Patrick Moore in the Sun

About a month back Sir Brian May kindly put up ‘Patrick Moore in the Sun’ on his personal YouTube Channel, a documentary I directed in 2004. The film fell out of a magical few hours of daytime astronomy spent watching the Transit of Venus from ‘Farthings’, Patrick Moore’s home in Selsey. Just after 5am on Tuesday June 8th, 2004, Venus slowly tracked across the face of the sun in an event that lasted a few hours. The mood in Patrick garden was full of wonder as no-one alive at that time had ever seen a transit of Venus. 

To share the experience Patrick had invited any number of amateur and professional astronomers to join him. And while the astronomers came to watch Venus, cameraman Charlie Grainger and I set about watching them. We had no remit beyond capturing a record of the event, but what came out was a real time homage to Patrick, the man they all adored who had encouraged everyone present and thousands more into a life of stargazing. The only semi-structured parts of the shoot involved interviews with Brian and Chris Lintott, Patrick’s protege and co-presenter of Sky at Night. The rest of the film was hatched in the moment, including vignettes, supporting IVs and visual record of Patrick’s study and bookshelves with shelf after shelf of his prolific output. 

My partner in making this film is Robin Rees, Patrick’s long time publisher and friend. Robin is a physics and astronomy publisher with his own imprint company Canopus Press alongside the London Stereoscopic Company for the books he publishes for Brian. Robin and I had met the year before on a beast of a project for the Sunday Times and have been close friends ever since. Having shot the film and talked it up in all the wrong places, Robin and I realised we just couldn’t attract anyone’s attention, and that raising a budget for a fuller profile of Patrick was going to be tough. And how we tried, whenever the opportunity permitted, or whenever we felt like going Dutch to eat Greek in Soho. We knew we’d captured something special even if it hadn’t originated in a commissioning editors meeting but we lacked industry connection or the capacity to pose as if we did. In effect we’d naively shot a documentary with no clue what to do about it. By happenstance we’d become the amateurs our film was about. Passion driven enthusiasts caught in our own imaginings. 

But this isn’t entirely true, my early career was in television working in various production and post production roles. As my career progressed my work started to include more direction, but by then I’d side-stepped into multimedia (and culminating in my work with schools on challenging stereotypes). Looking back I realise I’ve directed over 100 interviews, from leaders in their fields, to career case studies, and some very moving interviews with people who’d faced extreme personal adversity. But as with all things, my portfolio is now cosmic dust. Sweepings on my workshop floor. 

Robin and I have nursed this film into being over more than twenty years, a mere nothing in cosmological terms, but still time for my hair to change colour and for the babies to get jobs. And while unfinished the film played a useful role in my life. A tale to tell at the pub or a dinner party lull. It also sustained me when events personal, professional and global came back to back. Losing my father, my job and then lockdown. During this tricky patch I decided to do a full edit of the film. Given that some serious time had passed since the transit, including the sad loss of Patrick, the film then became my escape pod. Also, given lack of industry traction for a wider piece about Patrick I set some rules for the edit. Be true to the event. No additional imagery or supporting video. Any music had to come from Patrick or anything he referenced on the day. Retrospectively I remain glad of these rules as a frequent comment has been ‘I felt I was there’. 

Now that it’s done there’s a music documentary video format I’d like to work up. I’ve made a lifestyle of losing myself in the company of musicians, and the world is just teeming with players. Obviously Brian and his extraordinary talents, but also Patrick, for whom music was central to his being, and whose compositions we use in the film, so beautifully played by the Neil Crossland. In the world of music I inhabit, I’m surrounded by such bright-eyed types much like the astronomers back in Patrick’s garden. This includes those who strive to make a living from it alongside those like me who are just compelled to play. For nothing compares to playing with others and any future film must be about them. So do shout if are in the big-time and want to know more. 

I hope you enjoy Patrick Moore in the Sun. It’s a gentle thing. A 50-minute reprieve from everything else that’s going on in the world. Making it has been a labour of love and my privilege. I’m grateful to Chris for calling Robin to say ‘get a crew to Selsey’. To Robin for folding me in and being my mate, and to Brian for making any of this happen at all. Patrick was truly loved. There was more to him than most people will ever know. So much Moore.