I shoot, direct, edit, grade and mix documentary and promotional films. Twenty-five years of it: National Geographic, the BBC, Discovery, Smithsonian and ZDF for broadcast, and Msheireb Properties in Doha, Qatar Charity, Shell, a London council, a community heritage archive and three theatre companies for everyone else. The edit is where I earn it. I cut two hours of Nat Geo out of 16,000 unlabelled clips, and I finish in Resolve and Fairlight rather than handing it on. Small job, one person. Big job, a full crew. The cost follows the scale. Two Gold Tellys in 2026, a Silver Remi, a Silver Muse. London; English, German, French.…

Jonathan Schütz

I shoot, direct, edit, grade and mix documentary and promotional films. Twenty-five years of it: National Geographic, the BBC, Discovery, Smithsonian and ZDF for broadcast, and Msheireb Properties in Doha, Qatar Charity, Shell, a London council, a community heritage archive and three theatre companies for everyone else. The edit is where I earn it. I cut two hours of Nat Geo out of 16,000 unlabelled clips, and I finish in Resolve and Fairlight rather than handing it on. Small job, one person. Big job, a full crew. The cost follows the scale. Two Gold Tellys in 2026, a Silver Remi, a Silver Muse. London; English, German, French.…

Available to hire

I shoot, direct, edit, grade and mix documentary and promotional films. Twenty-five years of it: National Geographic, the BBC, Discovery, Smithsonian and ZDF for broadcast, and Msheireb Properties in Doha, Qatar Charity, Shell, a London council, a community heritage archive and three theatre companies for everyone else. The edit is where I earn it. I cut two hours of Nat Geo out of 16,000 unlabelled clips, and I finish in Resolve and Fairlight rather than handing it on. Small job, one person. Big job, a full crew. The cost follows the scale. Two Gold Tellys in 2026, a Silver Remi, a Silver Muse. London; English, German, French.

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Language

German
Fluent
English
Fluent
French
Fluent
Italian
Advanced

Work Experience

Writer / Story Consultant at IFA (In Focus Asia) / National Geographic
January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2026
Scripted and story-consulted a presenter-led series with Terry Townshend, Road to Carbon Neutrality. Provided writing and structure support that contributed to award recognition.
Director / Camera / Editor at Gecko (Curly Lizard Films)
January 1, 2024 - Present
Directed, shot, edited, graded and delivered six short single-handed films (5–10 minutes) for East Side Community Heritage, True Heart Theatre, People’s Theatre, SPID Theatre and Waltham Forest Council. Managed production from brief to delivery, including client handling and compliance, with finishing including sound design, compositing and simple VFX. Final masters were delivered to clients for use on their own websites and YouTube channels.
Writer at Smithsonian Channel
January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022
Aerial America: scripted 2 x 30 compilation episodes of the longest-running aerial series.
Story Consultant / Writer / Editor at National Geographic
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Restructured, scripted, cut, sound-designed and graded a China-made 2 x 1hr modern history series for an international audience.
Executive Producer / Series Producer / Editor at National Geographic
January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2019
Converted 16,000 Chinese-labelled clips with no usable log into 2 x 1hr about a holy mountain in eastern China. Completed the edit, sound and grade as lead for the production.
Series Producer / Director at Qatar Charity
January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2019
Produced and directed 12 x 12 films documenting charity work in Sudan and Albania, coordinating difficult on-location shoots with local crews and delivering the results for distribution requirements.
Series Producer and Director at Qatar Charity
January 1, 2018 - June 1, 2018
Directed twelve short films on charity work in Sudan and Albania, shooting in difficult locations and cutting to a fixed format and delivery schedule.
Producer / Director at National Geographic
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017
Directed a 1hr presenter-led travel, history and culture special, Shandong, Land of Confucius, working with a Chinese crew and overseeing story, shoot and delivery.
Producer at Pulitzer Center
January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2016
Produced and edit-produced a 90-minute feature documentary on global health and big data, The Life Equation.
Producer / Series Producer at CNA (City ReDesign)
January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015
Ran 4 x 1hr with Prof. Jason Pomeroy. Wrote the CGI briefs, supervised a 3D specialist through iterations, cut CGI renders against live action, wrote all scripts and directed all presenter elements, and delivered episodes concurrently.
Executive Producer / Series Producer at CNA (Singapore Revealed & Treasure Hunt)
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014
Led 8 directors and 8 editors on two concurrent talent-led series. Scripted, supervised shoots and edits, directed episodes, and delivered 2 x 6 x 1hr programming.
Head of TV and Executive Producer at BBC Media Action
January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2018
Ran two ten-part series for Cambodian broadcasters CTN and MyTV, mixing drama, factual entertainment and public information. Also prepared a co-production with Indonesian broadcasters and supervised a series pilot shot with a Burmese crew in remote northwest Burma.
Series Producer / Director at Msheireb Properties, Doha
January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2013
Produced and directed a series of promotional short films and a 1hr documentary for a downtown regeneration scheme. Cut films against architects’ visualisations before the district was built, coordinating story, timing and edit structure to align with pre-construction development timelines.
Series Producer and Director at Msheireb Properties, Doha
January 1, 2010 - January 1, 2013
Three years of films about an urban regeneration scheme that did not yet exist: promotional shorts and a one-hour documentary on the rebuilding of downtown Doha, made largely from CGI, architectural intent and construction site access.
Series Producer and Executive Producer at CNA (Channel NewsAsia)
January 1, 2010 - January 1, 2016
Ran landmark factual series for Singapore's international broadcaster. City ReDesign was four hours with Prof. Jason Pomeroy and the channel's largest ever CGI spend; I wrote every script and directed all presenter elements. Also delivered Singapore Revealed and Treasure Hunt, two six-part series running concurrently with eight directors and eight editors.
Executive Producer / Story & Script Consultant / Edit Producer at National Geographic, Discovery, AXN and others
January 1, 2008 - Present
Long-running relationship across international and multichannel broadcasters, creating one-offs and series from China, Taiwan and Korea. Responsibilities include story and script consultancy, edit producing, and overseeing post workflows for delivery.
Writer / Director at National Geographic
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007
Inside: The Emperor’s Treasure — produced a 1hr documentary with unique access behind the scenes at Taiwan’s National Palace Museum.
Producer / Director at National Geographic
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2010
Produced and directed observational documentaries on live construction sites for Inside: Airshow and Megastructures x 3, including Universal Studios Singapore, a major casino in Macau, a river project in Korea, and Singapore’s new airshow.
Founder and Executive Producer at Curly Lizard Films
January 1, 2007 - Present
My own production company, taking commissions and co-productions directly. Work through Curly Lizard includes writing Aerial America for Smithsonian Channel, producing and cutting Changemakers: Asia for Discovery, and corporate and brand films for Shell and E&O. Sub-brand Gecko makes short films for arts, heritage and charity organisations.
Producer, Director and Editor at National Geographic
January 1, 2007 - Present
Documentaries and series from Asia for international broadcast. I have directed, edit-produced, scripted and story-consulted across the strand. Titles include Laoshan, where I cut two hours of television out of 16,000 unlabelled Chinese clips, 100 Year Journey, Inside: The Emperor's Treasure (Silver Muse) and three Megastructures films.
Producer / Director at E&O / Shell
January 1, 2005 - December 31, 2015
Produced and directed corporate, promotional and branded short films for internal and external use, including end-to-end production management and delivery.
Producer / Director at Pilot Productions and Café Productions (FR2/RAI3/NHK International)
January 1, 1993 - December 31, 2003
Produced and directed from Budapest (1993–2003) for FR2, RAI3 and NHK International; then moved to development and production in London.

Education

BA (Hons) at Oxford University
September 1, 1982 - July 1, 1985
English Language & Literature

Qualifications

Gold Telly Awards, Silver, Bronze Telly Awards, Silver MUSE, Silver Remi
January 1, 2010 - January 1, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Non-Profit Organization, Real Estate & Construction, Energy & Utilities, Travel & Hospitality, Healthcare, Government, Professional Services