Owen Rodd, Head of Factual

With a background in news journalism and a Royal Television Society Award for his first directing credit, Owen has gained a reputation as a great storyteller with a knack for crafting new shows into  much-loved series. Fifteen years producing and directing across specialist and popular factual, has seen him making shows in the US, Egypt, India, Europe and southern Africa. With specialisms in history and travel he has amassed credits with all the UK’s terrestrial  channels as well as Discovery, A&E Networks, Smithsonian Channel and The Weather Channel. 

His factual hits include Combat Ships (Smithsonian), Egyptian Tomb Hunting (Ch5), Wainwright Walks (BBC), Walking Through History (Ch4) and Britain’s Lost Railways (Ch5), and he’s produced shows  with a wealth of British on-screen talent including Dan Snow, Sir Tony Robinson, Richard E Grant, Prof Bettany Hughes, Julia Bradbury, Prof Suzannah Lipscomb and Charlie Luxton.

"Esri is proud to support Skyworks in using GIS technology to shed light on important historical events. We believe passionately in the power of these technologies both as a way of explaining as well as analyzing the world around us.  Developing state of the art GIS to help storytelling in factual television is an area we are keen to support and encourage."

Jack Dangermond

Founder and President, Esri

[email protected]

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Skyworks Ltd.

Using Geographic Technologies To Unlock The Secrets of History

Battlefield Secrets is a series of 45 min factual TV shows using today's geographic technologies to unlock the secrets of military history. 

Through the centuries, our world has been changed by a number of specific conflicts - from William the Conquerer's defeat of the English at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, to the US/ Allied victory in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944/45.

Yet there is still debate about the details of how, and even where some of these battles took place; an understanding of their geography can often help us better explain what actually happened.

Topography and location have played a major part in battle strategy from ancient times to the present day, yet state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems tools (GIS) have rarely been used to analyse even the most important conflicts.

In Battlefield Secrets, we will use mapping and geographical analyses as a way both to explain what happened, as well as to highlight and evaluate any areas of doubt or dispute.

The viewer will join us on a journey to gain a new perspective on world-changing events.

As well as GIS analyses, we will use aerial filming and expert comment from other disciplines to bring these famous battles to life, to help clarify (and even resolve) any disputes, and to highlight the strategies and contexts of each of these conflicts.

Working with world-leading GIS software company Esri, we will be able to recreate the historical landscape, analyse it, and present powerful visual material to engage the viewer and shed light on events that have shaped our world.

Battlefield Secrets is aimed at people curious about our planet, its history and how we can understand it better.

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We have compiled a ‘long list’ of possible battles for inclusion. They are all important in both historical and geographical terms, but this is by no means an exhaustive list.

• Battle of Cannae Italy, 216 BC
• Battle of Hastings England, 1066
• Battle of Crecy France, 1346
• Battle of Hattin Israel, 1187
• Battle of Nagashino Japan, 1575

• Battle of Waterloo Belgium, 1815
• Battle of Gettysburg US, 1863
• Battle of Spion Kop South Africa, 1900
• Battle of the Bulge (Elsenborn Ridge) Belgium, 1944
• Gallipoli Landings Turkey, 1915/16

A team of proven experts to deliver a landmark television series 

OWEN RODD

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Head of Factual, 

Somerset Films

RICHARD FARMBROUGH

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Executive Chairman, 

Somerset Films

COLIN MILLS

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CEO

Skyworks Ltd.

Richard Farmbrough, Executive Chairman

Richard Farmbrough is a leader in the creative sector, having founded, built and sold Reef Television, one of the UK’s leading factual television production companies. He has created a number  of commercially and creatively successful television brands and his programmes have been nominated for BAFTA, RTS and Emmy awards. He has chaired conference sessions, been a regular judge on industry panels and is a member of BAFTA. 

Prior to Reef, Richard worked at the BBC, CNN and Talkback Productions. 

Battlefield Secrets will use techniques and technologies never seen before on TV.

We will bring spatial analysis used by the military today to explore conflicts of the past. Many of these techniques have not been seen before in factual television, and will allow us to create engaging and dramatic ways of telling the story of these important events.

Colin Mills, Skyworks Ltd

Colin is CEO of Skyworks, a London-based production company specialising in aerial filming and TV programming. We have produced over 250 factual shows in the last 15 years, which have been broadcast in over 60 countries and territories. Our main clients have included the BBC, Smithsonian Channel, ZDF, and Discovery. 

Our aerial filming covers four continents, and our footage has been used by thousands of producers worldwide.

Skyworks is an Esri partner company and also develops interactive mapping platforms and graphics to work with aerial footage and other content.

Contact Us

If you are interested in knowing more about Battlefield Secrets, please fill in the form below and we'll contact you to set up a call.

To ensure the success of Battlefield Secrets, we have put together a winning team of experts. The series will be produced by Somerset Films and Skyworks Ltd, whose principals have extensive experience in factual programme-making, both in the US and internationally. They will work closely with the GIS team at Esri in Redlands, California, led by Nathan Shephard. This talent pool gives us access to some of the leading experts in aerial filming, GIS graphics and analyses, and factual television production.

A Proposal For Television