A broadcaster whose achievements included the televising of Cup Match games has died.James Talbot, a videographer and former television producer at the Bermuda Broadcasting Company, was 63.Marc Bean, his brother-in-law and a former Progressive Labour Party leader, said yesterday Mr Talbot was a “gentle giant who always gave to others”.Mr Bean said: “The outpouring of grief from the audiovisual community is a testament to his impact in Bermuda.”Mr Bean added: “Quietly, without fanfare, he got the job done.“He was a mentor to many, also credited as the man behind bringing Cup Match live as well as Carifta and other events.”Mr Talbot was married to Mr Bean’s sister, Lynda. Mr Bean said Mr Talbot became “a brother to me” along with his brothers, and that his production skills “stretched into the political realm”.He added Mr Talbot was “influential” for the PLP in the run-up to its General Election wins in 1998 and 2003.Mr Talbot also supported the 2007, 2012 and 2017 campaigns. His company, TNT Productions, started to broadcast Cup Match in 2008 and Mr Bean said the Somerset and St George’s cricket clubs owed him “a large debt of gratitude”.Mr Bean said: “He was an upstanding member of Warwick Workmen’s Club and a lover of sports.“If you know the Talbot family, they are some of the most wonderful, humble people you could meet. James was a reflection of that. It’s a tremendous loss for the Talbots, the Bean family, and Bermuda.”Johnathan Rogers, the former head of production at TV station ZBM, worked with Mr Talbot from the mid-1970s and said the two enjoyed a competitive friendship.He added: “I’d watch the news and see an effect I hadn’t seen before. There was always this push to make the production one step better. I’d tell James, you’re getting on my nerves, it’s so good.”He said the two strived each other for speed at a time when technicians had to load film projectors and roll videotape.Mr Rogers added: “We’d have contests. And he would beat me.”He said it was “an era when older men took on younger men and taught them”, a tradition Mr Talbot maintained when the two worked together at TNT. Mr Rogers added: “When we were covering Cup Match, James would bring in teenagers where he had spotted a talent.“He would strategise a technical team based on strengths he saw. James was a sporting guy — he played football, softball and cricket, and he loved to capture sports on TV. He did a wonderful job of capturing it live.”But Mr Rogers said Mr Talbot “would not accept accolades — he would always share it with the team, which is an amazing attribute of a great leader”.He added: “I learnt from him that a humble spirit can make you a great person. It’s not going to be a surprise to me, wherever they do the service, that there will not be enough room.”Delano Ingham, ZBM’s former managing director of production, said Mr Talbot joined the company when “everybody did everything. It was quite challenging”.Mr Ingham said: “James involved everybody in what he was doing. When I retired from ZBM, he and I were in constant contact and I helped him with his work.”Mr Talbot’s company, TNT, covered events such as the convening of Parliament and the Heritage Day Parade, as well as Cup Match.Mr Ingham said: “He felt it was needed for the community, especially Cup Match, for people who could not make it to the game. He did it to give back to the community.”Mr Talbot also taught his production skills to his son, Alje.Mr Rogers said: “He took a lot of pride in what he did, and he encouraged a lot of people, including people in the business.”Arnold Landy, a former ZBM cameraman, said he and Mr Talbot enjoyed the competitive atmosphere at the company in the early 1980s.Mr Landy said: “We’d try to outdo each other, in what we could produce. It was such a creative vibe. But then, once it was done, we’d tell the others how we’d done it, so we all got better.“It was about pride, and our pride showed on TV every day.”Mr Landy said that despite “butting heads” from time to time, Mr Talbot had offered him work at TNT.He added: “What blew my mind was coming back [to Bermuda] in 2006 — James was the first one to put a camera back in my hand.“We were doing commercial work, work with the PLP, not news. But he touched my heart. He opened a door that I thought would never open again for me.”Mr Talbot collaborated in the late 1990s with Reece Furbert, another ZBM veteran who formed production company RF Communications.Mr Furbert said: “He was instrumental there — a consummate professional and a perfectionist to a very high technical standard. All of us started at ZBM and had a love for video. As a technical person, James was always there at the top.”Mr Furbert said: “If there was a conflict, James wouldn’t hesitate to let it be known. But at the end of the day, there was a great respect. There was never a falling-out — we were too professional for that, which I see as a strong suit.”He added: “You find a guy like that maybe once or twice in a lifetime.”