Cole Wren
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The story so far.

Cinematographer
Roots
Location marshal
Napoleon
Third AD
Drained

06 · About

Before Colchester United, I built up my knowledge and skills in two places: at the University of Lincoln, making short films with a regular crew of coursemates taking on varying roles, and on professional sets, from Ridley Scott’s Napoleon to independent features in London. I still develop my own ideas and scripts, and make films of my own.

  • 1stFirst Class BA Honours in Film Production
  • 5Feature films as crew
  • 12Productions on set, 2022 – 2025
  • 1Festival selection, for Addict

06.1University of LincolnUOL_2020-23

Film Degree. First class.

Three years on the BA (Hons) Film Production course, graduating in 2023 with First Class Honours. Most of that time went into making films with a regular crew of coursemates, swapping roles from one film to the next: writing, directing, shooting and editing.

BA (Hons) Film ProductionFirst Class Honours2020 – 2023Lincoln

Play Roots

Graduation film2023

Roots

A dystopian horror short. After a nuclear power station disaster leaves the world to the Irradiated, a surviving lab assistant has to go back into the abandoned laboratory for life-saving medicine before time runs out. I wrote the original screenplay and shot the film, and off camera I found the locations and ran the crowdfunding.

Role
Cinematographer · Writer · Executive producer · Co-editor
Director
Ryan Chapman
Shot on
Sony A7S · Panasonic Lumix G90 · 1990s Mini DV
Runtime
14 min
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Two characters walking through a derelict hall in Roots
Grainy Mini DV camcorder footage of a blood-streaked wall in Roots
Mini DV footage
The poster for Roots
Poster
Play Nature’s Mockery

Short film2023

Nature’s Mockery

My first film as cinematographer. A horror short written and directed by Ryan Chapman, about a soldier, discharged after traumatic events, searching for his lost sister while escaping the skincrawlers that have overrun the world. “If you hear them, they’ve already seen you.”

Role
Cinematographer
Director
Ryan Chapman
Shot on
Sony A7S
Runtime
8 min
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
A man reading papers by torchlight in Nature’s Mockery
The poster for Nature’s Mockery
Poster
Play Addict

Short film2022

Addict

A short drama about addiction and mental health, which I wrote and directed.

Official selectionIndie-Lincs International Film Festival 2023

Role
Writer · Director
Shot on
Sony A7S
Runtime
7 min
Note
Contains drug use
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

More from uni

  1. Play Sticking with the Classics

    Sticking with the Classics

    Documentary short · Director · 6 min · 2022

    Mechanical engineer Andy Blackburn has kept three classic Lotus cars on the road for most of his life. A film about restoring them, and the simple pleasure of driving them.

  2. Play Tap Down

    Tap Down

    Documentary short · Director · 5 min · 2021

    Made for the course’s documentary module: award-winning Irish dancer Tom Conroy on turning his passion into teaching, and keeping his classes going through the pandemic. Pictured: filming in Lincoln.

  3. Play Rampant

    Rampant

    Advert · 2 min · 2021

    An unofficial advert made on the course.

06.2Film & TV crewCREW_2022-25

From the ground up.

From 2022 to 2025 I worked as crew on feature films, short films, music videos, commercials and promos, mostly as a runner, PA or marshal: the jobs that keep a set moving. Two stand out.

On location for Napoleon in Lincoln

Feature filmApple TV+

Napoleon

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon filmed in Lincoln in March 2022, while I was studying there, and I joined the production as a daily location marshal. Marshals look after everything around the set: keeping the public and traffic clear of the shot, holding positions during takes and helping a very large unit work safely in the middle of a city. It was my first big-budget set, and a crash course in how a production that size runs.

Role
Location marshal (daily)
Director
Ridley Scott
Where
Lincoln · March 2022
Released
November 2023
Napoleon on Apple TV+ (opens in a new tab)
On set for Drained in London

Feature filmRed Guerilla Films

Drained

An independent vampire horror directed by Sean Cronin and Peter Stylianou, shot around London in early 2024. As third assistant director I looked after the supporting cast, made sure the leads were ready for their call times, organised props from the prop houses and helped run catering for 20 to 60 people on set. Some days that meant crowd control in the busiest parts of London. I also ended up in front of the camera, in a small part which made the final cut.

Role
Third assistant director · Small acting part
Directors
Sean Cronin · Peter Stylianou
Where
London · Feb – Mar 2024
Drained on Prime Video (opens in a new tab)
Crew list2022 – 2025
Film and TV crew credits
YearProductionTypeRole
2025Qalxy crowdfunding promoPromoProduction assistant
2024Ed Sheeran: Under the TreeMusic videoLocation marshal
20242402PS-UK ALMMusic videoClient runner
2024RE 650 × IMFCommercialStyling runner and driver
2024Noxious AlleyPromoRunner and boom operator
2024Alchemy: The Girl I AmProof of conceptRunner, sound playback and script supervisor
2024Christmas Games NightShort filmBoom operator
2024Christmas at Plumhill ManorFeature filmProduction assistant
2024It’s OK, Go Back to SleepFeature filmProduction assistant
2024DrainedFeature filmThird assistant director
2023Cinderella’s CurseFeature filmRunner
2022NapoleonFeature filmLocation marshal

Full credits on IMDb (opens in a new tab)

06.3Side projectsOWN_TIME

Off the clock.

Films I make for myself, away from work: trips, experiments and ideas I want to try out. I like to make short videos when travelling to try out new techniques.

Late sun through a pine forest, with an American flag on a porch

Side projectTravel film

Travel Log

A travel film: forests at golden hour, back roads, and black-and-white footage shot from the car. Shot and cut in my own time.

Role
Shoot · Edit
Format
Travel film

Cut to the present.

From a film degree and film sets to the media team at Colchester United. Here’s what I’m making now.

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