Meet the
Each member of the Hideaway Studios Group is an individual specialist. Combined, we have years of experience in the industry, qualifications, and credentials.
Dr Gary Kelsall
Founder and CEO
Gary founded Hideaway Studios Group in 2007 and since then the company has produced numerous corporate and advertisement projects, working for an array of high profile clients. One of the principal specialisms of Hideaway is Ultra HD time-lapse filmmaking and remote site monitoring, for which the company has become nationally renowned.
Before founding the company, Gary had produced many documentary programmes as well as numerous other media projects over a variety of platforms. He has a PhD, and years of experience as a Senior University Lecturer, including at Keele University where he previously helped lead the programme of Media, Communications and Culture. He also makes the occasional TV and radio appearance!
Dr Holly Eckersley
Senior Project Manager
Holly obtained a First-Class Honours degree in English Literature and Media, before going on to study for a PhD.
She has much experience in customer liaison and support within many commercial environments, and now acts to provide high-level support to clients and projects at Hideaway Studios Group.
Andy Piekarczyk
Managing Director
Andrew has a First-Class Honour degree in Film Studies, and a Masters degree in Film Practice and Theory. He builds, manages and maintains Hideaway Studios Group’s Ultra HD time-lapse and site monitoring camera systems, as well as all filming and editing.
He oversees each project from planning through management, to the finished edit, and also helps with the continual evolution and innovation of everything we do (so he’s never without a screwdriver to hand!)
Before joining Hideaway, Andrew worked extensively as a freelance filmmaker and photographer, capturing a variety of live music, sports and theatre events as well as many projects in the education sector.
Daniel Curtis
Director of Communications and Engagement
Daniel has a First-Class Honours degree in Journalism, specialising in the writing of news stories and the study of the modern press. He has a keen interest in magazine and editorial design, and has extensive knowledge of the use of QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign.
He has experience as a news reporter, sports press officer and in local government communications, and now helps to maintain Hideaway Studios Group’s digital and social media presence. He also produces a range of in-house publications and communicates the company and all that we do to our current and potential clients, as well as broader publics.
Daniel’s first love is football and he is a life-long Reading FC fan. He also has a passion for country music!
Chris Rushton
Principal Editor and Senior Camera Operator
Chris has a degree in Media (Film) Production and graduated with Upper Second-Class Honours.
He has a dual role of Principal Editor and Senior Camera Operator which means that he is accomplished in both production and post-production and works very closely with both teams.
Outside of his work Chris has been a member of a charity group for seven years and in that time has helped raise over £350k for Cancer Research UK.
Paul Baddiley
Principal Engineer
Paul has a Joint Honours degree in Music and English and has had work broadcast on the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky.
He is one of the people responsible for the building, monitoring, maintaining and managing of our camera systems. As one of our lead installers, he can be found travelling all over the UK and beyond, completing recces and installations for our many, varied clients.
Paul also plays a key role in our creative developments, feeding into his keen interest for photography, live sound capture and graphic design. This includes developing the way in which we use technology and techniques in ever more innovative and exciting ways.
In his spare time, he can be found running, watching sport, playing guitar and gigging around the country.
Mark Smith
Senior Engineer
Mark has had an interest in anything electrical or mechanical since high school, and studied Aircraft Engineering for five years. Specialising in electrical systems and avionics, he was awarded an HNC in Aeronautical Engineering, and NVQs in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Manufacture.
He now applies his extensive expertise and experience to the development of our camera systems. He manages the build, deployment and maintenance of our on-grid and off-grid systems, and is also one of our main installation engineers.
Away from work, Mark enjoys the outdoors, DIY and gardening, and, as a self-confessed car fanatic, one day hopes to build his own Lancia Stratos kit car from scratch. He also has a keen interest sports and used to play as cornerback for his local American Football team!
Phoebe Hood
Senior Editor
Phoebe has a First Class Honours degree in Digital Film and Post-Production Technology where she specialised in post-production, where she engaged with a wide variety of projects, predominantly focusing on creative techniques through the Adobe CC suit.
She is one of our Senior Editors and responsible for producing final, fully polished sequences, where she takes time focussing on how to personalise each edit through clients’ specifications, aiming to elevate the end product as much as possible.
Outside work, she also creates videos and edits in her spare time for friends and family. She also has a keen interest for interior design, which gives her another outlet to develop her creative skills.
Andrew Blower
Software Developer
Andrew has a First-Class Integrated Masters degree in Software Engineering from Lancaster University, where he has also been working towards his Ph.D. He specialised in the field of Internet of Things. This led to further research, into the development of advance authorization methods, which operated on resource constrained devices. This required the use of complex time-series forecasting techniques, state-of-the-art Microservice architectures, and use of the Python and embedded-C languages.
Today, those skills are used to help the software team drive forward the latest implementations of various remote-camera systems. This involves using his extensive Python experience to design, construct, and rigorously test back-end software infrastructure. All with the intention to deliver a robust and reliable service.
Nicola Breese
Senior Administrator and Operations Executive
Nicola is an experienced Manager and Senior Administrator, with a long and varied career in industries ranging from the Staffordshire pottery industry and Dutch cookware, through to security technology and telecommunications.
Nicola lived in Belgium for 6 years immersing herself in the culture and the Flemish language, where she worked for the European HQ of a major UK pottery company.
She provides the highest-end administrative support to virtually every area of the business.
In her spare time, Nicola likes to cook, attend live music gigs and festivals, travel, and enjoys precious family time.
Alex Gilbert
Editor and Production Operative
Alex has a First Class Honours (BSc) Degree in Television Production Technology. He has also written and produced a feature-length film, multiple short films, and an ongoing audio drama series.
He has a dual role as both an Editor and Senior Production Operator which means he is involved in both the production (filming) and post-production.
Alex also has experience with the Matterport pro 2 system which allows us to produce 360 tours/walk-throughs for various clients. He is also training to be a CAA drone pilot.
When he is not working, Alex spends time with his family and young daughter. He also enjoys photography, Star Wars, watching films and reviewing video games.
Josh Brookes
Engineer & CAA Certified Drone Pilot
Josh is one of our most experienced engineers and works across the UK and beyond installing time-lapse camera systems for our many and varied clients. Back at base, he is responsible for the building and maintenance of our custom camera systems.
Josh is also one of our in-house videographers and CAA registered drone pilots. Josh uses skills from his Experimental (Film) Production degree to capture projects from different perspectives and to offer creative additions to many of our projects.
Away from work, Josh has a keen interest in football and golf, plays guitar and has a passion for music.
Ryan Britton
Senior Engineer
Ryan comes from an engineering background and has level 2 & 3 mechanical engineering, He has also served with the Armed forces.
He is one of our Camera Systems Engineers responsible for the set up, installation and maintenance of our camera systems. Every day is different and varied for Ryan as he covers a wide range of projects throughout the UK.
He has a keen interest in problem solving when it comes to the set up and installation, which helps us stay ahead of the game and continually develop our products.
His main interests outside of work are going to the gym along with playing football.
Liliana Kelsall
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Liliana works part-time to help with our news stories and social media, while in the final year of her A-level Studies.
She plans to go to university to study Politics and International Relations.
Liliana is also studying for her Grade 7 piano and completing her DOE Gold Award.
In any spare time she gets, she is heavily involved in dance, and does Ballet, Tap, Latin and Ballroom, performing in shows, entering competitions and studying for further qualifications.
Shannon Connolly
Junior Editor
Shannon has a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Animation and an Extended Diploma in TV and Film.
As an Editor she is one of the people responsible helping with all aspects of the post production of our projects and the monitoring of our camera systems.
Her main duties involve trimming, filtering and editing footage at our office in Alton as well as remotely monitoring our camera systems all over the UK and beyond.
In her spare time Shannon enjoys playing video games, creating digital drawings and working on her own personal film and animation projects.
She also regularly travels the country to visit friends and family.