After graduating from the University of San Francisco with an M.A. in Media Communications (May 2000), Barney went to the UK’s Covent Garden based The London Film School to do his post-graduate work in The Art and Technique of Filmmaking.
Working on several formats of both film and video as Director, Producer, Camera Operator and Editor, Barney discovered a passion for the cutting room. During (and post) film school, Barney worked as a freelance editor on several films and documentaries as well as commercials, spots, promos, virals, and other corporate material. Barney co-founded Agile Films Ltd, a production company based in London. As the Technical Director, Barney primarily cut videos and commercials for various clients such as Barclays plc, Budweiser, and Bos Poker. While the experience was good, Barney knew that he was getting further away from what he set out to do…to write and direct.
Barney left Agile in January of 2006 to work as a freelance editor with a focus on finishing the script for his short film True Colours which he directed and first presented in January of 2007 at Premiers Plans Festival d’Angers (France) in which the short earned both the Special Jury Award and Best Actor in Short Award. Since then, True Colours has screened at nearly 90 international festivals and won various awards and prizes.
Much due to the international success of True Colours, Barney was one of the six writer / directors that was selected for the Cannes Cinefondation writing fellowship (La Residence) where he lived in Paris for five months (October 2007 – February 2008) and wrote the first two drafts of his feature script Oliver’s Deal.
On January 30th, 2009, Barney received his diploma for completing the five month Script Development Program at the prestigious writing workshop in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Binger Film Lab) where he continued to develop his feature script Oliver’s Deal which is slated to shoot with Atlantic Pictures in 2011 in Peru and New York City.