Dr Gary Kelsall

Gary founded Hideaway in 2007, and has overseen the continual development of everything we do, including our strategic direction and our ever-expanding portfolio of clients and projects over many sectors.

Gary has a PhD in media and many years of experience within the industry as well as the university sector, including his last academic position as Co-Director of Media, Communication and Culture at Keele University.

He has produced many documentaries, written for publication, overseen many diverse media projects and even pops up on radio and TV from time to time.

His interests lie in how the evolving relationships between media theory, technology and practice can commercially deliver all that is best, most innovative and value for money to our many clients.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Keele University.

Ray Johnson MBE

Ray was awarded an MBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list, for his work in the Media and Arts. He has produced over 100 documentary programmes, covering diverse subject material.

He is Director of the Media Archive for Central England and the Staffordshire Film Archive; a Fellow of the Film and Video Institute; and a long-service member of Equity, amongst many other accolades. He is also an Emeritus Professor of Film Heritage and Documentary.

He has appeared as archive and film expert on various television programmes and continues to supply archive to TV productions – most recently The Great Pottery Throwdown and The Antiques Roadshow. He writes for stage and screen, has performed before Her Majesty the Queen in The Royal Variety Performance and won a Fringe First drama award at the Edinburgh Festival.

Ray has worked on many projects with Gary and is currently Executive Producer at Hideaway, where he plays many roles, which draw upon his vast experience, skills and networks.

Holly Eckersley

Holly has a First Class Honours degree in Media and English and is close to completing a PhD in Film and Adaptation. She is an expert on Victorian literature and is a member the British Association for Victorian Studies and the North American Victorian Studies Association, amongst others. She also writes articles and delivers papers on her specialisms.

She manages the detail of projects and her knowledge of the industry means she is a great creative influence. As one of our senior project managers, she also helps build and maintain the very successful working relationships we have with our clients.

In addition to her passion for Victorian literature Holly loves costume drama and TV series box sets. Not a lot of people know this, but Holly once worked in a circus!

Andy Piekarczyk

Andy has a First Class Honours degree in Film Studies and a Masters degree in Film Practice and Theory, and his role within the team is extremely varied. He is involved with everything from editing and filming, to planning and project management, producing and directing.

He works with new technology and equipment to bespoke our production and post-production practices; he liaises with clients; organises our crews and schedules; and recces locations, amongst many other tasks, to ensures that all aspects of our projects are delivered to the highest standards.

Before joining the Hideaway team in 2011, Andy worked as a freelancer, providing video and photography services in the live events sector, which included theatre, music, community arts and even mixed martial arts!

Andy is currently in training for his first triathlon so when not in work he runs, cycles and swims. He also loves all things ‘film’ – past and present.

Ian Clowes

Ian is an accountant with 30 years’ experience of work in numerous capacities for companies big and small. He has managed offices and accounts in the diverse fields of retail, recruitment and construction.

Ian manages all our in house accounting and also looks after the relationships with the accounting teams of all our suppliers and our clients. He also manages our office, and the complex systems of data and information sharing and office and systems administration. He also likes to get out and about on occasion and his technical mind and his eye for detail means he is often vital in helping us with all operational logistics.

He is a workaholic and often sneaks in over the weekend to spend time with one of his many spreadsheets.

When he is not at work he admits that he can usually be found inside a computer game, or spending time with his family and beloved dog Bonnie.

Daniel Curtis

Daniel has a First Class Honours degree in Journalism and is responsible for maintaining our websites and social media. He creates a range of publications and graphics for the company and manages the output of our news stories, press releases and blogs to keep our clients and the wider public up-to-date.

He also manages lots of our information and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of our clients and projects past and present. He works to provide information to allow our Business Development team to communicate effectively with prospective new clients.

Before joining the team Daniel spent time working as a news reporter, a sports press officer and even gained experience working within local government communications.

He grew up in Basingstoke and is a huge Reading FC fan.

Chris Rushton

Chris has a degree in Media (Film) Production and graduated with Upper Second Class Honours.

He has a dual role of Principal Editor and Senior Camera Operator which means that he is accomplished in both production and post-production. He organises our editing team and liaises directly with our clients to produce their beautiful films.

Outside of his work Chris has been a member of a charity group for seven years and in that time has helped raise over £350k for Cancer Research UK.

Natasha Wylie

Natasha has an Upper Second Class BSc Honours degree in Computing Science.

She is responsible for designing and developing our websites and also develops and maintains our remote viewing platform (iRis) and all our other vital web based client services. Natasha also works very closely with our clients and helps them with the embedding and activation of the media we create and also with the design of their web presence. This means that we are able to provide true end to end services – all ‘in house’.

Natasha has a hawk-eye for detail and prides herself on her ability to ensure web content looks amazing and is accessible and user friendly too.

Before joining the team Natasha designed and developed websites for one of world’s leading car manufactures and has also designed for companies within the financial services and other sectors.

Outside of the office Natasha plays an active role with the web community running a Code Club for 9 to 11 year olds and a very successful monthly web meet-up. On the odd occasion she puts down the computer and plays her creative hand at face painting.

Wallis Seaton

Wallis has a First Class Honours degree in Media and English Literature and is currently studying for a PhD in Film Studies at Keele University. Her research focuses on issues of commodification, identity, and stardom/ celebrity in relation to popular female characters in American film and television.

Wallis leads research and information gathering for many of our projects and also helps with the planning, logistics and creative direction. Her academic and practical expertise means that she can understand and implement the aesthetic and creative content that underpins the quality of all that we produce.

Wallis’ other interests include pizza, ASOS, and David Fincher films. Her favourite Oasis song is ‘Columbia.’

Daniel Daley

Dan has an Upper Second Class Honours degree in Experimental Film Production and has been working within the industry since 2007.

Dan understands every editing trick in the book and is obsessed with keeping up with latest software and techniques to make our final products the best they can be.

Dan has produced two feature-length productions, as well as multiple short films and when he is not at work he can be found tinkering with tech and kit, and searching for old vinyl records. He is best known around the office for his encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture trivia. We are always testing him with obscure questions about pop music and TV through the ages… and he usually gets them right!

Mark Smith

Mark has had an interest in anything electrical or mechanical since high school, and studied Aircraft Engineering for five years. Specialising in electrical systems and avionics, he was awarded an HNC in Aeronautical Engineering, and NVQs in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Manufacture.

He now applies his extensive expertise and experience to the upkeep of our equipment, to ensure that everything is up-to-date and ready to be used at short notice.

Away from work, Mark enjoys the outdoors, DIY and gardening, and, as a self-confessed car fanatic, one day hopes to build his own Lancia Stratos kit car from scratch. He also has a keen interest sports and used to play as cornerback for his local American Football team!

Tom Lewis

Tom recently graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Manchester, where he specialised in integrating web technologies with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

Tom has a talent for problem solving and overcoming challenges with innovative solutions. He is responsible for developing our software and equipment, ensuring we can offer the best quality services.

In his spare time, Tom enjoys building and flying UAVs, running and the outdoors in general. He also attends air shows and has his signature on components for the Boeing Dreamliner from his time interning at Rolls-Royce.