A family of film-makers

"Although Donna may tell you I'm a work in progress, I could not wish for a better partner than Donna in work or marriage," Paul Noble of Mongoose Productions Limited tells Outlook of his 36-year marriage and 40-year working relationship with the love of his life. Last month, the company celebrated its 40th anniversary.

"Working together certainly has its pros and cons. As we met at work, there is a special relationship there, but because our work and life are so intertwined, it brings about stresses not experienced by couples with separate jobs. We discuss business at all hours of the day and evening because we can, so work problems can become spouse problems, and that is something we address often, trying to keep the balance," Donna explained.

"Luckily, we deal with different areas of the business, and rely on and complement each other most of the time," she ended.

The two fell in love when Donna, just out of secretarial college where film and a career in production were never mentioned, joined the company six months after it began, having no idea that this would be her life's work and love.

FIRST OFFICE

Established in June 1974, its first office was a gypsy caravan at Perry Henzell's office, located at 10A West Kings House Road. The caravan had been a prop used by Sir Ridley Scott when he came to Jamaica to shoot a commercial with film-maker David Ogden, who also had offices there. Noble shared an office for many years with Henzell - Jamaica's iconic film pioneer, opening the window to the wonderful world of film-makers, actors, crew and characters which blossomed from Jamaica's first locally produced feature The Harder They Come.

Paul's love affair with film began when he was 10 years old. He was amazed by the first public exposure of 3D widescreen with stereo sound, at the Festival of Britain, in 1951. In the Royal Air Force, he worked with special cameras which recorded the radar screen and started radio broadcasting on Forces Network, telling ghost stories at midnight. From 'Pirate Radio' in 1964 on the then famous ship Radio Caroline, to programme director of Radio Antilles, Noble was working his way to a job waiting in Sydney, when he came to Jamaica looking for ska and rocksteady music for the station. While here, he was offered a job in advertising and was subsequently invited to direct a television commercial. He then worked with editors and film labs in New York and Chicago, to learn film craft.

Paul and Donna fell in love and were married in 1978. With Paul a very busy director, Donna quickly had to learn the business of producing commercials - in the days before cellular phones or computers. Since then, Donna has produced more than 500 TV commercials, is a food stylist, art director and organic farmer, and is working on combining her love of film, food and farming into one delicious project.

A year after their marriage, their daughter Robyn was born and Donna was back at work - with their baby girl safely in a Moses basket on the window seat of the office while her parents worked nearby.

Donna said: "Working together, we were both busy at the same time on the same projects, so Robyn grew up watching our life revolve around working on sets. What we did not realise was how much she was taking it all in, until after graduation she announced that she wanted to go to film school."

According to Robyn: "At an early age watching my parents on set, I didn't understand too much of what was going on, but I enjoyed going to all the different locations around Jamaica, and the camaraderie of the crew. Later on, seeing the end product, I realised what all the work was about. The main thing I did learn was set-etiquette, which is an important discipline and recognised by crews everywhere. Film school doesn't teach you everything you need to know about getting on in the job, so my introduction was important."

Robyn studied film at The School of Visual Arts in New York, and moved to Los Angeles six years ago working as a first camera assistant - a major accomplishment in a male dominated field. She has worked on movies such as The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert DeNiro, with Matt Damon and Angeline Jolie; Fractured, and Sex in the City, as well as several TV series, commercials and music videos following in the footsteps of her parents. Robyn then made the move to New Orleans to work on the recently released 22 Jump Street, which has been getting very good reviews.

Some of Mongoose's first commercials were Martini Rossi, with the classic sailboat 'Ginnal'; 'Tia Maria - So Many Beautiful Things' and 'The Real Thing ' campaign for Coco-Cola. When Desnoes & Geddes (D & G) collaborated with the Haitian brewery, Noble went and made the first 'Prestige Beer' commercial and a couple of years later shot for 'Belikin Beer' in Belize.

Since then, the Nobles have been the creative force behind many of Jamaica's most memorable television commercials. They have certainly played their part in Jamaica's film industry, earning Clios, international and local AAAJ awards. Mongoose has had the opportunity of working with stalwarts of the advertising industry and people who were and are instrumental in developing advertising in Jamaica and the Caribbean, including Dudley MacMillan, Ronnie Nasralla, Edgar Stewart, and Joyce Lindo; as well as creative directors John Lane, David Millingen, Janet Morrison, Adrian Robinson and Mike Hirst. Mongoose is proud to have produced some of their award-winning commercials.

There are many firsts in Paul's career as a director and cameraman. He directed the first television commercial for Red Stripe, for Harvey Film Productions, shot the first helicopter scenes for a commercial in 1968 in an old Hughes chopper with pilot Tinker Rearie for Appleton. He was first to film a 'free flight' hot air balloon for a Jamaican commercial in 1988, for Red Stripe. "I had one eye shut and the other glued to the camera eyepiece!" And, the 'Mr Cheese' commercial was the first animation-over-live-action produced in Jamaica.

Mongoose has come through the decades and the numerous changes that came with each from analog to digital. Paul says he enjoyed the hands-on aspect of filming on celluloid, the light meter, and the physical editing, it seemed more of a craft than video. "Certainly good equipment is important, but at the end of the day my main interest is in what's in front of the camera, a good story, great lines, terrific music and actors who deliver, those are the things I feel a real connection with."

Today, Mongoose has started casting a comedy series and script development is in progress. Paul also lectures with accomplished actress, Leonie Forbes, at the Edna Manley School Of Drama. They recently completed production on a pilot combining Donna's skills; highlighting the beauty of the island and Jamaica's unique cuisine and culture. An educational series is also in the pipeline which they hope will be shown in schools islandwide.

After growing up watching her parents work, Robyn enrolled in film school.