BBC Tech Titans doc

In 2025, I had the opportunity to work as Director of Photography on an interview with Robert Reich in Berkeley, California for the BBC documentary Trump and the Tech Titans.

The production was led by C2C Visuals, who brought me on locally as DP to help execute the Berkeley interview portion of the documentary. Josh Martinez worked as AC (Assistant Camera) on the shoot.

The project explored the growing intersection between politics, Silicon Valley, artificial intelligence, and the influence of major technology leaders in modern American life. Our interview with Reich focused on his perspective as an economist, author, and former U.S. Secretary of Labor.

For the shoot, we used a two-camera setup that was transmitted live to the UK, allowing the director to remotely monitor both camera feeds in real time and conduct the interview questions off camera from overseas. This remote production workflow helped save the production thousands of dollars in international travel costs while still allowing the creative team to stay fully involved throughout the interview process.

From a production standpoint, the goal was to create a cinematic but grounded interview environment that matched the tone of the broader documentary while keeping the setup efficient and technically reliable for a live remote workflow. Productions like this require much more than simply operating cameras. Coordinating live remote feeds, maintaining reliable communication, managing lighting and audio, and ensuring everything runs smoothly for an overseas production team all become critical parts of the process.

One of the things I enjoy most about documentary and broadcast work is helping productions operate efficiently without sacrificing production value. Remote directing workflows have become increasingly common for international productions, especially when filming interviews in places like Berkeley, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley where travel and production costs can add up quickly.

As a San Jose-based cinematographer and director of photography, I regularly collaborate with agencies, production companies, and documentary teams filming:

• Documentary interviews

• Remote-directed productions

• Executive interviews

• Tech industry storytelling

• Broadcast productions

• Corporate brand films

• Bay Area b-roll and aerial cinematography

Where to Watch

"Trump and the Tech Titans" originally aired on BBC One as part of the Panorama series. The full documentary sits behind a paywall, so I'm not able to embed it here, but you can stream it on the following platforms:

• BBC One and BBC iPlayer (original UK broadcast)

• Apple TV

• Amazon Prime Video

• BBC Select (available through Apple TV and Prime Video Channels)

If you’re looking for a Bay Area DP or documentary cinematographer for an upcoming production, feel free to reach out.

Kyle Decker

The Bureau Media

San Jose, California