From filming with 'Shameless' star Alice Barry to finding locations for hit TV series 'Brassic' and working with music legend Liam Gallagher it's all in a day's work for Burnley's producer and actor Jack Hartley

For Jack, who is also involved with finding the best locations for filming the hit TV series Brassic in and around Burnley, was asked to get involved in a music video for Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame.

Jack, who is from Worsthorne, isaid: "I was camping up in Scotland at the time and it started off with someone ringing me out of the blue and saying ‘we need a rooftop for a music video in Manchester, can you help us?’

"They wanted me to start on it straight away… this wasn’t the first time I had this request that week and at first I thought it was for a grime video or something so I wasn’t too enthusiastic to head back home to get stuck in to work.”

However, once the caller revealed it was for Liam Gallagher, Jack’s enthusiasm to leave his holiday kicked in and he got straight to work.

He added: “It was quite a surreal experience being on top of the Midland Hotel in Manchester with an artist who I grew up listening to. It’s quite bizarre thinking back on nostalgic memories of being aged 17, driving around with my mates blasting Oasis on the radio to then 11 years later being stood in the sunshine on a rooftop with Liam and Bonehead."

Not a bad day's work for a lad who went to Burnley's Unity College but found himself expelled a couple of weeks before his GCSE exams. Despite this Jack said he remembers 'fantastic teachers and memories from there that no doubt made an impact on my life going forward.'

He added: “I spent years going between different jobs, from building sites, window cleaning, landscaping, sales, mobile DJ until eventually taking on work as a background artist (extra) in film and TV on shows such as Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Peaky Blinders.

"I then stopped doing extra jobs when I was fortunate enough to be signed by a London talent agent who started getting me auditions for TV and film projects."

After eight years or so of working as a film and TV actor, Jack made the move behind the camera into locations and hasn’t looked back since. In 2020, Jack and his fiancé Rosie joined forces with a director called James Slater and set up a production company called Zomdic Films. Since then, they’ve produced many music videos for artists including Liam Gallagher, Tom Grennan and Bill Ryder-Jones.

Last year Jack filmed a new comedy pilot show called The Baths, billed as a mockumentary at Padiham Leisure Centre featuring home grown star Alice Barry, who found fame in the hit TV drama 'Shameless.’

Whilst Jack and his team enjoy producing music videos, they have a goal to increase the volume of longer-form projects, such as fictional dramas and documentaries. In addition, Jack is passionate about giving back to young people in the borough.

He said:“One of the things I enjoy about my position of running a production company is that I can generate creative opportunities for experienced AND inexperienced people, I am passionate about Zomdic being a platform that offers creative opportunities to entry-level candidates who are looking for a foot-in to the film industry as I have been there myself and understand how difficult it can be. We also do a lot of street casting for our productions which can be a great opportunity for people who want to get into acting!

“Alongside Zomdic Films I have Pennine Studio which is a creative space which can facilitate photo and video shoots – the studio is available for anybody to hire.

"I also intend to eventually run some creative workshops from there, for anybody who is interested in getting into the creative industry. The plan is to bring in some industry professionals to run masterclasses. In an ideal world, I would like to team up with some local colleges and community groups to offer opportunities to people from all backgrounds and abilities.”

Aswell as wanting to hear from local colleges and community groups, Jack is always on the hunt for Burnley-based filming locations for Brassic which is back in East Lancashire for filming of the fifth season. Cast and crew were spotted filming in Newchurch, Rossendale, just yesterday.

Jack said:“I am proud to be from Burnley and I’m determined to encourage more productions to come to the area to film. Not only is this a way of documenting what Burnley has to offer visually, but it’s also a way of generating local creative jobs which benefits the town economically.

"I’m currently location scouting for Sky’s Brassic (series 5) and would be keen to hear off anybody with access/ownership of any visually interesting locations."

If you think you have a location in mind for Brassic or wish to find out more about Jack’s goal of helping people from all backgrounds get into film and tv, you can contact him at [email protected] or ring 07791793785