Heritage

"John Tomkins has been an exceptional creative partner on the Isca Photographic Collection Project. From the very beginning, he approached the work with genuine care, sensitivity, and deep respect for the history behind the images. His attention to detail, thoughtful storytelling, and commitment to getting it right made a tremendous difference to the project. John brought not only technical skill but also real enthusiasm and heart, and the final outcome reflects that dedication.

John is also brilliant at putting you at ease in front of the camera. He really listened to what we were trying to achieve and consistently went above and beyond to make sure every element was right. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and we are absolutely delighted with the films he produced. I would happily work with him again and recommend him without hesitation."

Kitty Vega
Isca Photographic Collection Project Officer
South West Heritage Trust
2026
Screening at Customs house until March 8th 2026
https://exetercustomhouse.co.uk/event/exhibition-isca-photographic-exhibition/

"John Tomkins was recommended to us as we wanted to make a short film to accompany a project we were running to catalogue the family and estate papers of the Cary family of Torre Abbey.
John’s infectious enthusiasm and sociable personality are allied to technical competence and vast experience of the practicalities of film-making, which enabled him to translate our ideas into reality. His creative thinking took the film in a slightly different direction from the one we had envisaged, and this greatly enhanced the final product.
We wholeheartedly recommend John."

Brian Carpenter
Stuart Tyler
Devon Archives and Local Studies Service, South West Heritage Trust
June 2024

"John Tomkins was commissioned by the Friends of Devon’s Archives (FODA) in partnership with the "Festival of Devon in the 1920s" to create two films based on research undertaken for the "Torquay in the 1920s " project based on the Cary Archive.
John worked with the local researchers, individual actors, interviewees and groups to create two amazing films, The Roaring Twenties: Entertainment in Torquay in the 1920s and Living in the 1920s: the Carys and Torquay.
We were impressed throughout by John’s vision, professionalism and capacity to problem-solve along the way. Above all we commend his ability to engage with a wide range of local people from all age groups in sharing their investigation of their local heritage.
The films were shown at venues in and around Torquay and further afield and received enthusiastic responses from the audiences. .One individual commented:-
"A wonderful display of films celebrating Torquay’s heritage – accessible, light, interesting and colourful.
We very much hope to continue working with John on future projects"

Katharine Chant, Chair FODA
Julia Neville Devon in the 1920s
2026

"John intuitively gets the vision for your film and working with him is a proper collaboration.
From start to finish he was happy to film snippets of activity as and when they happened (which was all a bit random over around a ten month period for the Winner Street project) and his patience and dedication meant the end product was exactly how I envisaged it. Everyone has raved about the film."

Leah Whitcher
Community Builder for Paignton Town Centre, Clifton & Maidenway
Torbay Communities
2026

Emberlense has collaborated with Torquay Museum for several years, producing documentaries and advertisements as well as running filmmaking workshops for young people.
Notably, in 2022, Emberlense partnered with YAC and Torquay Museum to produce two films that were featured in a national festival.
https://www.archaeologyuk.org/resource/from-ordinary-to-extraordinary-devon-and-torbay-yac-and-their-torquay-at-war-project.

A film produced for a permeant exhibition at Torquay Museum about the Torquay Marble Industry .

"John was fantastic to work with on this project at the Museum of Gloucester. He quickly understood our needs and was incredibly flexible in making himself available to do the filming at relatively short notice. He spent the day with us and couldn’t have been more understanding and accommodating on what we wanted and of course the end product just blew us away and was in fact out of this world (sorry, couldn’t resist!)

I would recommend working with Emberlense to anyone wanting to put together a quality stop motion production together and I hope we are able to use him again in future endeavours!”

Amy Washington
Events & Marketing Officer | Museum of Gloucester
For the Star Wars - May the toys be with you Exhibition - stop-motion animation advert

Film made about the history of the Brixham Battery

"We have worked with John on a number of projects in the past so when we wanted to film 6 educational videos about the history of the Stone Age/ Kents Cavern we knew John would be perfect for the job. I’m always impressed with John’s professionalism and editing of films to produce something of high quality. The feedback and response from these educational films has been great, and we will certainly be doing more in the future."

James Hull General Manager Kents Cavern 2021

"It was a pleasure to work with Emberlense on our video project to connect Care Home residents with nature. He made all the connections for us and responded to all our suggestions. The video is very popular and his script fitted the job we needed just perfectly."

Pam Project Lead
Torbay Care Homes and nature project Nov 2022

"John and his team at Emberlense were extremely easy to work with. From the initial stages of the ideas for content for the film, throughout production to final stage amendments, John was creative, willing and efficient despite us not given him a deadline. I would not hesitate to recommend him if you are looking for a video to promote your business . We are very happy with the finished product and feel it depicts what we had in mind exactly."

Richard Cuming Owner Bygones

"Torquay Museum Society is a ‘Community Hub’, as well as a ‘Learned Society’, with around 200 members that has been in the Bay since its formation in 1844.

John Tomkins has been instrumental in helping the Society adapt to the 21st Century!
We had to completely reinvent ourselves over the past couple of years and John has always been there to help above and beyond the call of duty. He advised us in developing schemes and initiatives to engage with our membership in new and innovative ways, but his most notable triumphs have been in documentary film making and enhancing our social media content.

Additionally, John did a sterling job in producing a series 19 video lectures which enabled our members to watch on-line lectures at home in place of physical lectures in the Spring of 2021 that had been postponed due to the lockdown.

All of our Trustees and Members are grateful for his expertise, input and vision. We consider him a friend of our Society and hope to do even more amazing things with Emberlense in the future."
David J Wills PABP President - Torquay Museum Society 2021

"Working with John at Emberlense to create a short film for the 'Sharing Stories' Festival with Torquay Museum was a great experience. The service from the initial concept to delivery was superb."
Sarah Hemingway - Marketing and Event Programmer

"John is a tireless evangelist for the film sector in Torbay. He organises & promotes genuinely innovative events & his enthusiasm is infectious. Recently my 15 year old son took part in a documentary workshop run by Emberlense with Squircle Arts and Torquay Museum. Over the weekend Ryan learnt genuine film direction skills far above just simple video editing. It was apparent that all the participants were really proud of the finished result (with a near 100% turnout at the screening evening) and that John had very effective rapport with the course members. It would be great to see more film making training events like this as they have excellent potential to add to the cultural engagement of young people in this area. John’s commitment, vision and organisational skills are very highly recommended."

Peter Blackler e- Commerce Director at Insignia Creative LTD