Their words, not mine

Putting the right team together as a filmmaker has been an essential part of my growth, and Mike Drury and his Jimmy Jib have always been right near the top of that list.

I’ve often felt that, in Mike’s hands, the Jimmy Jib is one of the most underrated tools in the film industry. Its flexibility and ability to get into places other crane systems simply can’t is unmatched.

We’ve squeezed it into tiny lifts to get it onto rooftops. We’ve taken it to cliff edges and across some of the rockiest beaches imaginable. And we’ve created shots I genuinely thought would only ever be possible with something like a Bolt rig - throwing the jib around at incredible speed while shooting high-speed camera.

But the equipment is only part of the story.

None of those shots would have been possible without Mike’s knowledge, experience and incredible talent. He understands that jib instinctively, and over the years he’s helped me turn some pretty ambitious - and occasionally ridiculous - ideas into images I’m incredibly proud of.

Mike, thank you for the creativity, the adventures, and most of all, for giving me some of the best shots on my showreel. It’s been an absolute privilege having you behind the camera.

I’ve worked with Mike and his team on many, many commercials and music videos and, to be quite honest, I’ve never worked with another jib op. I’ve never had any reason to. Mike is the best in the game. Experienced, professional, and pin point accurate with every move I’ve ever needed to pull off.

With Mike it’s never a no, it’s how do we pull it off? Safely, smartly, and within the right parameters of the project’s scope. And if it has ever been a no, it’s always been for the right reasons - and saved me sending cast and crew to the hospital.

He’s an absolute diamond of a person, an exemplary jib operator, and top all round human being. His team are always polite, on the ball and follow his lead like great technicians should. If you’re going into the trenches on a film project, go into it with Mike. I can say a million times over that you will be in the safest of hands.

I last worked with Mike on a Rolls-Royce shoot in central London. We were shooting on the rooftop of a hotel, with a tight working area and very little time to get the shot. Mike was fantastic. He was in, set up quickly and delivered an amazing shot.

Mike is a highly skilled jib operator, and he created a beautiful elevated perspective with fluid movement that added real production value to the shot. In fact, it was so good that we decided to use it to open the film.

I’d highly recommend working with Mike. He’s excellent at what he does, bringing precision, speed and creative control to every shot. He’s also a thoroughly nice guy to have on set.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mike on many different productions, from arts and science documentaries to high end dramas. He is a true professional with a vast wealth of experience and knowledge.

He has innate calm under pressure, and most importantly he comes up with a myriad of creative ways to always get the best shot possible!

I first worked with Mike on a live festival and watched him artfully navigate through hours of moves with barely a misstep.

This transferred better than I could have hoped for in a promo and commercial setting, doing more intricate work perfectly - such as the Hard Life ‘Ocean View’ video, which required precise timing and quality transitions without cuts.

I’ve always loved working with Mike. He’s a fantastic jib op and someone I know I can completely rely on. Hugely experienced, calm under pressure and always gets you the shot. More importantly, he’s just a great person to have around on a shoot.

I’ve always been really happy with everything we’ve done together and I’d recommend him without hesitation. Hopefully we get to do plenty more together!