John Burns


1st Assistant Director

From Academy Award-winning features like John Carney’s romance “Once” to police procedural episodic dramas, John has worked on all manner of productions. There is rarely a situation that he hasn’t experienced or overcome in his two decades working as a 1st AD. Calm and collected with a Glaswegian charm, he knows how to work to get the best out of cast and Production alike, and with bases in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Bournemouth, Dublin and Budapest, he is available to go wherever the work is.

The Good Ship Murder

1st Assistant Director

The Cellar

1st Assistant Director

"I had the pleasure of working with John on my debut feature film ‘Let Us Prey’ and also on my follow up film ‘The Lodgers’. John is an asset to any director, fighting to make schedule work and keeping the floor moving efficiently. He has a very pleasant and calm nature, which filtered down through the crew and made for an enjoyable and friendly work environment. His dedication to the project and genuine efforts to help the director achieve their goals not only gave me a great sense of camaraderie, but also a belief that he was working along side me to make the best film possible."

Brian O'Malley - Director - "Let Us Prey" & "The Lodgers"

Selected credits


date
production
director / production company
television:
2023
THE GOOD SHIP MURDER (Shot in Malta)
Gordon Anderson, Steve Hughes / Clapperboard Studios
2022
IRISH CRIME Season 3
Alexander Dierbach / Tailored Films
2021
THE TEACHER
Dominic Leclerc / Clapperboard Studios
2021
RIVER CITY Season 23
David Hayman Jr. / BBC Studios
2019
IRISH CRIME Season 2
Züli Aladag / Good Friends Filmproduktion
2017
DOMINION CREEK Season 2
Dathaí Keane / Abú Media 
2 wins & 8 nominations – IFTA 2017
2017
ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES
Rob Brown, Martin Smith / Tiger Aspect
2015
DOMINION CREEK
Dathaí Keane / Abú Media 
5 wins & 5 nominations – IFTA 2016
feature films:
2023
XELTER
Martin Bonnici / Dino De Laurentiis Company
2020
THE CELLAR
Brendan Muldowney / Screen Ireland
2020
LET THE WRONG ONE IN
Conor McMahon / Tailored Films
2019
THE WINTER LAKE
Phil Sheerin / Tailored Films
2018
THE HOST
Andy Newbery / Pearl Pictures Productions
2018
THE GREEN SEA
Randall Plunkett / Zanzibar Films
2017
THE LODGERS
Brian O’Malley / Tailored Films
Winner: Best Visual Effects – IFTA 2018
Plus 3 additional wins & 4 nominations
2016
HALAL DADDY
Conor McDermottroe / Benrae Florin Films
2015
NAILS
Dennis Bartok / Fantastic Films
2014
CHERRY TREE
David Keating / Fantastic Films
2013
PATRICK’S DAY
Terry McMahon / Ignition Film Productions
Winner: Best Script – IFTA 2015
Plus 10 additional wins & 9 nominations