Death on the Nile, and Belfast; and in between Sir Ken’s films she enjoys 1st AD’ing for EastEnders.
David O'Neill
Producer/UPM
David O'Neill started in the Assistant Director department and was a floor 2nd AD when he went to work with Producer Matthew Jenkins as his assistant on Artemis Fowl. He later became a UPM for Matthew.
As Producer he is currently in pre-production on Raising Hell, for 1A Productions. This is another collaboration with FPA, a New York based theatre/film company.
His production supervising work can be seen in theatres right now in Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile.
Other Producer credits includes The Most Reluctant Convert for 1A Productions and Aping Edwin Porter.
David worked as Location Production Supervisor on Artemis Fowl, for Disney+ & The Marvels, for Marvel Studios.
He has now just started work with Matthew on the Enzo Ferrari story Directed by Michael Mann.
Nora O'Donnell
Executive Producer
Box of Frogs Films
From a young age Nora always knew she was going to work in the film industry. She was born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles, although that didn't quash her spirt, humour or love of life and family. An ambitious soul, she started out as the best always do, as a runner in Ireland and worked her way up to Crowd 2nd AD, before meeting Jamie Christopher on Neil Jordan's 'Ondine'. Jamie gave her a job on Harry Potter 7 and it is here that she met her husband and the films Director, Jimmy O'Dee. They have been married for 12 years and together for 14. Nora has written two feature films and one has recently been optioned. She continues to work with Jimmy in production and in his department.
Box of Frogs Films was formed to develop and shoot feature films from start to finish and she has thrived in her role as Executive Producer and especially on the development side. The company has a 5 films on their slate at present.