Nigel Ashcroft - Producer and Director

Nigel Ashcroft is co-founder and Managing Creative Director of the long established Bristol based production company Green Umbrella Limited. He has been making award-winning films for thirty years. He has worked in Drama, Commercials and Animation, but has specialised in Natural History and Science. Nigel started as an editor, cutting twenty episodes of the BBC's landmark series, The Natural World, as well as Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer - the most awarded music video of all time.

As a producer, director and executive producer, his programmes include the British Academy nominated Saving the Tiger and Wild India, for Channel 4, the Emmy winning Crater of the Rain God for National Geographic, 11 episodes of the Jackson Hole ‘Best Limited Series’, The Ultimate Guide and Journey to the Center of the Earth – winner of the Best Earth Science award at The Jackson Hole film festival in 2003.

In 2006/7 Nigel directed the PBS high definition astronomy special entitled Seeing in the Dark, based on Timothy Ferris’ best-selling book of the same name. The programme first aired across the USA on PBS in September 2007, to critical acclaim:

"Seeing in the Dark is more like a reality show from inside a love affair. It's roughly equal parts historical biography, contemporary people profile, gee-whiz technology explainer and dazzling art-show. It meditates on thought and muses about music. This could well be the show your new flat-screen has been waiting for. Director Nigel Ashcroft pushed and pulled Ferris' words off the page and into scenes with a feature-film feel.”
GINIA BELLAFANTE, New York Times

Currently, Nigel is working on 2 major projects with an iconic American feature film director. As well as producing an extensive natural history segment for a feature film, Nigel is also making a 15/70 Imax film alongside the feature, shooting in extreme locations in 11 countries.

To find out about the courses that Nigel runs, please visit the Production Courses page or contact him via email Nigel Ashcroft.