Saving Private Ryan is still one of the productions I look back on as a genuine highlight of my career.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper and Giovanni Ribisi, it was a huge undertaking and unlike anything I had experienced before.

A huge amount of work went into the film long before we ever reached the beach. We carried out extensive testing at military installations, developing and proving the HE effects that would eventually become such an important part of the battle sequences. Every explosion had to be carefully worked out for scale, timing, debris and proximity to performers before we could take it onto the set.

I was fortunate to be working again with Neil Cprbould, John Evans, Clive Beard and Paul Corbould, during that testing period. Being around that level of experience, working through the effects and refining them until they were right, was an education in itself.

I was then heavily involved in the large-scale battlefield effects and HE explosions, particularly during the extraordinary Omaha Beach landing sequence. So much of the impact came from what was happening practically around the actors — explosions, debris, smoke, fire, water and battlefield atmosphere all combining to create something that felt frighteningly real.

The sheer scale of it was unlike anything I had experienced before. Standing there watching those sequences unfold for real was extraordinary, and then seeing what Steven Spielberg turned it into on screen was another level entirely.

But the memories are not only about the work. We spent a considerable amount of time filming our sequences in Ireland, and the craic we had out there has become almost legendary within the Special Effects department. Some productions stay with you because of the film itself, others because of the people and the experience. This one had everything.

Looking back over my career, Saving Private Ryan is right up there — for the testing and development, the scale of the practical effects, the people I worked alongside, the time we had in Ireland and, ultimately, the extraordinary film that came out of it.