Biography
NIGEL LESMOIR-GORDON began writing while still a student and subsequently published poems and short stories in the UK, the USA and in France. He toured the UK performing at poetry and poetry & jazz readings with the New Departures Group. Nigel's interest in film took him to the London Film School. During that year Nigel made the cult-movie SYD’S FIRST TRIP - a film of Syd Barrett (the founder member of Pink Floyd) high on magic mushrooms in the Gog Magog Hills near Cambridge. In the same year Nigel also filmed Pink Floyd sealing their first recording contract with EMI.
From film school he joined the industry as a trainee editor working on TV commercials, then moved to the BBC as an editor, cutting dramas and documentaries.
Nigel formed his first production company, Green Back Films, with the partners of the record sleeve design company, Hipgnosis. They worked on music promotions for Donovan, Pink Floyd, 10cc, Squeeze, Rainbow, Joe Cocker, Big Country, Wings and Paul Young, producing ground-breaking and award-winning commercials and pop videos
He later joined the creative team at the Central Office of Information, writing and directing for the international TV documentary series This Week in Britain and Living Tomorrow.
Nigel is recognised for his ability to make difficult and technical subjects accessible through his exciting and thought-provoking films. His most outstanding work includes an acclaimed series of films for the UK’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, SAVING THE CHILDREN, a television documentary on women who work for children’s’ charities.
He also directed The Bobby Charlton Story, Reflections, Satguru, Rainbow - Live Between The Eyes and the series Whatever You Want for the UK’s Channel Four.
He then wrote and directed corporate productions for GLAXOSMITHKLEIN, HEINZ, FORD, SCHERING, DUPHAR, LEDERLE, HTC and Training Programmes for INLAND REVENUE, CUSTOMS AND EXCISE, DSS, THE HALIFAX.
Sales Promotions for THE ELECTRICITY COUNCIL, WATERWAYS BOARD, ACROW, PEUGEOT.
Corporate Communications for BAA GATWICK, VCI, LLOYDS OF LONDON, BLACK & DECKER, BRITISH TELECOM, CIBA GEIGY, NATWEST, COUTTS, HALIFAX, MIDLAND AND BARCLAYS BANKS.
Nigel’s television documentary THE COLOURS OF INFINITY, a one-hour film presented by Sir Arthur C. Clarke with original music by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour on the discovery of the Mandelbrot Set and the development of Fractal Geometry, has thus far been broadcast in over forty territories world-wide and in four languages. It is available on video in the UK, the USA, Australia and throughout Europe. COLOURS was broadcast on Channel Four in the UK. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd wrote and recorded the music for this production.
Following the success of COLOURS Nigel has since written, produced and directed the broadcast documentary IS GOD A NUMBER? This science documentary looks at the mystery of consciousness and the relationship between maths, the mind and the physical, observable universe. Nigel then made CLOUDS ARE NOT SPHERES, a biographical broadcast documentary on the life and work of the mathematician, Benoît Mandelbrot.
Recently Nigel completed directing his first feature film REMEMBER A DAY, which is currently making the rounds of the festivals. In this rock pic Nigel plays the part of the interviewer and music journalist.
Nigel’s first book, INTRODUCING FRACTALS was published by Icon Books in the USA and in the UK. This book has now sold over 16,000 and is available in Italian, Croat and Korean.
Nigel recently completed a modular DVD called MANDELBROT’S WORLD OF FRACTALS, which he directed, produced and presented for the National Science Foundation in the USA through Yale University.
The short comedy THE MYSTERIOUS MICHAEL A, starring Nicholas Jones and Joanna Bowen, was written, directed and produced by Nigel in 2007. This film has been shown at over 20 film festivals worldwide thus far and has been very well received.
Nigel directed the acclaimed documentary BRIXTON BEACH in 2008.
In 2009 a compilation of three of Nigel’s science documentaries, featuring a fractal chill-out film with David Gilmour’s music, was released on DVD. He has just completed a pop video for Pierre Lewis’ new single REBEL WITH A CAUSE, which he wrote, produced and directed and a corporate DVD for HTC phones.
Nigel’s second book, which was based on THE COLOURS OF INFINITY, was published by Springer in 2010.
Nigel wrote obituaries for the late Benoît Mandelbrot in both The Guardian and The Independent. He was on BBC Radio 4’s LAST WORD describing his relationship to the great mathematician. He has been asked to write a tribute to Mandelbrot for the American Mathematical Society.
In 2012 Nigel is scheduled to present his documentaries in Berlin, Kassel, at UCL, Queen Mary College, Imperial College in London and at Leeds University.
Nigel has now started production of a short 3D film BEYOND THE COLOURS OF INFINITY.
