Available to hire
I am Mark Orton, a self-shooting director, editor and producer who thrives on turning raw footage into compelling stories. I bring a hands-on, tech-savvy approach to documentary and factual entertainment, often working solo or with tight teams in challenging locations. I’m comfortable handling multiple cameras, drones, and on-site sound, and I’m motivated by clear storytelling and fast, high-quality delivery.
Over the years I’ve collaborated with international crews and major networks (Discovery US, BBC, Foxtel/Channel 7, TVNZ, Al Jazeera), delivering pieces from the Yukon to remote villages in Borneo and rural New Zealand. Based in Sydney, I love traveling for shoots and I’m skilled at seeing the bigger picture while managing on-set realities and post production to meet broadcast deadlines.
Experience Level
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Language
English
Fluent
Tagalog
Beginner
Work Experience
Director of Photography at DW – Dark Destiny: How Child Rescue Ends in Abuse
September 1, 2025 - November 1, 2025Cinematography for investigative documentary; capturing sensitive subject matter with empathy and accuracy; project duration Sep–Nov 2025.
Shooting PD at Highway Cops – TVNZ
October 1, 2024 - PresentContracted to film in New Zealand for Highway Patrol series; showcasing police work in remote regions; interviews with officers; contributed to storytelling.
Director of Photography at BBC – Clinics
February 1, 2024 - September 1, 2024DOP on the medical documentary series; field shoots across New Zealand; produced robust visuals for a major season.
Shooting PD at TVNZ
October 1, 2022 - PresentFilmed Highway Cops across New Zealand for the 10th season, working with remote patrol officers and a multi-camera crew to showcase policing in challenging environments.
Shooting PD at Highway Cops
October 1, 2022 - PresentShooting PD on the 10th season; traveled NZ to cover remote policing areas; showcased work done by Police in challenging environments.
Shooting PD at Discovery US – Gold Rush
August 1, 2022 - October 1, 2022Based in the Yukon to work on the 13th season of Gold Rush; multi-camera, remote-location shoot; collaborated with UK and Canadian crew; contributed to on-set production and footage capture.
Shooting PD at Gold Rush (Discovery US)
August 1, 2022 - October 1, 2022Shooting Producer-Director on the Yukon-based 13th season of Gold Rush. Operated across remote locations, collaborating with a UK/Canadian crew to capture mining action, interview talent, and contribute to on-screen storytelling.
Shooting PD at Gold Rush - Discovery US
August 1, 2022 - October 1, 2022Visited the Yukon to work on the 13th season; collaborated with UK and Canadian crew; on-location shoots and production coordination as Shooting PD.
Camera at Moving Houses – Media Works / Imagination TV
April 1, 2022 - April 1, 2024Cameraman on a Grand Designs spin-off, following house-moving teams through challenging NZ highways; multi-camera coverage.
Camera at Moving Houses (Media Works / Imagination TV)
April 1, 2022 - PresentCamera operator on Moving Houses, following house-moving crews as they transport large structures along NZ highways; contributed to on-location shooting and production.
Camera at Moving Houses - Media Works / Imagination TV
April 1, 2022 - PresentCamera operator on a show about moving large buildings along NZ roads; long-haul location shoots in challenging environments.
Editor at The Outdoors Channel
May 1, 2021 - July 31, 2021Edited six episodes of Man Eats Wild, a spin-off from Grand Designs featuring Clarke Gayford and Andy Ellis; crafted narratives from a year of footage, guided music, and broadcast-ready color grading.
Editor at The Outdoors Channel
May 1, 2021 - July 31, 2021Edited six episodes of a brand-new show based on the dynamics of hunter-chef Mario Kalpou, shaping narratives from 12 months of footage, selecting music, and delivering broadcast-ready episodes.
Editor at Man Eats Wild - The Outdoors Channel
May 1, 2021 - July 1, 2021Edited six episodes; crafted stories from a large footage corpus; selected and mixed music and graded for broadcast.
Shooting PD at Demolition New Zealand – Prime TV / Sky
October 1, 2019 - August 1, 2020On-site demolition shoots across three sites; PPE; solo multi-camera shoots; no-script, high-energy environments.
Shooting PD at Demolition New Zealand (Prime TV / Sky)
October 1, 2019 - August 31, 2020On three construction sites documenting demolition specialists; solo shoots with multiple cameras in a no-script, high-energy environment with PPE and on-site risk.
Shooting PD at Demolition New Zealand (Prime TV/Sky)
October 1, 2019 - August 1, 2020Armed with PPE, filmed across three construction sites to showcase demolition experts; solo shooter with multiple cameras; unscripted, high-energy shoots.
Shooting PD at Gold Rush (Discovery US)
May 1, 2019 - August 31, 2019Based in the Yukon for Gold Rush’s 10th season, collaborating with UK/Canadian crews to capture mining action and on-screen storytelling.
Shooting PD at Gold Rush - Discovery US
May 1, 2019 - August 1, 2019Worked on the 10th season in Yukon; based with international crew; on-location shoots and production coordination.
Shooting PD at Australia’s Got Talent – Channel 7
April 1, 2019 - May 1, 2019Shot overlay and reality scenes for a formatted studio show; adapted to new format; gained experience with talent and staging.
Shooting PD at Australia’s Got Talent - Channel 7
April 1, 2019 - May 1, 2019Shooting PD for be-spoke overlay and reality-scene production; adapting to formatted studio environment.
Director-Camera at Top Roads China – Shanghai Media Group
July 1, 2018 - August 1, 2018Directed and shot a six-part series on roads crossing water and sky; field production in Shanghai; broadcast for Chinese audience.
Director - Camera at Top Roads China - Shanghai Media Group
July 1, 2018 - August 1, 2018Directed camera for road infrastructure series; brief included inter-city shoots across water crossings and bridges; collaboration with Shanghai Media Group.
Shooting PD at The Great Australian Bake-off / Take Me Out – Foxtel / Channel 7
April 1, 2018 - July 1, 2018Produced backstories, locked locations, scheduled shoots, wrote scripts and managed image acquisition; worked across two formats in Australia.
Shooting-Producer at Foxtel / Channel 7
April 1, 2018 - July 31, 2018Shotted and produced behind-the-scenes and overlay segments for Australia’s Got Talent and Take Me Out; coordinated talent, locations, scheduling, and on-set shoots.
Shooting-Producer at The Great Australian Bake-Off / Take Me Out - Foxtel / Channel 7
April 1, 2018 - July 1, 2018Researching, scripting, directing and producing two road-tested formats; liaising with talent, securing locations, scheduling shoots and managing image acquisition.
Director-D.O.P at MYSTERIES OF THE MEKONG – Smithsonian
April 1, 2017 - May 1, 2017Directed and shot Mekong documentary with botanist; long-form observational storytelling; travel across Mekong region.
Director-D.O.P at Smithsonian
April 1, 2017 - May 1, 2017Directed and shot Mysteries of the Mekong with Dr. Mark Spencer in Yunnan, engaging with Yi and Naxi communities while exploring plant-health secrets and longevity.
Director - D.O.P at Mysteries of the Mekong - Smithsonian
April 1, 2017 - May 1, 2017Directed and shot a feature on Dr. Mark Spencer; explored plant-based health and longevity with Yi and Naxi communities.
Director-D.O.P at CHINA’S AMAZING SUPER PLANTS – Discovery International
January 1, 2017 - April 1, 2017Directed and shot segments on remarkable plants in Yunnan; field production and ethnobotanical storytelling.
Director-D.O.P at Discovery International
January 1, 2017 - April 1, 2017Directed and shot China's Amazing Super Plants, traveling across China to document remarkable plant-life and traditional practices with local communities.
Director - D.O.P at China’s Amazing Super Plants - Discovery International
January 1, 2017 - April 1, 2017Directed and shot a six-part series on China’s remarkable plants in Yunnan; engaged with local communities for health and longevity themes.
Director/Producer at Frontier Borneo – Discovery International
June 1, 2016 - November 1, 2016Directed and produced four months of field shoots following wildlife and conservation work; remote bases and logistics management.
Shooting-Producer-Director at Discovery International
June 1, 2016 - November 30, 2016Frontier Borneo: shot, produced and directed across remote locations in Sabah and Sarawak, focusing on conservation and ecological storytelling.
Shooting-Producer-Director at Frontier Borneo - Discovery International
June 1, 2016 - November 1, 2016Directed and shot a four-month observational documentary in Borneo; eco-warrior/field biology focus.
Director-Editor at Abalone Wars – Discovery International
March 1, 2016 - April 1, 2016Directed and edited a feature on abalone divers; observational documentary; field production with challenging marine conditions.
Director-Editor at Discovery International
March 1, 2016 - April 30, 2016Directed and edited Abalone Wars, following abalone divers in challenging conditions for Discovery’s global audience.
Shooting-Director-Editor at Abalone Wars - Discovery International
March 1, 2016 - April 1, 2016Directed and edited a feature on abalone divers; mixed observational storytelling with on-site shoots.
Shooting-Director-Editor at Panda Republic – Animal Planet France
July 1, 2015 - December 1, 2015Shot and edited a series about panda breeding; cross-cultural production challenges; duration mid-2015.
Director-Editor at Animal Planet (France) / Panda Republic
July 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015Directed and edited Panda Republic, exploring panda breeding and conservation for an international audience.
Shooting-Director-Editor at Panda Republic - Animal Planet-France 5
July 1, 2015 - December 1, 2015Directed and edited panda-focused docu-series; multi-episode arc with cross-border collaboration.
Shooting-Editor at The Slum – Al Jazeera
October 1, 2014 - June 1, 2015Observational documentary capturing life in slums; field production and on-site editing; late 2014 to mid-2015.
Shooting-Editor at Al Jazeera / The Slum
October 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015Shooting and editing 'The Slum' for Al Jazeera; produced on-location segments across SE Asia with NHNZ integration.
Shooting-Editor at The Slum - Al Jazeera
October 1, 2014 - June 1, 2015Shooting and editing for an Al Jazeera feature on urban slums; observational documentary approach.
Producer-Director-Editor at Discovery
April 1, 2014 - September 30, 2014Produced and directed Top Ten Sharkdown, a countdown special drawing on archive and expert interviews.
Producer-Director-Editor at Top Ten Sharkdown - Discovery
April 1, 2014 - September 1, 2014Created a shark countdown show using archives; wrote scripts, conducted interviews, edited to Shark Week spec.
Editor at NHNZ / A&E
November 1, 2013 - April 30, 2014Edited I Survived for A&E/NHNZ, contributing to multiple episode productions and post-production workflows.
Editor at I Survived - A&E (NHNZ)
November 1, 2013 - April 1, 2014Edited survival documentary episodes; location-based post-production.
Freelance Creative at Seeing Red Media
January 1, 2007 - PresentWorked on multiple forms of broadcast television content as a director, cameraman, editor, and story producer. Created short-form video content for local businesses and organisations. Developed and executed social media and digital storytelling campaigns. Collaborated with clients to craft engaging visual narratives for regional tourism, education, and community initiatives. Managed all stages of production from concept development through post-production delivery.
Education
Postgraduate Diploma in Science Communication (Natural History Filmmaking) at University of Otago
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2007Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at University of Otago
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2003PGDIP NHFC (HONS) at University of Otago
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007BACHELOR OF ARTS ( HONS ) at University of Otago
January 1, 2001 - January 1, 2003Postgraduate Diploma in Natural History Filmmaking and Science Communication (Hons) at University of Otago
January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2007Bachelor of Arts (Hons) at University of Otago
January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2003Postgraduate Diploma in Natural History Filmmaking and Science Communication at University of Otago
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007Bachelor of Arts (Hons) at University of Otago
January 1, 2001 - January 1, 2003Qualifications
Drone Pilot Certification (102)
January 11, 2030 - December 28, 2025Postgraduate Diploma in Natural History Filmmaking and Science Communication
January 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007Industry Experience
Media & Entertainment, Education, Non-Profit Organization, Travel & Hospitality, Professional Services, Other
Experience Level
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
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