Samsung: Lucas films London!

Posted on Jun 2, 2026 by Admin

From commercial filmmaking to BBC natural history epics, director Neil Lucas relies on technology that never slows him down, like the Samsung Portable SSD T9

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Once you have spent over 20 years creating some of the most technically demanding natural history documentaries ever made, your standards become very high. This applies to director and producer Neil Lucas, whose work with the BBC Natural History Unit included productions such as The Trials of Life, The Private Life of Plants, The Life of Mammals, Planet Earth and the acclaimed Life series.

Now working as a freelance filmmaker that specialises in advanced shooting techniques as well as motion-control cinematography, Lucas still demands the very best from every part of his workflow. Cameras, lenses, lighting, rigs, storage and post-production all have to perform flawlessly under pressure.

That is why he used the Samsung Portable SSD T9 for a commercial shoot at Franco’s on Jermyn Street – one of London’s most iconic Italian restaurants. “This was a production where everything had to work first time,” says Lucas. “When you’re shooting huge 16- bit Raw files tethered to a laptop all day, you simply cannot afford bottlenecks. The Samsung Portable SSD T9 was incredibly fast and completely reliable throughout.”

The creative concept was far from straightforward. Lucas wanted to recreate the smooth, cinematic motion-control look made famous in David Attenborough’s plant documentaries, combining day-to-night time-lapse with ultra high resolution time-lapse footage.

Using a 180-megapixel medium format camera tethered directly to a powerful workstation, the production captured huge files designed to allow punch-ins and reframing during post-production. Each and every frame had to be reviewed, transferred and backed up while the shoot continued at pace.

And there was serious pressure. Franco’s only closes on Sundays, giving Lucas and his crew one day to shoot. Models were brought in as customers, chefs prepared dishes and the team battled changing light, traffic and the unpredictable nature of filming on one of London’s most fashionable streets.

“There wasn’t an opportunity for a reshoot,” says Lucas. “We were generating massive amounts of data, so having storage that could keep up was critical. The Samsung Portable SSD T9 just handled it effortlessly.”

The Samsung Portable SSD T9 is purpose-built for these kinds of demanding professional workflows. With sequential read and write speeds of up to 2000MB/s via USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, the portable drive is made to move huge files rapidly without slowing production down. Samsung’s advanced TurboWrite technology and cutting-edge V-NAND memory also help maintain sustained performance even during long transfers involving large video and Raw stills files.

For Lucas, this transformed the efficiency of the production. “Speed is crucial when you’re transferring very high-resolution material,” he explains. “Instead of waiting around for files to move, we could stay focused on creativity and keep production flowing.”

As well as the dramatic exterior sequences, Lucas also created intricate interior motion-control shots featuring coffee, cocktails and fine dining dishes. Using the same techniques as some of his famous plant shots, Lucas built custom rigs that were hidden beneath tablecloths to create moving-camera shots for a premium, cinematic aesthetic. Again, the Samsung Portable SSD T9 became a vital part of the workflow, safely handling vast quantities of high-resolution footage throughout the shoot.

Its compact design also proved invaluable on a busy production set. Roughly the size of a credit card and weighing just 122g, it didn’t add bulk to a set-up that featured all kinds of lighting, cameras and motion-control kit. Available in capacities up to 4TB, it offered more than enough storage for the demanding shoot. But portability means nothing without durability, particularly on productions involving rigs, cables, crowded sets and fast-moving crews.

The Samsung Portable SSD T9’s rubberised exterior protects against knocks and drops of up to three metres, helping resist the inevitable chaos of a live production environment.

“Production gear gets dropped or knocked around constantly,” according to Lucas. “The Samsung Portable SSD T9 feels incredibly solid and dependable, which matters when you’re carrying critical footage all day.”

Samsung’s Magician software adds another layer of professional functionality, offering firmware updates, performance optimisation, health monitoring and password protection tools for even more peace of mind. For professionals at the highest level, storage is no longer just about capacity. It’s about speed, reliability and confidence. When every second counts, the Samsung Portable SSD T9 delivers exactly what serious creators need.

“The best shoots happen when the technology disappears into the background and lets you create,” says Lucas. “That’s exactly what the Samsung Portable SSD T9 did for us.”

Pocket-sized powerhouse

As a creative used to juggling stills with video for his high-tech productions, Neil Lucas loves to experiment with the cameras and technology. When it comes to choosing a micro SD card, they have to be capable of shooting 4K video, high-speed bursts or thousands of high-resolution stills. That’s where the Samsung PRO Plus micro SD card comes into its own. Available in capacities up to 1TB, it blends huge storage with the speed filmmakers demand.

With read/write speeds up to 180MB/s and 130MB/s, it can handle everything from action cameras to smartphones. Samsung’s PRO Plus range is made for reliability in challenging conditions, with protection against water, extreme temperatures, X-rays, magnets, drops and everyday wear. Compact, rugged and extremely fast, the Samsung PRO Plus micro SD is designed for any modern workflows.