Stickmen Pictures - About Daniel Tee

Born in 1981, Daniel grew up in Henley-on-Thames. His passion for film started young and by the age of ten he was making his first animations with toys and play dough. A natural organizer, he wrote stories that he went on to film with school friends. Without the facilities to edit the footage, he filmed each shot in the right order on the tape. It was an early lesson in the economy of film.

Daniel's first experience of being on a professional film set was as an extra in The Land Girls (1998), starring Rachel Weisz, Catherine McCormack and Anna Friel.

In 1999, he moved to Derby to study for a degree in Creative Writing at the university. As well as learning journalism and story writing, the course also gave him the necessary skills to turn his ideas into film scripts.

In 2004, he met Rishi Thaker on a community film course. After just a few minutes of talking, they decided to make a film together. The very next week, they were filming A Mid-Summer Nightmare, a short zero-budget horror. Daniel made a boom pole out of a broom handle and modified his personal mini-disc player to record the sound. He naturally gravitated to the roles of cameraman and editor. He learned how to edit during the post production stage, unaware just how passionate he would become about the process. Sitting there with Rishi, he came up with the idea that anything could be a production company name. With a stickman standing on the desk looking at them, Stickmen Pictures was born.

Together with Rishi, Daniel went on to produce the short chiller The Darkness in the Fields and its follow up, the philosophical drama Across The Styx, both over twenty minutes in length.

In 2005, Daniel was accepted on the residential Acting and Production Diploma at the ARTTS Skillcentre in Yorkshire, a centre of excellence accepting only the most promising talent from across the globe. The centre was founded by the world-renowned theatre and film director John Sichel, a former trainer at RADA and London Film School and a man whose career led him to work with Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Oliver Reed, Sean Connery and Michael Caine, among other great actors. Before Daniel could complete the course, John Sichel sadly passed away and the centre was closed. Losing the opportunity to work with a great and seasoned mentor was a great blow to him.

Several television companies, including the BBC, provided the odd day of camerawork, but regular paid work was elusive. He continued to make short films in his spare time and diversified into music videos and documentaries. He and Rishi made The Chasist, a music video involving running, acrobatics and a car chase while showcasing the city of Derby.

The opportunity to work on his first feature film came in the form of A Reckoning (2011), from the mind of director A.D. Barker. Daniel worked as cameraman, alongside the project's diverse actor Leslie Simpson (Dog Soldiers/The Descent). Filming outside in some of the coldest conditions England has ever seen, he and the crew worked fourteen hour days for two weeks to complete principle photography. Due to unforeseen problems, this labour of love was not to see the light of day, which was a blow to everyone who worked so hard on it. With anticipation growing, the film may yet be released.

Daniel was one of the first in England to be trained on the RED camera system, a new technology at the time. With new ideas surfacing, Daniel pioneered an interactive live-action video format and entertained audiences with his and Rishi Thaker's The Plumber. The opportunity came to appear on several television shows such as "The ONE Show" (2006) and "Watchdog" (1985) and "How to Look Good Naked" (2006). Although he enjoyed the experiences, his true passion was in film making.

In 2010, Daniel started his work as producer on the feature film Slaughter is the Best Medicine, a high-concept action thriller shot on zero budget in a Derbyshire woodland. In addition to the demanding job of producing, he also did the cinematography and editing, even finding the energy to play a small role in the film.

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