Filming for a Documentary
Back in the summer, I was approached by the German production company South & Browse to film a documentary about my weird and rare skill. The documentary was for Galileo, a German TV show. The two-part documentary features three people worldwide with a ‘Super Talent’ and seeks to find the most extraordinary ability. One gentleman from the USA can eat as many chillies as he wants without effect, one is a multi-instrumentalist who can play hundreds of musical instruments, and one is me!
I met the presenter Basti and the cameraman under the London Eye on the South Bank. We started filming and they showed me my target, a grainy black-and-white photo of a female, only for a few seconds. My job was to demonstrate how a Super Recogniser can briefly look at the image of a face they’ve never seen before, then go off and find them in a crowd. We walked to Waterloo where the female would be amongst the hoards of people zipping around the station.
My target, a grainy image of the side profile of a female
It took just a few minutes to find her. She was hidden well against the backdrop of crowds streaming in and out of Waterloo, on her phone blending in. As soon as I saw her I knew in a split second I had eyes on my subject. She disappeared into the station and the team sent me in to find her. I approached her in the hubbub of the main concourse and shook her hand! High fives all around. And a sense of relief - that was pressure!
I found my target quickly and had no doubt it was her.
Got her!
The team now reunited (my target was the sound engineer), we filmed an interview and then made our way to the University of Greenwich to meet with Professor Josh Davis, back to where it all began for me. We ran through the quick 14-part test with the team and they did great! Prof Josh was wonderful on camera as ever, it’s not the first time we’ve filmed together and he’s a master at this sort of stuff.
Professor Josh Davis going through the test with the team
Basti has a go at the test…and does pretty well!
Day two of filming saw the team come to my house to get more of me at work. I chatted to Simon Henson of Titan Investigations about a job he’d got for me. I also carried out a facial comparison report for Mike Neville who popped over to film too.
Simon Henson of Titan Investigations making an appearance
It was great fun and the team did an amazing job. I wish my UK and International pals could watch the documentary - it’s only available to watch in Germany and is ‘voice-overed’ but for any of you who can speak German or ARE German, here are the links to the episodes:
Do you think you’re a Super Recogniser? Join me on my next Covert Exercise Weekend training course and test out your skills! For more information click here