The logo-off test: when a brand should pay for a documentary
Before we take on a documentary a brand is paying for, we take the logo off. Here’s how the test works, with four films that pass it.
Ed Smit
Ed Smit is the London-born Co-Founder and Managing Director of Here Now Films. With over 15 years of filmmaking experience, alongside earlier work in Marine Biology and investment analysis, Ed blends science, strategy, and storytelling in a way that’s shaped hundreds of productions. He has led major international projects—from delivering video for GMR Marketing at the Paris Olympics to producing documentaries broadcast on BBC World reaching over 400 million viewers—and has helped charities secure more than £200,000 in new funding. At Here Now Films, he champions a belief that cinema-quality storytelling should be accessible, because exceptional work shouldn’t be exclusive.
What makes a good partnership announcement film
What makes a partnership announcement film work, with Nevis × Focus as the example: make it about the decision, ask questions, plan the day.
The three weeks before a London shoot: what your fixer does, and when
Sixteen days before a 6am call on Level 48 of One Canada Square, this is what had to happen, and in what order. A London fixer’s countdown, from TfL’s three weeks to the van that was too tall for the car park.
Fixer, line producer or production service company: who do you need to shoot in the UK?
Three jobs that get called the same thing. What a fixer, a line producer and a production service company actually do on a UK shoot, what each costs, and the one question that decides which you need.
Shooting a brand campaign on 35mm: what we learned making AI for Empowerment for Cohere
A roll of 35mm lasts about three and a half minutes. You can’t see what you’ve shot until a lab has developed it. You can’t put the exposed film through an airport scanner. Those three facts sound like trivia and…
How to deliver a brand launch film in three weeks
A fifteen-year heritage with a six-week-old name Beyond is what you get when five companies become one. CTS, a Manchester-founded pioneer of Google Cloud consultancy, merged with Appsbroker in 2023 to form Qodea — at that point Europe’s largest dedicated…
Morgan and Ollie on Salix Finance’s Decarbonisation Dialogue podcast
Hannah Walker at Salix Finance had Morgan and Ollie on her podcast last week. She asked if we could share it. We can do better than that, we can write a whole blog post about it. The podcast is The…
What a Concept Film Actually Does for Early-Stage Projects
Last week, a film we made earlier this year for a project that doesn’t physically exist yet ended up auto-playing at the top of The Sun’s travel section. Here’s what that reveals about the work concept films actually do, and…
Joel Meyerowitz, 60 Years of Photography, and One Interview We Won’t Forget
We were commissioned by the Sony World Photography Awards to produce the Outstanding Contribution to Photography film for their 2026 ceremony at Somerset House. The recipient was Joel Meyerowitz. If you’re in the photography world, you already know who that…
We’re Shooting a Campaign for Cohere. On 35mm Film. Across Four Countries.
As of this week, we’re in production. Our crew is heading to Ontario, Canada, the first of four international shoots for Cohere, the AI and enterprise technology company. Over the next month we’ll be in Oslo, the South of France,…
The Living Layer Wins Overall at the 2026 Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival
We’re stoked to share that our peatland restoration documentary The Living Layer has been named the Overall Winner of the 2026 Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival. The ECFF is a flagship event within the Edinburgh Science Festival, the UK’s largest science…
Wrapped: Shooting with Fathom at the Gherkin, London
We’ve just wrapped a shoot with Fathom at 30 St Mary Axe, better known as the Gherkin, one of the most recognisable buildings in the City of London. Fathom is a global leader in flood risk intelligence and climate data.…
Here Now Films Commissioned by Miro for Customer Story Film Production
We’re excited to share that Here Now Films has been commissioned by Miro, the visual collaboration platform used by millions of teams worldwide, to produce a customer story film. The project is part of Miro’s ongoing investment in video content…
How to Produce a B2B Customer Story Film: The Complete Guide
By Ed Smit, Managing Director, Here Now Films A great B2B customer story film does something no sales deck, whitepaper, or case study PDF ever will: it lets your happiest customer sell for you, on camera, in their own words.…
Here Now Films Welcomes Alex Webb and Meg Amos to Our London Team
We’re excited to share that two brilliant filmmakers have joined the Here Now Films team in London: Alex Webb, a multi-award-winning director and senior colourist, and Meg Amos, producer director, who’s already deep into production with some incredible clients. Both…
We’ve Been Named Top Video Production Company in London (2026) by Clutch
We’ll keep this one short because, honestly, we’re not great at talking about ourselves. We’d much rather talk about the work. But this one felt worth sharing. Clutch, one of the most trusted B2B review platforms in the world, has…
Medical Device Video Production for Clinical Trials: Two Productions, One Day.
Project Overview Here Now Films recently completed a three-month medical video production project for Calla Lily, a London-based femtech company developing innovative women’s healthcare technology. The project required creating three distinct video assets from a single production: a product demonstration…
The Living Layer: A Year Documenting Britain’s Invisible Climate Crisis
How Here Now Films embedded with the South West Peatland Partnership to capture one of the UK’s largest landscape-scale restoration projects. There’s a climate crisis unfolding beneath our feet that most of us have never heard of. Britain’s peatlands—ancient ecosystems…
Filming in Uganda: Achieving the Kodak Vision3 500T Look with Dehancer
Big news, our recent work with EcoTrust in Uganda has been featured on the Dehancer blog! They just published an incredible, in-depth look at one of our films from our recent documentary series with the charity. The film they chose,…
New Work: Xanadoo Concept Film
We’ve just released a new concept film for Xanadoo — a next-generation museum founded by Gaynor Coley and Susan Hill (of Eden Project fame). Shot at The Forge, Bristol, the film introduces a visitor destination that blends science, art and…
Here Now Films’ BBC documentary recognised by the British Council
We’re proud to share that our BBC documentary Survival: To The Brink and Back has been selected as a Featured Project in the British Council’s UK Films Database (Films & Festivals). The listing recognises the film’s craft and impact, and…
Here Now Films wins content production for the Sony World Photography Awards 2026
We’re stoked to share some big news: Here Now Films has been selected by Creo to produce the full content package for the Sony World Photography Awards 2026. This is a dream brief for our team, crafting cinematic stories and…
Whistlefish’s First Ever TV Ad: Produced by Here Now Films
Whistlefish have launched their first ever TV commercial — and we’re proud to have produced it. The 30-second spot is now airing on ITV and via Sky AdSmart, celebrating the brand’s joyful, design-led cards and those small everyday moments they’re…
Here Now Films to produce four-part athlete interview series for The Athletic
Update, October 2026: the series is out, as Truth or Padel. The Athletic’s team edited the episodes; what we did on each shoot is in the case study. We’re delighted to share that Here Now Films has been commissioned by…
New Film: AimHi Earth × PepsiCo — “Scaling Sustainability Learning Across EMEA”
We’ve just released a new testimonial film created with AimHi Earth and PepsiCo EMEA—showing how live, interactive learning turns pep+ principles into everyday action across teams, languages, and time zones. Here Now Films worked closely with Sarah Humphrys (CEO &…
“I Wonder…” – Delivering a National TVC for Twycross Zoo
Earlier this year, we partnered with Twycross Zoo to produce a 30-second TV commercial for their Easter campaign. The goal: inspire families to visit, introduce their new brand platform Wild Discovery, and create a broadcast-quality ad that felt calm, cinematic,…
Corporate Film Crew Hire for FDJ UNITED: Behind the Scenes in Wimbledon
Earlier this month, our crew was back on the ground in London — this time in Wimbledon — supporting a returning client, FDJ UNITED, for a set of internal interviews exploring workplace inclusion and neurodiversity. Working on behalf of creative…
Sustainability Education at Scale: AimHi x PepsiCo at County Hall, London.
Last week, we found ourselves shooting just under the London Eye, in County Hall, one of the London’s most iconic buildings, for a very different kind of corporate video. Together with the team at AimHi Earth, we were commissioned to…
Two Days Filming in Marylebone — with Hunter Design
Last week we wrapped a full-on two-day shoot in Marylebone, working with the team at Hunter Design on a new brand film for a flagship residential development commissioned by Westminster City Council. What We Did Our brief was to capture…
Behind the Scenes with the New York Times.
We recently wrapped production on a pilot for the team behind The Athletic, part of the New York Times group — a fast-moving, interview-led concept that brought sport and storytelling together in a fresh and engaging format. Shot outside of…