About Christopher TJ McGuire
Christopher TJ McGuire ACO, SOC.
I began my career in my home city of Manchester working as an AutoCue operator at the BBC and Granada, this enabled me to build contacts and develop onwards to became a Camera Assistant to various Lighting Cameramen in the region which then led me onto become a Cameraman in my own right on various TV shows including; World in Action, This Morning, Dispatches and Planet Pop, I bought myself a Steadicam and trained myself – then had the opportunity to operate on a few short Films as a Steadicam Operator which then led me into feature films.
I contributed to the early-stage development of what is now called the Omega from MK-V, and I used it on many productions including Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix / Deathly Hallows & Ironman 2.
As owner and operator of this equipment I was able to open up new possibilities for use in both the commercial and motion picture worlds, paving the way for new systems including the Arri Trinty and Hand Held Gimbals, as well as continuing to photograph narrative using all the different platforms available.
I have always had a passion for camera movement, so being able to design shots for the narrative using, for example; Cranes, Remote Heads, Stabileye Nano/Pico, HandHeld and Steadicam, has and is the most collaborative and satisfying part of the job.
Since Harry Potter I’m proud to have built a modest folio of movies including; Bad Boys for Life / Ride or Die, American Made, Venom 1 & 3, Conan the Barbarian, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Jason Bourne and Terminator: Dark Fate – Shaping my Operating skills across the years I’ve developed a keen enthusiasm to embrace all the technologies and new equipment to achieve shots for all the forms of narrative.
Working with Camera crews around the world I list this as my greatest passion for the job – meeting new people and learning from them.
I’m incredibly happy and humble to have worked with Directors of Photography including Sam McCurdy, Fabian Wagner, Grieg Fraser, Henry Braham, Barry Ackroyd, Larry Sher, Julio Macat, Dan Mindel & Maryse Alberti amongst many incredible Masters of Light.
I count myself lucky to have been a part of many productions, Commercials and Music Videos included and I’m always satisfied by the passion and education shared by each Director of Photography.