Another Olympic victory

Not so long ago, Mike was asked to help production company New Moon with the films they were making for the London 2012 Olympic bid.

As you probably know, that bid went rather well. And now Mike and New Moon have scored a second Olympic victory, creating the films for Russia's bid for the 2014 Winter Games.

It was a tough job. Sochi, the Black Sea resort chosen as the Russian candidate city, was the long-shot candidate. The ones to beat were the established experts in Salzburg, and a vigorous bid from PyeongChang in South Korea. But there was a powerful story to tell. Because this was a chance to transform the future of winter sports in Russia.

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia's winter sports facilities have been decimated - a terrible fate for a nation still holds the most Winter Olympic gold medals.

So the Russian government had already pledged to spend billions of dollars regenerating the slightly dilapidated resort of Sochi - perfectly located at the foot of the Caucasus mountains - into a world-class winter sports resort.

Sochi's combination of balmy coastline and reliably snowy mountains meant the Russians could offer the most compact, efficient Winter Games ever - as well as revitalising sport for the nation.

Mike was closely involved in the creation of the films showing the infrastructure of the Olympic Village, and a more emotive film capturing the spirit of the bid. And it worked: Sochi was recently announced as the host of the 2014 games.