Loftworks

10/08/2023

We had the privilege of visiting and filming around the abandoned Nicosia International airport this week as part of our ongoing documentary research.

A huge thank you to UNFICYP who gave us access to record interviews and for escorting us around the buffer zone, it was an enlightening experience.

12/07/2023

11/07/2023

28/06/2023

Our new music project RGB Sessions is now live!

Head to the official YouTube channel and see the first video of Alex Francis performing his song Say It Ain't So, Joe.

We'll be bringing you new artists and new music every week from our studio!

Please follow and subscribe as it will support us to bring on new artists and get great new music to your eyes and ears!

www.rgbsessions.co.uk Discover new artists, new music, every week.

12/05/2023

Tileyard X is located in London's Kings' Cross, within Europe's largest creative community at the heart of the Tileyard campus.

It's a space for creatives to collaborate and develop together and is very much a hub for innovation.

They asked us along to produce some visual promotion for their new TYX membership spaces. If you have a minute take a look around their impressive set up: https://www.loftworks.co.uk/work/capturing-content-tyx

As a space for creatives to collaborate and develop together, Tileyard X is a hub for innovation — situated in Europe's largest creative community, at the heart of the Tileyard campus.

11/05/2023

Ever wondered how a band translate their sound from 'studio to stage'? Filmed at, and for Tileyard Education (TYE) in London’s Kings Cross, we were lucky enough to interview one of Faithless' founding members, Sister Bliss, about the band's own transition to becoming a live act.

With our experience of producing training videos for other various clients, we heard how they worked with session musicians, embraced live broadcasts and adapting their setlist. For any young musician, or anyone who is thinking about creating their own training video, this short read is worth a few minutes of your time: https://www.loftworks.co.uk/work/faithless-studio-to-stage.

Situated at the epicentre of London’s Kings Cross, Tileyard Education (TYE) is, in its own words, considered no ordinary university.

02/05/2023

Video marketing comes in many guises and as a concept it will only get bigger.

People want and need to understand what you are selling, as Arturia's former Marketing Manager, Bryan Borcherds, understands too well...

“Videos are a part of every product launch, and to also maintain interest. It will continue to become more important too...

“They are an important way to increase awareness, evaluate, and also learn from and be inspired.”

Read more of Bryan's words: https://www.loftworks.co.uk/journal/how-can-video-connect-your-audience-and-brand

What are your favoured social media and online platforms and over the past few years what have you noticed about them?

26/04/2023

What project management tool(s) do you use?

Having searched extensively for the best project management (PM) tool and after reading countless reviews, on countless systems, we were recommended Miro.

And although perhaps a little late to the party, due to its collaborative nature and usability, the end of our search had begun.

Looking for what you need is hard as there is not a one size fits all solution. It depends on both what you and your client’s needs are, and also how diverse their projects are.

As a live infinite workspace, it really suits us as every project is different. Therefore, the workflow is often different. It is also great to use with internal teams, pulling everything into one place.

Some clients want us to take the stress away and don’t want to ‘get involved’, but some like to get more hands on and Miro enables that.

Of course, it has its flaws, doesn’t everything? But it’s the collaborative essence and simplicity that runs through it is what appeals to us.

25/04/2023

How effective is your website?

They have become such an integral part of any business and it means your doors are open 24/7 and we chatted to Todd Padwick, Creative Director at Function & Form, about his world of website design...

“I love that digital design is a constant evolution that you can continually improve and tinker with, whereas with print, once a 50k print run goes out the door, that's it — you move on.

“And content is king. A beautiful website means nothing without great content. The web is more interactive and more visually exciting than ever before."

Full piece: https://www.loftworks.co.uk/journal/enticing-website

21/04/2023

Here is our final of our five top-tips on things that you could consider to make your video more engaging...

#5: Respond to your viewers
The life of your videos does not stop once they has been published, or posted.

It can be as important as anything to keep returning to the hosting site, to not only keep an eye on its engagement, but to also see/answer any questions or comments that have been left.

By engaging with your viewers, you will illustrate your enthusiasm for your product, it will help them remember you and they will pay attention to any future videos that you publish.

Not only that, but by engaging in this manner, it will present you with better insights into what your customers like and the type of content that they are looking for.

Taking just a few minutes is a great way to help bolster future engagement of your video activity.

20/04/2023

Here is our fourth from five top-tips on some things that you could consider to make your video more engaging...

#4: Use subtitles
By using subtitles you can engage with even more viewers. In fact, by not using them you are potentially losing out on a big section of potential customers.

Primarily, it is of course important to make your content accessible, as many viewers are hard of hearing, but also many might be watching somewhere that they cannot use audio.

Plus, some people find it easier to digest information when they can read the dialogue too. Essentially, using subtitles is a fairly easy addition to make to your videos to get bigger engagement.

19/04/2023

Here is our third from five top-tips on some things that you could consider to make your video more engaging...

#3: Engage people in a story
People still love stories. So use storytelling tactics.

If you want to show your audience how to use a product then create a story around this, rather than using a more automated-like approach to explain the process.

You want people to emotionally invest in what you're selling, and stories elicit emotions and can affect their decision making.

And if you can use people in your story, that's even better. People present a specific point of view for the audience, and it gives them the opportunity to experience and embrace your story.

After all, video is a simple combination of sound and image, but it can be so much more. Complement it with storytelling, and you have great tool to engage with people.

18/04/2023

Here is our second of five top-tips on some things that you could consider to make your video more engaging...

#2: Use eye-catching visuals
What does YouTube's popularity suggest to you? Well, that people love video. And this medium has become the best and most popular way to deliver both information and entertainment.

However, with YouTube (and other platforms) being 'such' crowd-pleasers, it means that your video has to stand out, and the use of text, animations and graphics are a great way to do this.

Plus, people often scroll through their various feeds without audio, so with eye-catching visuals you can still ensure that you deliver the key points of your message.

Essentially, this particular vehicle, and indeed journey to reaching your audience could (and should) still be fun and memorable.

17/04/2023

Here is our first from five top-tips on some of things you should consider to make your video more engaging...

#1: Hook your audience early
If your audience stays past the first three seconds of your video, research suggests that 45% of them will stay for the course — however, it can also take just that three seconds to lose them.

So, your video needs to start with a bang by grabbing your audiences' attention quickly, or you risk losing it.

This can be done before the play button is even clicked. Utilise a strong video cover image, while using 'humans' can also work, as people really do love people.

Complement the use of imagery with compelling titles too and tell the audience what they are going to get from your video.

Using a good title is actually considered the most important factor in getting a video ranked on search engines.

14/04/2023

Good quality marketing videos are a great way to engage with your target audience — but what makes a video more engaging, and what can make yours stand out?

Every day next week, we'll be posting a tip or a simple consideration, which can help you make more engaging videos to ensure they have longer lasting and a more positive impact for your business.

13/04/2023

Tom Wambsgans and Greg Hirsch: has there been a better character duo who are not considered lead roles?

This was a point for discussion in our office today, and we are of course talking about Succession...

We agreed that the now self-confessed 'disgusting brothers' Greg and Tom, continue to wrestle with the lead characters (the core Roy family) for the mantle of being the show's main attraction.

Although, we did wonder if the writers ever genuinely thought that this pair would attain this level of a cult following.

Brian Cox (Logan) thinks that Greg is the only character who could have a spin-off series — yet surely a Tom and Greg show has more mileage? After all, 'you can't make a Tomelette without breaking some Gregs".

Anyway, has there been a better supporting cast partnership?

12/04/2023

Our memories were jogged back this morning to the fun we had making the animated promotional video for Solid State Logic's legendary SL 4000 B software.

"This iconic and rare console essentially takes SSL back to ‘where it all began’ with their most authentic emulation to date.

"The first nod we were asked to make was to that of the 1970s — the decade of prominence for the original hardware. With this, we played around with some ideas from that time and pulled out elements of the software which encapsulate that period."

Just a few words on how we helped Solid State Logic bring their latest software plug-in to life — or essentially, how we helped recreate a legend: https://www.loftworks.co.uk/work/recreation-of-a-legend

We say that Solid State Logic (SSL) is a cool company, with equally cool people. And therefore it makes them a company who we always enjoy working with.

11/04/2023

The professional photograph doesn't just 'happen'. So a few months ago we spoke to photographer Nick Bond about how it does 'happen' and the finer details of getting the right shots...

“On arrival, I'd set up pro lights and paper backdrop, this takes around 20 minutes, conduct several test shots and we're ready... Ideally, I'd allow 15-20 minutes per person for a stylish business portrait, which can be longer due to outfit changes.

"The 'selected' portraits need to be colour balanced and then hand retouched to remove blemishes and enhance the eyes, whiten the teeth etc.”



Read more of Nick's interview:

Put simply: a photograph is a snapshot of a moment in time. They are personal to the taker while the result can provide a visual souvenir...

06/04/2023

We were just having an interesting conversation in the office this morning (one that perhaps morphed into a debate) about the new Luther film...

It started with general opinions about the film and it's 'merits'. Some liked it, others, not so much — the casting of Andy Serkis' hair in particular, was a point for discussion.

We then moved to the general notion of a 'series transitioning into a film' and whether they actually even work? Even one to come from a series, and indeed a character, who is as established as John Luther.

The Mission Impossible films are decent, as are the Star Trek equivalents, and yet we failed to reach a consensus on whether they genuinely work — it's all subjective, of course.

But should 'the series' (in general) just be left alone?

05/04/2023

Last year we spoke to storyboard artist Jonathan Sweatman, about his craft and how it is a 'flexible beast'...

“The drama, pace, excitement and above all else, clarity, that can be conjured by a well-crafted storyboard can make the sell-in process so much easier for everyone.

“This clarity of image is, of course, essential for an idea to be correctly communicated to clients, preventing them formulating their own mental images (we all do it) when reading a script.”



If you have a minute or two, it's interesting read:

The art of storyboarding is nothing new, yet this old practice could still perhaps be unfamiliar to many people.

04/04/2023

Have you ever considered training videos for your employees?

The positives are endless. They are flexible and can be used over and again (rather than the instructor-based training and the costs that are implied).

They also engage better — it's thought that people will remember 20% of what they read, against 80% of what they watch (source: Assignment Masters).

Add-in that they can be easily shared, so while working from home has become normalised, they offer far more more accessibility.

We have extensive experience of producing training videos for our clients with great feedback on their impact. Perhaps they could an option for you?

03/04/2023

It goes without saying that the film screenwriting process is a solid foundation for any on-screen story.

And as a keen writer himself, our Production Manager, Paul O'Meara, took a short screenwriting course where he really started to understand the level of detail that can go into a film's development.

"I found it really enjoyable to learn about so many techniques for developing different strands of a story.

"Such as character development — one exercise was to place each character in a pub on their own and describe how they would act, etc., and it's a great start for fleshing them out. It means you actually document different traits of their personality.

"For example, would they interact with people in the pub? Would they sit alone? How would they react if someone spilt a drink on them? I really started to understand how much goes into this entire process.

"Essentially, these film characters that we so often love and connect with, well, they don't just appear on screen. They are the bi-product of a lot of thought and development."

31/03/2023

Here is our fifth and final top-tip on how video production can be more affordable to you...

#5: Provide a good video brief

This is essentially the backbone to any video project and the pre-production stage. And a good brief is also the one thing that video production companies will appreciate above all else.

They can save so much time during the scoping of any project, as the video company will know exactly what they need to produce and can start planning immediately. Also, if you have specific assets and brand guidelines, then it's good to share these as soon as possible.

Again, all of this will help to avoid any late changes being required, which in turn, will avoid extra costs being added.

30/03/2023

Here is our fourth of five top-tips on how video production can be more affordable to you...

#4: Video complexity and length

Keeping your video short and simple will help keep your costs down.

This will also imply a smaller crew and less days filming and editing, so will reflect a more cost effective approach for you. Plus, with the amount of content available online today, you may only have a small window to grab and hold your audience's attention — so keeping it short makes sense.

This can be done with a succinct message and video that is simple and concise, and is achieved through pre-production and developing a decent script.