Author: Jack Ashley

Jack Ashley by Jack Ashley

How Small Tweaks Make Big Impacts

09 April, 2025

When we’re on set, everything feels raw. Ideas are captured in real time, the footage is shot, and the atmosphere is buzzing with potential. But when it’s time to return to the edit suite, something magical happens. This is where the content comes alive, and the real transformation begins.

The Foundation

Before the camera even rolls, there’s a lot that goes into making sure the shoot will be everything we imagine. Storyboarding is one of the first steps, and it’s like drawing the roadmap of the film. It’s about figuring out the shots, angles, and movements so that every scene has purpose,clarity and delivers on the message. Whether it’s sketching a quick rough idea or a full on frame by frame storyboard, this stage ensures that we know exactly how to capture the vision.

Pre-vis takes things a step further, where we film the boards to map out complex shots, camera angles, and even animations. It’s a way to experiment and test how everything will flow before we even step foot on set, making sure there are no surprises when it’s time to shoot. Pre-vis helps streamline the shoot, saving time and avoiding unnecessary reshoots.

Where the Magic Happens

Our love of editing is mirrored in the final products we craft for our clients. For example, our VMO2 campaign, which aimed to educate parents on navigating difficult conversations around online threats, came to life in the edit suite where music, voiceovers, and graphics pulled everything into focus. Watch the VMO2 project here.

Similarly, our work with Severn Trent Water focused on creating dynamic content that communicated key messaging while also engaging viewers with smart animations and tight editing. The challenge here was to make water related topics, often seen as dry and technical, into engaging, impactful storytelling that resonated with audiences. Check out the STW campaign here.

With LV, we helped bring their rich history to life through a series of internal films and animations. These pieces celebrated their long and successful journey, and through editing, we were able to highlight the key milestones with precision and emotional depth. See the LV work here.

Setting the Tone
The right music can shift the entire vibe of a piece. It’s more than just background noise. Music sets the rhythm, enhances emotions, and cues the viewer in on how to feel. Whether it’s a slow, brooding track to create tension or a fast-paced beat to keep things energetic, the right score elevates everything.

A New Lens
Color grading is where we get to play with the mood of the footage. It’s about choosing the right palette to enhance the story. A subtle adjustment can make a sunset look even warmer or give a scene a dreamy, cinematic quality. The grade isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about aligning the visuals with the narrative tone and ensuring the final look speaks volumes.

Breathing Life Into the Story
A great voiceover doesn’t just narrate it becomes the soul of the story. It has the power to change the perception of a scene with just a few words. Whether it’s the way a character’s line is delivered or the tone of a narrator’s voice, this is where clarity, emotion, and engagement are truly crafted.

The Small Tweaks
Sometimes, it’s the little things that make all the difference. A subtle sound effect, a few frames shifted, or a slight volume adjustment can be the finishing touch that ties everything together. These tweaks might seem small, but they’re the pieces that make the puzzle whole.

At the end of the day, editing isn’t just a technical process  it’s a creative one. It’s where all the elements come together to tell a story in the best possible way. Our love of editing comes from knowing that every decision, no matter how small, plays a part in transforming something good into something unforgettable.

Green Punks
Jack Ashley by Jack Ashley

Green Punks

16 February, 2022

The film industry as a whole has a problem. A throwaway attitude to waste. The average blockbuster production can create a whopping 225 tons of scrap metal, 75 tons of food waste, and 50 tons of construction waste and debris.

During a recent, albeit slightly smaller scale, Film Punk’s production in London with one of our agency partners, The Canopy, we were going to be faced with a mega clean-up operation once we wrapped. 

After two days of blood, sweat, and tears that resulted in some incredible content for AEG Tools, there were a lot of excess materials to dispose of. We had built two large sets; one for photography and one as a live production studio. 

The sets consisted of a huge 3-metre steel pipe (where we even had to remove a wall to get it in to begin with!), a 5-metre wall, and a lorry load of other materials including plasterboard, OSB boards, and stud wall batons. In our project management projections, this would have cost more than £1,000 to remove with a waste management and disposal company.

We thought it would be absurd, nevermind costly, for all this material to end up in landfill. Once we knew what was left, we set about seeing what we could do to minimise our impact on the environment and whether or not there was anywhere in the local community where it could be donated.

Shortly after uploading an advert on social media, two chaps arrived to not only collect everything and remove it all for free, but to reuse it on another project. It turns out they were building a craft beer bar on the south coast – so hopefully at some point there’s a couple of pints coming our way…

As a team, we are always looking to make our video shoots as green as possible, and will always address it in the planning stages of the project – how do we do our best to make sure this shoot is as waste free as possible? How do we manage our impact?

We also help to offset our carbon thanks to the folks over at Ecologi, where we commit a percentage from each project to help fund impactful climate solutions. We’re striving to do our small bit and improve all the time, and are constantly reviewing the way we can become more eco friendly.

🎥🤘💥