Sophie Van Der Meeren
Over the last 20 years Sophie has worked all over the world on biodiversity conservation, community livelihood and climate change adaptation projects. She held long term positions with the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) and more recently as an advisor to the New Zealand Government’s International Aid Programme (NZAID). Her academic training is in Coastal Management (MSc) and in Anthropology (BA).

For the last 8 years Sophie has been working as an independent consultant, specialising in the evaluation, monitoring and review of projects, strategies and programmes and for their design and implementation.

Realising the potential impact of film as an awareness raising and educational tool, Sophie recently joined Unique Waves Productions. She is particularly excited about the potential impact that short online documentaries and advocacy films can have; the clarity with which issues can be illustrated and the speed at which films can be accessed by worldwide audiences.

Sophie uses her extensive biodiversity conservation and sustainable development experience to ensure that the documentary films produced capture the key messages and lessons learnt by the projects and organisations at the heart of the films.

Her main role is to provide guidance and advice to Unique Waves Productions and Partners in the initial conceptualisation of films, writing of film scripts and to conduct the consultative process and interviews during film production.

Sophie also has skills in filming and film production and provides back up support in these areas.

Recent projects in which Sophie has been involved include:

Joe Constable
For many years Joe has had a passion for photography and the visual arts which drove him to become a full time professional in 2001. Since then he has untaken an impressive range of projects in the commercial sector, specialising in producing high quality work for the Marine Industry.

He has been involved in a number of filming projects over the years from promotional films to footage used on the national televsion network in the UK. He also has extensive experience of aerial based shoots, including the use of drone technology, and is well versed in the art of sound-engineering and editing.

More recently Joe has turned his focus to another of his passions, documentary film making, and has joined forces with Sophie Van Der Meeren to produce some thought-provoking, dynamic and informative short films for online and broadcast distribution.

As well as extensive experience behind the lens Joe also has specialist expertise in web design, social media and can provide support to organisations and projects to help them to maximise the impact of their websites and online media, including through the use of film based promotion.

In his film production, photographic and other multi media work Joe places a strong emphasis on working closely with his clients to make sure that the key messages they wish to get across are captured in a way that is engaging, clear, concise and eye catching.