Direction

NFD Productions is led by a husband and wife team both with very different backgrounds and skill sets that compliment the company perfectly. Initially it was Alyson having worked on various film sets and desperately wanting to make films of her own that provided the initial catalyst resulting in the purchase of a Panasonic MS4B SVHS camera way back in 1994. Initially the team was just Alyson in the Directors role and Richard in the Producers role "PLUS" camera man, sound man, tea maker etc. We have over the last ten years moved to employing camera, sound and lighting people as and when we need them, as well as investing a significant amount of money in our own 64 bit highly sophisticated editing suite, camera's, sound and lighting equipment. We are now looking to build on what we have achieved as well as delivering to our customers a service "second to none" with real quality and value for money.

History/Current Projects

 Over the years we have done many and varied films both for ourselves and others, mostly drama which we specialise in. Rather then detail them all here are some of the ones from the past that really stand out for us leading onto our current work. Our first film was about Bullying way back in 1995 called Victim, this went on to win various festival awards and was later shown on Channel 4. The next was Past Memoires a period piece that was bought and broadcast by Meridian TV. Tempted to be accepted came in 1996 and was a film highlighting the problems of joyriding that culminated in blowing up a car! Free kicks came along in 2001 about a young lad desperate to be taken on by a premiere football team. 2002 saw the first instructional machinery video we produced showing packaging machinery working, this was for use at a business conference. 2003 we produced a retro advert for a car no longer made. 2004 saw us produce our first training video about how to assemble an engine and make performance modifications. 2004/2005 Had us making an educational video "WHY" to warn young people of the dangers of walking home alone. 2006 saw various company promotional videos produced one for a classic car restoration company. 2007 saw the first of a series of short films "MISSING" that turn out not the way you would expect as well as a pilot/trailer "Little Souls" for a children’s film / TV series that we are currently developing. Feb 2008 saw "Lots of Love HARRY" completed, a second film that doesn't turn out the way you would expect.

Now showing on  internet TV. Other notable projects on the go currently include a more up to date version of our early bullying film this time including mobile phones and the internet as a means of being bullied and a very interesting forward thinking interactive e-learning video project with Citizens Advice. 

 People 

Technical Director - Producer - Writer - Richard Connew MSCE, PSS, PSE,

After a 17 year career in the British Army specialising in communications, IT and GPS systems, Richard joined RR Donnelly & Sons in 1990 where he was involved in business development/sales work with companies such as MOTOROLA, Sun, Avery and IBM.

2000, he moved to Energis Squared, the technology innovation centre for the Energis Group to head up their APPLICATION SOFTWARE PROVISION programme. He was responsible for refocusing the emphasis of the 7 million pound programme/project to the development of wireless/mobile phone applications and streaming video for the BLUE CHIP market. His interest and belief in video across the internet and to mobile phones led him to leave IT and setup with his wife "NFD Productions" Richard’s business development, sales, marketing, technical, and project management skills from managing multi million pound IT projects made him the ideal choice to fulfil the producers role in the various films NFD Productions have created and will do in the future. Unlike many producers Richard believes in always being on set. In the early days this was because being such a small team he had to be the camera or sound man as well; now his knowledge of the more technical aspects of camera, sound and lighting make him the idea person to bridge the often found gap between the director and the crew not seeing the wood for the trees and thus avoiding many costly mistakes later in the production. For smaller projects where a producer isn't key or required he project manages for the customer and does camera and sound work as he enjoys it so much. Richard also writes many of the scripts we use for our own films and others. He's currently working on a script about a classic car club and it's members.

Creative Director - Director - Alyson Connew LAMG, LGR, SRN,

Originally trained as a nurse, Alyson Connew was lured into the exciting world of performing arts in 1984. After many years experience of having worked as the Head of Drama at a school of performing arts she started her own school (NFD). She initially starting directing young people in stage productions as early as 1984 and has gone on to direct various stage productions from the Edinburgh Fringe to more recently a sell out production of Annie at the carriage works in Leeds October 2007. She directed her first film “Victim” in 1995. Alyson has trained young students up to an extremely high level getting them parts on such well-known television programmes as Heartbeat, Emmerdale, Darling Buds of May, A Touch of Frost, Fat Friends and Coronation Street. Alyson has also had a number adult students appearing in television programmes such as Emmerdale, Faking it, Pop Stars the Rivals, King Girl, Heart Beat, Touch of Frost, At Home with the Braithwaite's. Films include The Darkest Light, Charlie Chaplin, Victim, Past Memoirs, Tempted to be Accepted and most recently Mrs Radcliffe's Revolution. Unlike many others Alyson specialises in training people for Film and TV. Often Alyson would go on set with young students and thus learned a great deal about how film sets work along the way. On many occasions Alyson helped out by performing various on set jobs, unit manager, assistant director, assisting various directors on a number of sets with child direction. Alyson due to her extensive experience of working with children and young actors is always able to get that really special performance of a life time that so many other directors fail to when working with young people. Even adult actors really shine like never before when Alyson breathes her magic on them. Alyson first started out directing/making short films way back in 1995, this initial early film making expanded over the years to the point that a number of her very first short films were bought and broadcast by ITV, Meridian and Channel 4 amongst others finally growing into a business that is today "NFD Productions".