Our Story

In 1997 Michael Sanders started his career as a freelance news camera operator/editor.  Before long he moved in to working on factual TV and documentaries, filming material for all the UK TV networks and a host of international broadcasters.

In 2001 he was asked by a client if he could produce a film to be shown to MP’s at a meeting in Parliament.  There was just one catch: It all had to be filmed and edited within four hours on the morning of the event.  Being an early adopter of new technology Michael and the team used the relatively new Final Cut Pro and a laptop to edit the material on the move. The first shoot was at 7am in central London before the team moved to the second and third locations.  At 9.30am they started the edit and at 11am played the tape out to the awaiting crowd.

Since then as well as maintaining a career as a Director of Photography shooting award winning documentaries, Michael has produced and directed material for a host of clients who appreciate his dedication to quality and ability to understand how to tell stories efficiently and in a cost effective manner. 

One of his unique skills is bringing together just the right size of team and skillset to make the production sing - whilst keeping within budget.

In September of 2020, Michael was approached by a client to work on Adobe’s online conference Adobe Max which was going online because of the ongoing pandemic. Over the next two years Department 43 Media Ltd supplied crews across the UK, EU and US including producers, directors, DP’s, camera crew, sound crew and make up artists. 

The crews filmed with a wide range of presenters and interviewees, including Riz Ahmed, Gillan Anderson and Vivian Westwood and Tilda Swinton.

Most recently Michael and the team worked on a fast turnaround documentary for a US broadcaster facilitating numerous shoots in the UK.