Filming Martyn Ford for Generation Iron 2 – A Documentary Cameraman’s Perspective

In 2017, I was hired to cover the UK leg of filming for Generation Iron 2 — the feature-length documentary produced by The Vladar Company and now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

The location? BodyPower offices and gyms in Birmingham, UK. Body Power, the UK’s biggest fitness expo at the time. 


Fast, Focused, and Unfolding in Real Time
The shoot was led by director Vlad Yudin, alongside his assistant and a behind-the-scenes cameraman. It didn’t take long to realise this was a fast-moving production. No endless lighting tweaks. No rehearsed perfection. Find the moment. Frame it. Capture it.
My role was to run a two-camera interview setup:

• A full wide master
• A tight three-quarter close-up

Simple in theory.
Except two of the three interviews were inside a gym lined entirely with mirrors.
Mirrors mean nowhere to hide lights.
Nowhere to hide tripods.
And nowhere to hide yourself.
Every angle becomes a puzzle. Every reflection a potential mistake.
By that point, I’d spent 17 years filming high-pressure corporate productions — CEOs with five-minute windows, live events with no second takes — so adapting quickly was second nature. I worked with available light, controlled spill carefully, monitored ambient sound, and mic’d talent efficiently so we could roll fast without sacrificing quality.
That’s documentary craft. Calm under pressure. Technical precision without slowing momentum.


Context Matters: Filming BodyPower’s Founders
We filmed Nick and Steve Orton, the founders of BodyPower, capturing insight into the UK bodybuilding scene and its growing global influence. Documentary filmmaking isn’t just about faces on camera — it’s about context.
Understanding the environment.
Capturing atmosphere.
Letting story sit naturally inside its setting.
Once we wrapped at the BodyPower offices, we moved on to film a rising figure in the fitness world — Martyn Ford.


Meeting Martyn Ford
At 6’8”, Martyn quite literally casts a shadow.
But what struck me wasn’t his size — it was his clarity. Focused, driven, but refreshingly grounded. He spoke about transitioning into acting and an upcoming project filming in Ireland with an independent director. There was ambition there, but also realism. He knew he had work to do.
That honesty translates beautifully on camera.
In documentary, authenticity is everything. My job is to create an environment where that authenticity can surface — quickly and naturally. Efficient lighting. Clean audio. Minimal fuss. Let the subject breathe.
We finished with a few production stills — including what I jokingly called a “gun show” shot. (If you scale the image correctly, I maintain my biceps were at least competitive.)


The Small World of Film
After the shoot, I realised something amusing.
Months earlier, I’d interviewed indie feature director David L.G. Hughes, who mentioned filming his next feature in a stunning Irish location.
It was the same film Martyn was heading to — Viking Destiny, where he was cast as the villain.
Film is a small world. Documentary even smaller.


Nine Years Later…
Fast forward nearly a decade.
There it is — my name is in the credits of Generation Iron 2, not only that but for a second, a BTS shot shows me sharing the frame with Martyn Ford. Brief. Fleeting. But permanent. Somebody hold my tiny trumpet!


Easter eggs aside, it is the quiet satisfaction of documentary work that I love.
You may not be front and centre.
You may not be the headline.
But you shape the frame.
You capture the truth.
You help tell the story.
And when a global documentary lands on a major streaming platform, you know you’ve contributed to something lasting.


Why This Matters
Filming in high-pressure environments — expos, gyms, live events — requires more than just knowing how to operate a camera.
It requires:

• Speed without sloppiness
• Lighting knowledge in uncontrolled spaces
• Audio awareness in chaotic environments
• People skills to draw out natural performances
• And the instinct to know when to simply observe

That’s what I bring to every documentary project.


Let’s Tell Your Story
Whether you’re producing a feature documentary, profiling a high-performance athlete, or capturing real-world stories that demand authenticity — I bring over two decades of production experience and a calm, technically sharp approach to fast-moving shoots.
If you’re developing a documentary and need a cinematographer who can think on his feet, adapt instantly, and deliver under pressure — let’s talk.
Because great documentaries aren’t staged.
They’re captured.


Contact Trusted filmmaker Adam Loretz via www.loretzvisuals.co.uk