JULIE RITSON was a BBC News Shoot/Edit Camera Journalist with 36 years experience until she took voluntary redundancy in March 2025. She joined the BBC in 1988 and started off as a film and tape editor. In the earlier 1990’s she was the first to use non-linear editing within News when Avid Media Composer was introduced.
By the mid 1990’s, Julie started filming as well as editing, with assignments in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Gaza and Ukraine.
Julie was based in the BBC New York and Moscow Bureaux for a combined six year period before returning to London and joining the BBC2 Newsnight programme for a further seven years. During this time she was a shoot/edit on dozens of military embeds in Iraq & Afghanistan as well as filming interviews with world leaders, politicians, actors and artists.
Julie started teaching in 2013, initially creating a classroom and online tutorial on FCPX editing software. In 2017, she travelled to BBC bureaux in Africa, Asia and Europe to recruit and then training new camera crews as part of a BBC World Service expansion program.
Between 2019 and leaving the BBC, Julie helped recruit new staff and also trained hundreds of BBC News camera crews, editors, engineers and journalists on the Sony Z280 camera.
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SMARTPHONE FILMING & EDITING TRAINING
CORPORATE
TEAM
TRAINING
Over recent years, Julie increased her use of iPhone filming and editing in her workflow.
She's now created a one day Smartphone Filming & Editing course designed for
Corporate Comms teams, Journalists, Social Media Managers, NGO's and Educators
Learn not only the technical skills and best accessories/apps to use, but also the craft of filmmaking
and tips of the trade from a seasoned professional.
INDIVIDUAL
IN-PERSON
TRAINING
FREELANCE SHOOT/EDIT
Julie has extensive filming and editing experience from fast moving News stories
to longer form documentaries. Julie is particularly interested in environmental stories and keen to cover climate issues.
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Sony A7s3, Z200, iPhone 16 ProMax
FCPX & Capcut
Drone pilot and Padi Divemaster/Nitrox
endorsements
“I recently completed Julie’s Smartphone Filming & Editing course, and I genuinely can’t recommend it enough.
Working in Internal Communications, I found the training incredibly practical and empowering – it’s been a great addition
to my content creation toolkit. Julie’s teaching style is clear, hands-on, and really engaging. I left the course feeling confident and excited to start applying what I’d learned.
Since then, I’ve already directed and edited my first video using just my smartphone – and I’m genuinely thrilled with the result! If you're in a Comms team and want to start using video more effectively, this course is a fantastic investment"
Sandra Chachulska, Internal Communications Manager, LifeArc - June 2025
Tim Davie, BBC Director General
"Julie is a trailblazer. When she started as a camerawoman 36 year's ago, it was mainly a man’s world. She has left the BBC at the very highest level which is a brilliant achievement. During her time at the BBC she covered so many of the historic News stories from the troubles in Northern Ireland and nearly every conflict since.
Julie covered the recent war in Ukraine with correspondent Laura Bicker, capturing amazing footage when missiles struck, was embedded in Iraq with Ben Brown and Caroline Wyatt and she also spent many years in the BBC New York and Moscow Bureaux. So many colleagues loved working with Julie and one of the best things is her legacy, sharing her talent with so many apprentices and new recruits. Julie’s generosity of spirit in sharing and really caring about her craft shone through"
Morwen Williams, Director of Media Operations at BBC
"Julie is one of the greatest camera / editor’s of her generation, having covered some of the biggest news events of the last several decades. Any organisation would fortunate to be able to learn from her expertise. She’s also trained the next generation of camera / editor’s entering the world of journalism"
Ian Sherwood, Executive Editor, NBC News & ex-BBC