The late Ed Ratcliffe was honoured with the Dee Edwards Award at the BSC Awards 2025. Chris Plevin GBCT ACO Assoc. BSC and Simon Finney GBCT ACO Assoc. BSC were celebrated at the Operators Awards for their outstanding contributions to camera operating.

This year’s BSC Awards was as supremely well-organised and glittering as ever. After a sumptuous dinner, came the awards. Fourth on the list was the Dee Edwards Award, established in 2023 and presented by the Operators Awards. It is given in recognition of people who have championed the work of Operators and their crews. This year it went to Ed Ratcliffe, founder of Ratworks (ratworksengineering.com), the highly respected, independent, bespoke camera accessories manufacturing company. His colourful and distinctive equipment is an invaluable asset to operators and first ACs on multiple productions.  

Ed left us far too soon and far too young, but his legacy lives on, as his mother Suzanne and her team continue to run his company, which goes from strength to strength. Her courageous and moving speech followed Kit Lynch-Robinson’s, his friend and mentor. He told us that Ed was a force of nature, hungry for work and fun, passionate and meticulous over the design and precision of the gold standard products he crafted. He was also a superb climber, which proved to be an invaluable asset on a number of productions. Kit’s speech ended with, “Anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him was blessed to call him a friend. He was the embodiment of what one person can achieve, living each day as though it was a door waiting to be kicked in.” 

Ed started out in the film industry as a trainee and swiftly progressed to second AC, by which time he had invested in a lathe and was making aluminium components, the first of which was the Rat Bar. https://ratworksengineering.com/product/19mm-screw-in-bars/ 

His friend and climbing partner Joe Walker wrote: “Ed saw life as a vast, glowing, empty page and believed totally in his ability to write in it whatever story he wanted. His first 30 years are testament that his self-belief was well placed. He had the magic cocktail of vision, intelligence and charm required to turn his imagination into reality.” 

Dee would surely have approved.  

SMOOTH OPERATORS 

GBCT Members were well represented at the Operators Awards, which were presented by DP Stephan Pehrsson BSC. He said that he’s a big fan of camera operators and couldn’t do his job without them, ending, “Thank you for having our backs.” 

TV drama nominations went to GBCT members: James Layton GBCT ACO Assoc. BSC for Black Doves; Chris Plevin GBCT ACO Assoc. BSC for True Detective: The Night Country and Peter Robertson GBCT ACO SOC Assoc. BSC for The Agency. 

Feature film nominations went to the Gladiator II operating team, who numbered eight, of which GBCT members were: Peter Cavaciuti GBCT ACO SOC Assoc. BSC, Chris Plevin GBCT ACO Assoc. BSC, Richard Philpott GBCT ACO and Katie Swain GBCT. Congratulations to them all. The winners were Chris Plevin, A. camera on The Night Country and Simon Finney, B camera on Wicked. 

BOX OUT// 

Simon Finney GBCT ACO, Assoc. BSC 

“Working on Wicked was a wonderful experience, despite it being highly pressurised due to shooting two films concurrently in the midst of the SAG strike. I’d previously worked with the director, Jon M. Chu and enjoyed his approachability, openness to collaboration and calm authority. I hadn’t worked with Alice Brooks BSC or Karsten Jacobson DFF, but we quickly became a team and I am grateful for the trust and leeway they afforded me throughout the production. One sequence that stands out is the Galinda’s girl in a bubble solo, which was shot over a number of days and involved Steadicam and the crane to create shots which would merge seamlessly. As the B camera operator, I was more than happy to stand back and observe the process – not a time to suggest cutaways! Being paid to listen to Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo sing was truly magical; not forgetting Jeff Goldblum’s song and dance routine!” 

Simon’s first job was as a production runner on The Dresser in 1983, when union membership was mandatory. Joe Dunton Cameras supplied the camera equipment and fortuitously needed a delivery driver. Simon spent four years familiarising himself with camera equipment and obtaining his union ticket, before launching himself as a freelance clapper loader. He trod the traditional route, moving up through the ranks and has been operating since 2000.  

Chris Plevin GBCT ACO Assoc. BSC 

“The blistering 40 degree heat of Morocco and Malta on Gladiator II contrasted sharply with the beautiful, but unforgiving Icelandic winter on True Detective: Night Country. The six-month schedule included 57 night shoots, 49 of which were consecutive. Factor in the wind, ice, snow and temperatures which plummeted to minus 18 Celsius and the technical challenges were never less than interesting, but always mitigated by the incredibly supportive production office and local crew, as well as the frequent and fabulous displays of the Northern Lights. Issa Lopez was a wonderful showrunner/writer/director for all six episodes and DP Florian Hofmeister BSC was collaborative and generous, driving creative camera use with his thoughtful and reasoned aesthetic approach. The grip department built various miniature dollies and special rigs for some of the shots in the ice tunnels. Their resourcefulness and enthusiasm was essential throughout and their long experience of shooting in harsh conditions helped immeasurably. Chris Summers, A camera first AC, designed and supervised the conversion of two trucks for the camera department with the right specifications for shooting in the depths of winter. My contribution was a hot plate to keep our food warm!” 

Chris started in the film industry after film school (The West Surrey College of Art and Design), working on motor sport and corporate productions for the now defunct United Motion Pictures. He then worked as a freelance assistant on documentaries, music videos, corporate productions and commercials. He started focus pulling on Letter to Brezhnev and started operating after working on Mary Reilly.  

With thanks for their contributions to: Ed Ratcliffe’s family and friends Suzanne Ratcliffe, Kit Lynch-Robinson, Joe Walker and to  Roger Bowles, editor and Dan Evans, assistant editor of ACO’s In the Frame.