Documentary filmmaking.

Directed by
Cole
Shot by
Cole
Edited by
Cole

A football club is more than ninety minutes on a Saturday. My documentary work goes behind the scenes at Colchester United to find the people and the stories supporters don’t usually see, from the groundsman preparing the pitch to academy players breaking into the first team.

  • 6Episodes of Beyond 90 Minutes, plus two specials
  • 4h+Of long-form documentary in the series
  • 60mThe longest episode: The Goalkeeper Coach
  • 1Person crew, from first idea to final cut

01.1The seriesB90_S01

Beyond 90 minutes.

A behind-the-scenes mini-series that tells the story of a matchday through the eyes of the people who keep the club running. Every episode follows someone different, from the groundsman and the kit man to the academy and the goalkeepers.

Mini-series6 episodes + 2 specialsAug 2025 – Mar 2026YouTube

Episodes

  1. Play Episode 1: The Groundsman

    The Groundsman

    Episode 1 · 31 min · September 2025

    Matchday from the ground up: the head groundsman and his team, from preparing the pitch to its recovery after the final whistle.

  2. Play Episode 2: The Kit Man

    The Kit Man

    Episode 2 · 27 min · September 2025

    The work that goes unseen, from the kit room to a dressing room ready for kick-off.

  3. Play Episode 3: The Sport Scientist

    The Sport Scientist

    Episode 3 · 32 min · October 2025

    The data and preparation behind player performance, from tracking training sessions to matchday.

  4. Play Episode 4: The U21 Special

    The U21 Special

    Episode 4 · 51 min · October 2025

    Life inside the academy: training, team meetings and the dressing room as the U21s take on Brentford.

  5. Play Episode 5: The Goalkeeper Coach

    The Goalkeeper Coach

    Episode 5 · 60 min · October 2025

    An hour in the goalkeepers’ world with the first-team keepers and their coach: meetings, training, interviews and matchday.

  6. Play Episode 6: FA Youth Cup

    FA Youth Cup

    Episode 6 · 42 min · February 2026

    The U18s’ build-up to an FA Youth Cup fourth-round tie away at Oxford United.

Specials

  1. Play Matchday 01: Colchester v Tranmere

    Matchday 01: Colchester v Tranmere

    Special · 31 min · August 2025

    The season opener, behind the scenes from player arrivals and pitch preparation to the key moments of the match.

  2. Play Road to Recovery: Ben Perry

    Road to Recovery: Ben Perry

    Special · 13 min · March 2026

    Following a player’s rehab as he works towards a return to the pitch.

01.2The craftA001_C012

Watch first. Then ask.

Most of a documentary is earned by watching: being there day after day until people forget the camera. The interviews then give the story its voice.

Observational

The moments in between

The kit room, the gym, the training ground and the dressing room. I shoot quietly and let things happen, so the footage feels lived-in rather than staged.

The head groundsman smiling on the pitch inside the stadium
The Groundsman
The sport scientist showing a player data on a tablet in the gym
The Sport Scientist
Two members of staff sharing a laugh in a corridor at the club
The Kit Man
U21 players getting ready together in the dressing room
The U21 Special

Interviews

Conversations, not questions

Sit-down interviews, often outside at the training ground in natural light, kept relaxed so players and staff end up talking to each other rather than answering a list of questions.

Two Colchester United goalkeepers in conversation at a bench at the training ground

01.3FeatureA001_C013

Raised in the EFL.

An interview-led film about three players who came through the U’s academy and into the first team.

01.4Matchday seriesIM_2627

Every match, its own story.

Inside Matchday turns each game into a short film: the build-up, the goals, the fans and the reactions. Here’s the 2026/27 season so far.

Inside Matchday · 2026/27

  • YouTube

    Colchester United 2–1 Sheffield Wednesday

    U21 · 11 min · October 2026

  • YouTube

    Colchester United 1–0 Rochdale

    League Two · 12 min · September 2026

  • YouTube

    Colchester United 2–1 Oldham Athletic

    League Two · 12 min · August 2026

  • YouTube

    Accrington Stanley 2–2 Colchester United

    League Two · 13 min · August 2026

  • YouTube

    Heybridge Swifts 0–4 Colchester United

    Pre-season · 10 min · July 2026

  • YouTube

    Norwich City 0–0 Colchester United

    Pre-season · 9 min · July 2026

01.5The processEDL_v1

From idea to final cut.

Long-form documentary is mostly preparation and patience. This is how an episode comes together, written the way an edit gets handed over: as an edit decision list.

  1. 001Story

    Find the story: whose matchday are we seeing, and why will supporters care?

  2. 002Access

    Time with the people on camera before filming, so they trust what we’re making.

  3. 003Observe

    Following them through training, preparation and matchday as it happens.

  4. 004Interview

    Sit-down conversations that give the story its voice.

  5. 005Log

    Watching everything back and marking the moments that matter.

  6. 006Cut

    Building the structure, then refining it shot by shot.

  7. 007Sound

    Music, atmosphere and clean dialogue.

  8. 008Deliver

    Titles, thumbnail and the export for YouTube, plus cut-downs for social.

Roll credits.

Thanks for watching. Next up: how I film a live match, plus shorts and matchday graphics.