Case study
JA Brooks
The film for a London mechanical services firm’s hundredth year, told by the people who do the work.
Jimmy Brooks started JA Brooks in London in 1925 with a handcart. For its hundredth year the firm asked us to make a film that its staff, and the people who had retired from it, would see themselves in. We spent three days with the team at its fabrication unit in Essex and in London, and the film premiered on the big screen at the centenary party.
- 100YearsFrom a handcart in 1925 to the centenary in 2025.
- 3Shoot daysTwo at The Pod in Essex, one in London.
- 100+People at the premiereOn the big screen at JA Brooks’ centenary party.
- 5.0Rating on ClutchFrom JA Brooks’ own review of the project.
The film
100 Years of Trust · JA Brooks · 2:11 · 2025
How it was made
Credits
- ClientJA Brooks Mechanical Services
- For JA BrooksJoe Robson
- On cameraPeter Rose and Tony Drake, with the JA Brooks team at The Pod and in London
- ProductionHere Now Films
- Director and producerEd Smit
- Creative directorOllie Couch
- Head of productionMorgan Cartlidge
- Director of photographySean Delahay
- Second camera and droneAdam Watson
- Camera assistantOlaf Lawrence
Introduction
JA Brooks designs, fabricates and fits plumbing and mechanical services for buildings in London and beyond, with its own fabrication unit, The Pod, near Colchester. Joe Robson got in touch in December 2023, fifteen months before the anniversary.
Brief
A film for the hundredth year that people in the industry, the people who work there and the people who retired from it would all recognise, and that would show the firm’s values to anyone thinking of joining. It would premiere on the big screen at the centenary party.
Approach
It began with a creative workshop at JA Brooks’ London office in April 2024. The film has three parts. The team in their own words, filmed mid-job. The history, from Jimmy’s handcart to the Blitz, when the firm stayed in London to mend burst water mains and drains. Then the work today, with people who have been there for decades.
The shoot
Three days in February 2025, once JA Brooks had cleared filming on its sites. Two at The Pod, from the morning shift arriving in the dark to the welding bay, the crane and the design office. One in London, at the old office and the new one, on live sites and on the Underground.
The edit
Seven versions between March and May 2025. JA Brooks’ notes were exact: a reworked history of the Blitz, a line on the firm’s work beyond London, the change of ownership in 2016, photographs of its modular builds, and a handful of shots taken out. The final cut runs 2:11.
“The atmosphere at our 100 year party was electric after showing the film on the big screen and that was the main goal.”
An executive at JA Brooks · verified review on Clutch
Questions
Who made JA Brooks’ 100-year anniversary film?
Here Now Films made 100 Years of Trust for JA Brooks, the London mechanical services firm founded in 1925. We ran the creative workshop, wrote the script and storyboard, filmed for three days at The Pod in Essex and in London in February 2025, and edited the 2:11 film, which premiered on the big screen at JA Brooks’ centenary party.
What makes a good company anniversary film?
Let the people who do the work carry it. Archive photographs and a voiceover can cover a hundred years quickly. The film lands when the team, and the people who have been there longest, say what the place is like in their own words. JA Brooks’ film is built that way: its people first, then the history, then the work today.
How long does an anniversary film take to make?
Start at least six months before the date. The shoot is only a few days, and the time goes on planning, permissions and the edit. JA Brooks first got in touch fifteen months before its centenary. Filming waited on site permissions until February 2025, and the edit ran from March to May through seven versions.
Can you film on live construction sites?
Yes, with the client’s permission and on its terms. JA Brooks’ shoot moved from summer 2024 to February 2025, partly while the firm arranged permissions for its sites, and we don’t name those sites here. We plan site days with the client’s site teams, so the work carries on while we film.
What does an anniversary film cost?
Our productions start at £9,500. The number moves with shoot days, locations, archive research and how many versions you need for the event, the website and social. JA Brooks’ film took three shoot days and came with cutdowns for social.
Got an anniversary coming up?
Tell us the year, the date of the event and who you’d want on camera. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
