By Elliott West
Introduction
If you go to watch any major snooker tournament, you will most likely spot Duncan Richmond on the snooker shop floor behind one of the cameras that make televised snooker possible, he is also part of a crew made up of; Jim, Darrell, Neil, Matt, Damo and Loz.
This is a skilled profession that few are lucky enough to perform and one that has led to Richmond spending more than 40 years mastering his craft. Duncan has worked on multiple filming projects in his career including the funeral of Princess Diana, Coast to Coast, a weeknight regional news programme for Television South, presented by Fred Dinage and Fern Britton and working with celebrities such as the late Bruce Forsyth, Bobby Davro and Matthew Kelly.
Career
Duncan Richmond began his career in 1980 by doing an interview at ITN for a trainee position as a cameraman. Richmond described this as one of his worst interviews “known to man”. However, the panel must have seen some special qualities in this individual because he was subsequently awarded a traineeship at LWT. A learning process that he treasured and picked up his craft quickly, learning the ropes through osmosis.
Duncan is always quick to point out that he was never a camera operator but has always been a cameraman. A career that has seen him move from cumbersome heavyweight cameras to ones that are lightweight and sleek, shedding the yards of cable that once engulfed a cameraman during filming and restricted their movement. Richmond has moved on leaps and bounds since his first assignment working on LWT’s situation comedy, A Fine Romance with the real-life husband and wife, Judy Dench and Michael Williams, written by Bob Larbey.
Life in Snooker
Surprisingly some in his industry have looked down on his skills being able to master the complicated process of filming a snooker match. An art that requires the gift of not missing a shot played. Through years of experience, Richmond has been able to second guess a player’s next shot. To be able to do this job well requires a great deal of patience and to remain cool and calm when the audience is literally engulfed in a fit of euphoria. Concentration is key at all times and Duncan still manages to produce quality snooker coverage despite being barked at by the director through his earpiece.
The Craft
Duncan Richmond is now a freelance cameraman, forced to go down this route after Television South lost its franchise in 1992. A man who remains humble, still in awe of Carol Reed’s direction in the film The Third Man and the suspenseful Jaws scene accompanied by the harrowing soundtrack. Both films have the best camerawork in them, a lens that captured moments that were often not noticed by the viewer.
Duncan has written a book, entitled ‘Duncan Through The Looking Glass, a title that is a play on words of the book by Lewis Carroll that has the name Alice instead in the title. In it, he recounts his life, a project that he felt was quite easy to do as remembering one story led to him recalling another. A master of his craft, Richmond remains in the television shadows but a figure who is vital to snooker television coverage and someone who is always the professional guiding his way through a snooker match in a confined working space.
