Creative films
For communications and marketing people with a target to hit: a fundraising day, a recruitment round, a launch, a reputation to build on.
Whether it's a campaign film, a brand story or an internal message that has to land, we start by understanding what you want people to feel, and why it matters. Then we turn that into moving pictures with clarity, warmth and visual depth.
It can be intimate, relatable, or beautifully polished, but it's always true to your voice and your audience.
01Working with comms teams
People outside comms tend to picture video as a widget coming off a production line. It never works like that, as every comms pro knows.
You've been asked to produce something creative that will grab audience attention. Then, sometimes, the stakeholders turn out to prefer things to be more conservative; perhaps even a bit... dull? We're used to collaborating with professional communicators to thread that needle. Once you're happy with the creative idea, we'll help you to sell it internally, providing judiciously worded proposals, inspiring storyboards and sensible explanations.
Budgets move. Someone senior has a view. A location or contributor falls through on the week of the shoot. Happens all the time. No filming plan survives contact with reality. We won't moan; we'll come back with options. The audience don't know what the original plan was, so they'll never miss the things we had to change!
02The work
The BBC needed a promo for their global business news show, Marketplace, syndicated to international stations and the World Service. We filmed at the Beeb in Salford and captured the process of making the programme every day.
We love working with the colleges as much as with the faculties, schools and institutes. All kinds of communication is needed year-round, to the public, alumni, students and more. The challenge is bringing out the character of each place and telling student stories that engage the audience. We've been involved with the University since our own student days here, so we know how things work, where the sensitivities are - and how to make alumni feel nostalgic, applicants feel welcome and partners feel inspired. This is home turf. Watch some short extracts.
Law firm Birketts had rebranded, and their agency Industry engaged us to make an ad, to launch the new identity. We always relish the chance to write and shoot a commercial with actors and a lighting truck!
We enjoy collaborating with local agencies, where a coherent message and design aesthetic needs translating into video and people's voices become the centrepiece. We've had great fun with Creative Warehouse for years, on films and podcasts. A few excerpts from different kinds of project: Trinity College needed a film bringing its values of inclusivity to life, the Leverhulme Trust needed to demonstrate the impact of its research funding, and Ashdown Forest wanted to attract visitors and volunteers to the magical home of Winnie the Pooh.
03What clients say
"You've done a brilliant job. We had the USA execs over yesterday when the video was played out, and the top brass were very impressed with it, so thanks once again."
OA · BBC
"The videos you've produced are going down exceptionally well. We're approximately 2x ahead of our target for Giving Day at present, and I have no doubt the work you've done is a major contributor to this."
WE · St John's College, Cambridge
"It's been great working with you, the video is exactly what we needed and I'm impressed with how smooth the whole process has been."
JS · Meet Cambridge
"What a fantastic job you guys did. I must have watched it 100 times. The collaboration with Cambridge TV has been exceptional to date and we trust them to produce a superior product."
OH · AO Foundation
"I really enjoyed working with Carl and Joe. They understood the voice that I needed to get across, were really easy to work with, and produced a great film which I was really proud of. Any supplier going to supply us anything creative should understand that the tone of voice at Cambridge colleges will be very different. We're not a corporate environment. We are steeped in tradition, and we have a global reputation to uphold."
JB · Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Not ready to talk yet?
A checklist to help you get realistic, comparable quotes and a film that really works. The questions to settle before you approach anyone: the creative idea, the practicalities that shape the price, and how to talk about budget. Brief every company this way and when you receive the quotes, you'll be comparing apples with apples.
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04What it costs
Campaign films start around £2,500.
A single film for a specific campaign sits at the lower end. A more ambitious piece, multiple deliverables or a series of films will take it up from there.
