Bio

Naomi Austin is a multi award winning film maker with huge range of experience from observational human stories and history to cinematic adventure, and high concept science. She’s tackled all genres - from the worlds first face transplant, to slavery, Life after death to elephants and saving the worlds oceans. She brings skills from a wide range of disciplines to all the genres she works within including observational documentary, natural history, archive and visual effects.  Her most recent project was the Netflix epic Our Universe, voiced by Morgan Freeman - a genre-busting natural history meets cosmology series.  

A specialist in complex and ambitious shoots, Naomi has Filmed on every continent and in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Utterly fearless, she is equally at home jumping out of helicopters, in the Antarctic, the desert or up a mountain.  She is an expert at directing multiple units, filming from helicopters, drones, and boats, all with the highest visual ambition. She is particularly well known for her premium highly produced and choreographed underwater filming (Perpetual Planet, Nat Geo)



 

 

Naomi has always had a passion for technical and loves cameras. She self-shoots to a high level, and loves the challenge of innovation – whether designing a blue screen aquarium to film penguins (Our Universe) or developing specialised rigs to film actuality (life after death,BBC)

With a strong track record working with on screen talent, she has directed actors (Maureen Lipman), expert hosts (David Olosoga), and often follows a cast of characters (Countdown to life BBC2) She is particularly well known for directing vulnerable people in highly sensitive observational settings. Skillfully managing duty of care, access and consent.  Life after Death saw her embedding with the London air ambulance and filming the world’s first non-beating heart transplant.  

Recently Naomi has taken her premium production sensibilities to work in branded documentary. She personally developed, pitched and won BBC Studio’s first brand commission, building an ongoing partnership with Rolex and National Geographic. She can deliver commercial visuals while crafting something that feels documentary enough to have a place on a mainstream network.

 Naomi cut her teeth working on a wide range of history projects using a host of storytelling techniques. Her work covered all subjects from Ancient history (Egyptian Journeys ), to contemporary black British history. (Black and British) She is adept at telling emotional stories with skill and sensitivity through emotive human testimony, archive and drama recon.

 As well as a highly skilled film maker, Naomi is passionate about the teams she works with and a supporter of young talent.  Recently she’s been instrumental in building BBC studios strategy on female directing talent working with wearedocwomen.