How We Work With You.
Our 3 principles for creative clarity.
Every project and client is different, but our approach is always the same, based on three principles that ensure our work delivers both creatively and strategically.
Principle 1 Strategy first
Before we start working with you, we make sure we understand your objectives, audience and budget so we can bring the right answer.
Principle 2 Creativity always
If you already have an idea of what you want, we’ll bring that to life. If you want us to bring the ideas, we love that. Either way, we’ll propose the concepts, format and execution that will best tell your story and once agreed, present a delivery timeline and keep to it, so you know exactly what is going on at all times.
Principle 3 Smooth delivery
Relationships matter to us. We’ve never met a client who isn’t under pressure, so our role is to take as much of that away as we can. That means all our processes are designed and then tightly managed with you in mind, to keep you informed and confident in our delivery. It also means we will provide all the project services you require, from design, illustration and animation to custom sound design and subtitling. These three principles underpin the four production stages that ensure we deliver what you expect and when you expect it.
Stage 1 Brief development and project planning
We start by understanding your brand values and voice, your products or services and how you market them, your audience and your channels. Then we bring together your desired outcome and develop the message.
Depending on the project, this stage may begin with a kick-off meeting where we bring all our questions, or a workshop bringing together our respective teams to explore the brief more fully. This phase concludes with everything encapsulated in a creative brief and a detailed project plan – both signed off by you – so that everyone is clear of the direction of travel and delivery, right from the start.
Stage 2 Concept development/Pre-production
This is where the crucial decisions are made and laid as project foundations using the findings of Stage 1. It’s where our creative juices start flowing – but equally important is the process, planning and controlling each step as we bring ideas to life. Depending on the nature of the project, it’s where we draft scripts, prepare moodboards, create the styleframes, and produce storyboards.
For a video project, for example, these may include detailed, frame-by-frame illustrations that show the placement of characters and products and how the scenes will flow. Video storyboards also capture lighting instructions and camera movement – all the details to ensure you can visualise the finished product and providing clear direction during the upcoming shoot.
We bring animation storyboards to life with basic illustration and animation, then cut them together with the correct timing and pace of the video. These ‘animatics’ include basic sound effects, voiceover and soundtrack. Bringing movement to an animation’s storyboard allows you to see how the piece will progress and interact with the voiceover. And we can still make changes without investment in high-level illustration or animation.
Stage 3 Production
At this stage, depending on the project requirements, we get to work. If it’s photography or video we may be identifying the perfect location, for example: from a luxury penthouse apartment, a photography studio or a mountain top, we’ll get it right. After all, we’ve spent enough time stomping across cliffs, lugging kit up mountains and wading through rivers so you don’t have to.
And it’s not just places we take care of, it’s faces and voices, too. We have our own talent network and relationships with many of the best local and nationwide agencies, so we can find the perfect models and actors for every project.
Castings can be carried out remotely: that way you can review from the comfort of your office or home, and share with colleagues to help make a decision on the perfect talent for your video or animation. We oversee art direction on all our video and photography shoots: from a candle to a cup to a cushion, perfectly sourced and styled props can make all the difference.
Stage 4 Post-production and delivery
We’re all detail guys, but our post-production team is next level. They assemble, edit and refine all our content using the latest software and tools to achieve the highest quality finish. This is the point where we add all the finishing touches – music, sound effects, voiceovers and on-screen animated graphics, for example. Our services include a comprehensive video and animation editing service, using all industry standard software applications. Our editing team provides clients with regular reviews via a secure online-proofing platform that delivers direct feedback, so you can stay up-to-date on any briefed changes.
While we always make sure we get the colour accurate in-camera, colour correction and a creative grade are a key part of our post-production service. We comb through every shot to make sure the colour is perfect, helping to ensure your content really stands out. And we don’t deliver images until they’re perfect. As standard we remove any blemishes, tame those flyaway hairs and generally clear the image of any unwanted distractions. We know size matters. Whatever the end-use for your images, video or animation, we deliver them in the formats and sizes you need, from a video primed for YouTube, to your landing page’s hero image, to an auto-play animation that stops the scroll.
We’re passionate about finding the best composition so our post-production team can work magic on trickier projects, too, for the perfect end-result. That may be adding in people or products, changing backgrounds or creating something completely new – anything is possible!
The right sounds take your message even further. So we’ll trawl through tracks, blips and beeps among the world’s leading music licensing and sound effects libraries until we find them. We add subtitles into most videos and animations, whether that’s to increase reach across the world, resonate with local communities, enhance accessibility or simply functional for clients’ social channels.
Finally, once our post-production specialists are done, the whole team reviews the final draft to guarantee the highest quality.