Video Production Company in Manchester
The film you’ll be
known for.
Here Now Films is a video production company in Manchester, with an office in Ancoats, making brand films, corporate video, documentaries and TV commercials, and crewing shoots across Greater Manchester and the North.
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
500+ productions for brands, broadcasters, charities and institutions
Who we are
A video production company in Manchester, in Ancoats
We make films for companies, charities and institutions in Manchester and across the North: brand films, corporate films, documentaries and TV commercials. We come up with the idea, run the shoot and finish the film with our own post team. And we crew other people’s shoots here, from one camera operator to a whole unit. In 2026 Clutch named us a Top Video Production Company in Manchester, and a top commercial and documentary production company in the city, based on verified client reviews.
Here, that has meant two spring campaigns for FatFace with the Fletcher family, the second at Tatton Park. We crewed two Manchester days for Davies Group’s internal talk show, including vox pops at its leadership conference, and The Athletic’s Truth or Padel on courts in Alderley Edge and the city centre. Further afield, it has meant an announcement film in a New York library for Nevis and six productions for AlTi Tiedemann Global. We know Screen Manchester wants five to seven days’ notice once there are lights on the street, that TfGM wants ten working days for the trams, and that Castlefield Basin belongs to the Bridgewater Canal Company, not the Canal & River Trust.
How a Manchester production runs
In numbers
Productions for brands, broadcasters, charities and institutions.
500+
Freelance crew in our network who live in and around Manchester.
89
Productions for AlTi Tiedemann Global, in London and New York.
6
Average rating across 54 Google reviews.
5.0
Our work
Selected work, from Alderley Edge to New York
Our best recent work was filmed in a New York library and a London loft. Closer to home, we’ve filmed at Tatton Park and crewed padel courts in Cheshire and the city centre.
Nevis × Focus
Announcement film · A library on the Upper East Side, New York · 2026
AlTi Tiedemann Global
Brand film · The Purpose of Wealth · London and New York
Cohere
Brand campaign · AI for Empowerment, on 35mm in four countries
FatFace × the Fletchers
Brand campaigns · On the Fletchers’ farm, then at Tatton Park
The Athletic
Crew and production support · Truth or Padel, in Alderley Edge and Manchester
KYN
Branded micro-documentaries · Twenty films for London care homes since 2024
Toast
Customer stories · London and British Columbia
The Living Layer
Documentary · Overall Winner, Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival 2026
Further afield: JA Brooks’ hundred years · Airbnb in Cornwall · a BBC World documentary · Whistlefish’s first TV ad · Domino’s jetpack delivery
Featured client
All case studiesAlTi Tiedemann Global: six productions in London and New York
Six corporate productions for a global wealth manager, filmed in London and New York between January 2024 and July 2026.
- Client
- AlTi Tiedemann Global
- Sector
- Wealth management
- Cities
- London and New York
- When
- January 2024 to July 2026
AlTi first came to us for a brand film. Over the next two and a half years came a launch film for the Social Progress Index that was shown at Davos, three films on the purpose of wealth, an animation for the firm’s intranet, an announcement from its Global Chief Investment Officer and a fireside chat on AI. In London we filmed in a top-floor daylight studio on Hackney Road and at Many Rooms in Battersea.
- 6 Productions for AlTiFrom the first brand film in 2024 to a fireside chat on AI in 2026.
- 2 CitiesLondon and New York, often in the same film.
- 1 Film shown at DavosThe Social Progress Index launch film.
Around Manchester
Recent work in Manchester
Shoots in the city and a short drive out: two spring campaigns we made for FatFace, and two series we crewed for other people’s shows.
Brand campaigns · Fashion
FatFace × the Fletchers
FatFace wanted its spring campaign to feel less like a look book and more like a branded micro-documentary: a day in the life of Kelvin and Liz Fletcher and their family. The first was shot in a single day on the Fletchers’ farm in October 2022. A year later FatFace asked us back for a second, with the shot list, schedule, story and edit ours, this time at Tatton Park in Cheshire. It was the start of seven campaigns with FatFace.
- Filmed
- The Fletchers’ farm, 2022, and Tatton Park, Knutsford, 2023
- Made
- Two spring campaigns, the first of seven for FatFace
Crew hire · Corporate series
Davies Group
Davies Group’s enquiry came in titled “Urgent 3 day UK filming required ASAP!”. Twenty-two days later we were shooting in Manchester: three sit-down interviews on three cameras at the Kimpton Clocktower on Oxford Street, then vox pops at the group’s leadership conference the next day, all matched to footage a US crew had already shot in Chicago. London and Bolton followed, and Davies’ own post-production house cut the show.
“Their ability to quickly assemble professional and talented crews was impressive, and their dedication to meeting our deadlines was commendable.”Mopani Mkandawire, Campaign Marketing & Internal Communications Manager, Davies Group
- Filmed
- Manchester, London and Bolton, October and November 2024
- Booked
- Crew hire: four shoot days, for DTV
Crew and production support · Sport
The Athletic
In Truth or Padel, David Ornstein plays padel against a footballer: if he wins the point, the guest answers his question; if the guest wins, they skip it. We shot the pilot for The Athletic on a private court in Alderley Edge in April 2025. It set the rules for every episode since: the same angles, the same rhythm of point, question and answer, and the same sit-down to finish, on the eight-camera plan we drew up after it. Danny Drinkwater played on the same court in April 2026, with our head of production running the day, and in June we shot on a court in Manchester city centre. The Athletic’s own team cut the episodes.
- Filmed
- Alderley Edge, April 2025 and April 2026; Manchester, June 2026
- For
- The Athletic, owned by The New York Times
Services
What we make in Manchester, and what it costs
Prices are on the page because it saves everyone a week. Every quote shows each line before anything is booked.
Corporate video production
Leadership films, announcements, conference coverage and internal series, like the four days we crewed in Manchester, London and Bolton for Davies Group’s DTV.
From £9,500
Brand films
Films about what a company is for, built on the people in it. FatFace’s spring campaigns with the Fletchers were made the documentary way.
From £9,500
Documentary production
Short documentaries for charities, conservation groups and broadcasters, from BBC World to the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival.
From £9,500
Branded micro-documentaries
Real people and real places in two to ten minutes, like Sky Seeding, our drone-seeding film for the Woodland Trust.
From £9,500
TV commercials
From the script to Clearcast approval and Peach delivery. Whistlefish’s first TV ad ran on ITV in the West.
From £15,000
Customer stories
Clients and customers in their own words, filmed where the work happens, like Toast’s restaurant stories in London and British Columbia.
From £9,500
Post-production
Edit, colour, sound and motion graphics by our own post team, in every format: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 and captioned.
Edit days from £550
Film crew hire in Manchester
DOPs, sound recordists and whole units for other people’s shoots, from the 89 crew who live in and around the city. A DOP and a sound recordist start at £1,568 a day.
Our booking fee: 10%
Also: event and conference films, recruitment films and social content, and documentary production in London from our City Road office.
Prices
Pricing and packages
Every Manchester production starts at £9,500. Most land between £9,500 and £25,000; shoot days, crew size, locations, permissions and how much the edit has to produce move the number.
Creative workshop
Free
A first call and a workshop on your brief, then a creative deck and an estimate.
Shoot only
£2,690
A producer and a cinematographer for a day, with two cameras, lenses, sound and lighting. You get the rushes.
Full production
from £9,500
The idea, the script, the shoot, the edit, grade and sound design: one hero film of two to four minutes and two social cuts.
Campaigns and TV commercials
Scoped from the brief
Bigger crews, more shoot days, locations, motion graphics and every format. TV commercials start at £15,000, with Clearcast and Peach delivery handled for you.
How we work
How a Manchester production runs, in five stages
The same five stages for a morning of vox pops at a conference as for a spring campaign, and you hear where we are every Friday.
-
01
Creative development
A call on what the film has to do and who it’s for, then an idea and a treatment for you to sign off before anyone books a camera. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours.
-
02
Pre-production
Scripts, casting, crew, kit, locations and permissions: Screen Manchester for the city’s streets, Salford for the Quays, TfGM for the trams, and the Canal & River Trust or the Bridgewater Canal Company for the water.
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03
Production
A crew and kit sized to the job, with a producer and a DOP on set. We crew from the 89 freelancers in our network who live in and around Manchester, and hire kit from the rental houses at Space Studios in West Gorton.
-
04
Editing
Edit and motion graphics by our own post team. The first cut usually lands five to ten working days after the shoot, reviewed online with every version numbered.
-
05
Colour and sound
The grade and the mix, then delivery in every format the plan needs: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, captioned, and broadcast masters for TV.
Crew hire
Film crew hire in Manchester, and across the North
DOPs, camera operators, sound recordists, gaffers and whole units, for one day or a series, booked by our producers. 89 of the 2,800+ freelance crew on our books live in and around Manchester.
Most Manchester bookings are confirmed within 48 hours. When Davies Group needed a three-city series at short notice, we were shooting in Manchester 22 days after the enquiry. When an American director came to Manchester for the first time, we matched the camera and lighting package he uses at home, down to a single lens from a Manchester kit house. Flying in from abroad? Your contract is with us and there’s one invoice.
- Manchester · London · Bolton · 2024 Davies Group Four shoot days in three cities for DTV, the group’s internal talk show, matched to a shoot in Chicago.
- Alderley Edge · Manchester · 2025 to 2026 The Athletic Eight cameras on one padel court for Truth or Padel, with David Ornstein.
- From £450 a day A fixer in Manchester One of our producers on the ground for permits, locations, crew, kit and the day itself.
- Oregon → Portsmouth, London, Oxford Swanson Studios A UK production service for a US studio: three days, three cities, two sets in every room.
“…a great DP in Manchester (a new city for us). They matched the exact camera and lighting kit I use back in the States keeping things consistent for our brand.”
Director, United States
Not sure who you need? Fixer, line producer or production service company: who do you need to shoot in the UK?
Recognition
Awards and recognition
Festival juries, broadcasters, trade awards and client reviews. Each one is tied to a named film or a public listing. See the full list
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Overall WinnerEdinburgh Conservation Film Festival · The Living Layer
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Regional Panorama AwardCineEco · The Bio Estrela Project
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Top Video Production Company, ManchesterClutch 2026 · also Top Commercial and Top Documentary Production Company
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Highly Commended, Best Small Agency (Global)The Drum Awards
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Best Media StartupUK Business Awards
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BroadcastBBC World News · Survival: To the Brink & Back
- Commissioned: the Outstanding Contribution filmSony World Photography Awards · Joel Meyerowitz 2026
- Featured Project, UK Films DatabaseBritish Council · Survival: To the Brink & Back 2025
- SelectedGood Fest · The Regenerative Farm, for Heligan
Members of EVCOM, BIMA and Bristol Creative Industries.
Locations
Where we film in the North West
From a hotel on Oxford Street to a back garden in Alderley Edge. These are the places on our map in the North West, numbered; further afield, we’ve filmed in sixteen countries.
North West England, with the places we’ve filmed
In and around Manchester
- 01ManchesterOur office in Ancoats · Davies Group at the Kimpton Clocktower · Truth or Padel, June 2026 · a US director’s first Manchester shoot
- 02BoltonDavies Group · DTV at the group’s office in Lostock
- 03Tatton Park, KnutsfordFatFace · the Fletchers’ second spring campaign
- 04Alderley EdgeThe Athletic · Truth or Padel, the pilot and Danny Drinkwater
Where to shoot next
Castlefield, MediaCityUK, the canals, the stations and the Peak District each have their own rules and their own people to ask. Our guide says who says yes, and how much notice each of them wants.
Locations and permits in Manchester →“Their ability to quickly assemble professional and talented crews was impressive, and their dedication to meeting our deadlines was commendable.”
Campaign Marketing & Internal Communications Manager, Davies Group
“I have worked with Here Now for two projects now and both have been hugely successful. The team are collaborative, creative and reliable.”
Global Marketing Director, AlTi Global
“Ed & Ollie worked with Tate to deliver a film for Tate St Ives. They were lovely to work with and had great energy and lots of creative ideas.”
Producer, Tate
“Here Now Films is always my first call when filming internationally in the UK. This was my second time working with them, and once again, they delivered above and beyond. … The first time we worked together in London, they provided a full crew and both shoots ran flawlessly. Communication is always smooth, the team is kind, professional, and incredibly easy to work with.”
“The team at Here Now are exceptional. I’ve worked with them on a number of projects now and the quality is always outstanding, they are also just an absolute pleasure to work with! They offer creativity, passion and a level of professionalism I’ve rarely had with other businesses. I’d highly recommend Ed and the team to anyone as their first call for top-tier video production.”
“I worked with a crew of four people from Here Now Films for a pilot project. Morgan, the organiser, was very proficient and quick to respond to communications. We met for the first time on the day with a bit of a hazy plan for a tricky shoot, but the crew took it all in their step and the final product was great. Would recommend.”
“Great team, allowed us a lot of flexibility in planning our video production around a group of international executives with limited available time, incredibly adaptable with us during post production and series of SME based reviews and live edits.”
“The Here Now Films team helped us conduct a remote shoot in London, from San Francisco. The team made the process as smooth as possible and were an absolute pleasure to work with. I highly recommend their services!”
“It was a pleasure collaborating with the team at Here Now Films (Ed, Meg, and Ted). They created two videos for our drug and alcohol charity, WithYou in Cornwall, highlighting the recovery journeys of our clients and showcasing the outstanding work our staff does every day. They approached the filming process with sensitivity and empathy, helping our clients and staff feel at ease throughout the shoot.”
“Ed and Ted created a micro-documentary for us showcasing an innovative project in Cornwall, they were highly professional, fitted in seamlessly with a highly complex and fast paced day of activity and logistics, while building instant rapport with the multiple people involved in the day.”
“Here Now are professional, creative and a pleasure to work with. The team are well organised, easy to communicate with and delivered an excellent result. Highly recommended.”
“Great team to work with. Helped us with a documentary project. Added helpful creative direction. Met all deadlines. Recommend.”
“These guys are fab and we will keep working with them in the future”
Sectors
Video production in Manchester, by sector
Eight sectors we know well enough to skip the basics.
Brand campaigns and customer stories for technology companies, like Cohere’s campaign on 35mm and Toast’s restaurant stories.
Brand films, investor films and fireside chats for wealth managers, six of them for AlTi Tiedemann Global.
Campaigns and brand films for consumer brands, from FatFace’s seven campaigns to Whistlefish’s first TV ad.
Sport and adventure films, from our crews for The Athletic’s Truth or Padel to the Turner Twins’ electric hydrofoil series for Flite.
Films about care and the people who give it, from our films for KYN’s care homes to In Our Nature, on social prescribing.
Documentaries and campaign films for charities and conservation groups, like The Living Layer for the South West Peatland Partnership.
Exhibition films and artist profiles for galleries and cultural institutions, Tate St Ives among them.
Heritage, site and recruitment films for engineering firms, like JA Brooks’ hundred years in London.
Guides
Filming in Manchester: the guides
Greater Manchester isn’t one permit: the city, Salford, the trams, the stations and the canals each have their own people. These are the guides we work from.
Locations and permits in Manchester
Who says yes, and how much notice they want: 24 to 48 hours from Screen Manchester for a small crew, ten days in Salford, four to six weeks for a road closure.
Guide
Film equipment rental in Manchester
Panavision, Panalux and Direct Digital at Space Studios in West Gorton, wet hire or dry hire, and what kit costs a day.
Guide
Studios in Manchester
Drama stages in West Gorton, TV studios at MediaCityUK, coves you can book by the hour, and set builds.
Guide
Getting a shoot around Manchester
Trains and airport pick-ups, kit vans, parking suspensions, unit bases, catering and hotels near the set.
Making the business case for a film? Start with our video marketing statistics. Learning to edit? Try our guide to video editing courses. Photos: habiloid (CC BY-SA 2.0) and Chrisgg382000 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons; Mylo Kaye, Unsplash.
The team
Who you’ll work with
It started with two best mates, Ed Smit and Ollie Couch, making films for local businesses and charities. Today we have offices in London, Manchester, Bristol and Newquay, and Manchester shoots are crewed from the city and the North West.
Along the way we were Highly Commended for Best Small Agency (Global) at The Drum Awards, won Best Media Startup at the UK Business Awards, and The Living Layer won overall at the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival 2026.
- Morgan Cartlidge
- Partner and Head of Production, who ran Danny Drinkwater’s Truth or Padel day in Alderley Edge
- Meg Amos
- Producer and director
- Alexander Webb
- Head of Post-Production, editor and colourist, who leads our edit team
- Ed Smit and Ollie Couch
- Founders, based in our Newquay office
Our Manchester office
Here Now Films
Jactin House, 24 Hood Street
Ancoats, Manchester M4 6WX
Our office is in Jactin House, overlooking Cutting Room Square. It’s an office, not a studio: we meet clients there or at theirs, and hire the right studio when a film needs one. Call before you visit, then check in at Colony reception and ask for Here Now Films.
About seven minutes’ walk from Manchester Piccadilly, and four from the New Islington tram stop. Call us on +44 7412 543822
Join our Manchester team
We hire freelance producers, DOPs, editors and production assistants in Manchester for shoots across the North. See all our jobs.
Current openings in Manchester →Crew in Manchester?
Conference and interview days, brand campaigns, documentaries and local crews for teams flying in. We pay your full day rate on every job: our fee goes on the client’s side of the quote, not yours.
Film crew hire in Manchester →FAQ
Video production in Manchester: questions
We’re a video production company in Manchester making brand films, corporate films, documentaries and TV commercials, and crewing shoots across the North. Something we haven’t answered? Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours.
Drop us a lineWho are you and why Manchester?
We’re Here Now Films, a video production company with an office at Jactin House in Ancoats. We make brand films, corporate films, documentaries and TV commercials, and we crew shoots for agencies, broadcasters and production companies across Greater Manchester and the North. Manchester is where 89 of the freelance crew on our books live, and where clients from Davies Group to The Athletic have asked us to shoot. Our other offices are in London, Bristol and Newquay; for work across the country, start at our video production company UK homepage.
What kinds of films do you make?
Brand films, corporate films, branded micro-documentaries, customer stories, event and conference films, recruitment films, social content and TV commercials, plus post-production on its own. In and around Manchester that has meant two spring campaigns for FatFace with the Fletcher family, and crews for Davies Group’s DTV and The Athletic’s Truth or Padel.
How much does a video cost in Manchester?
Every production we make in Manchester starts at £9,500, and most land between £9,500 and £25,000. Shoot days, crew size, locations and how much the edit has to produce move the number. If you only need the filming, a shoot-only day with a producer, a cinematographer and kit is £2,690, and a Manchester DOP and sound recordist booked as crew hire start at £1,568 a day. TV commercials start at £15,000. Every quote shows each line before anything is booked.
What’s your process?
Five stages: creative development, pre-production, production, editing, then colour and sound. You sign off the idea and a treatment before anyone books a camera, permits are filed in pre-production rather than on the day, and you review every cut online with the versions numbered. Two rounds of feedback are built in. The whole sequence is further up this page.
How fast can you turn work around?
Most brand and corporate films take two to six weeks from the brief, and the first cut usually lands five to ten working days after the shoot. Crew bookings move faster: most Manchester crews are confirmed within 48 hours, and Davies Group’s first Manchester shoot came 22 days after the enquiry. If you have a launch date, tell us at the start and we’ll plan back from it.
Do you use Manchester crew and studios?
Yes. 89 of the freelance crew on our books live in and around Manchester, from DOPs and camera operators to sound recordists and gaffers, so most shoots here are crewed locally. We don’t run a studio of our own in the city, so when a film needs one we hire the right one for the job, from the stages in West Gorton to the TV studios at MediaCityUK.
What kit do you use?
We own Sony FX6 cinema cameras, cinema lenses, lighting and sound kit, and bring them when a job needs them. In Manchester we often book kit with the crew, which can come in cheaper, or hire it locally: Panavision, Panalux and Direct Digital are all at Space Studios in West Gorton, about two miles from our office. For an American director’s first Manchester shoot we matched his camera and lighting package, down to a single lens from a Manchester kit house. Our guide to film equipment rental in Manchester compares the kit houses.
Are you insured and compliant?
Yes. We carry £10m public liability and £10m employers’ liability cover, with certificates on request, and write the risk assessments for every shoot we run. Screen Manchester asks for £5m public liability on its streets, or £10m in the city-centre event spaces such as Albert Square and Piccadilly Gardens. We sign NDAs on request.
What about sustainability?
We keep shoots small and local where we can: Manchester crews rather than a team driven up from London, kit hired in the city, LED lighting and battery power before a generator, and reviews online so nobody travels to approve a cut.
Can you work with agencies or white-label?
All the time. We work behind agencies on production, crews and kit, and post, under your name and your NDA, and we’re happy to join client calls as part of your team. On The Athletic’s Truth or Padel the client owned the format and the edit, and we brought the camera plan, the crew and the kit; for Davies Group’s DTV we crewed four days to its post-production house’s spec.
Do you offer post-production only?
Yes. Our post team edits, grades, mixes and adds motion graphics to footage someone else has shot, and delivers every format a plan needs: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, captioned and broadcast masters. Edit days start at £550. More on our post-production page.
What’s the payment structure?
On a production: a deposit to book, then stage payments against an agreed statement of work, with anything outside the scope quoted and approved before it happens. On crew hire: 50% by card at booking and 50% on the final rushes.
Can you provide references and case studies?
Yes. Our crews for Davies Group and The Athletic are written up as case studies, our films are on our work page, and we’ll put you in touch with a client who commissioned the kind of film you’re planning.
Do you have a studio in Manchester?
No, and we’d rather say so. Our Manchester office is at Jactin House in Ancoats. When a film needs a studio we hire the right one: drama stages at Space Studios in West Gorton, TV studios at MediaCityUK in Salford, or a cove by the hour. Our guide to studios in Manchester compares them.
Can you film on the Metrolink?
Yes, with TfGM’s permission. TfGM licenses filming on the trams, at the stops and in its depots, asks for requests at least ten working days ahead, and charges a location fee. We file the request as part of pre-production. The rest of the city’s permissions are in our guide to locations and permits in Manchester.
Can you fly a drone in Manchester?
Yes, with planning. Inside Manchester Airport’s flight restriction zone you need the airport’s permission, requested through NATS at least 14 days ahead. You also need the landowner’s permission for take-off and landing, Screen Manchester’s agreement for flights near the highway, and a pilot with the right CAA authorisation. Tatton Park allows drones only under a commercial filming licence, and MediaCityUK only as part of a wider shoot.
From the TrimTab
Stories, guides and case studies from our shoots.
What makes a good partnership announcement film
Case study
Shooting a brand campaign on 35mm: what we learned making AI for Empowerment for Cohere
Guide
Fixer, line producer or production service company: who do you need to shoot in the UK?
Company news
The Living Layer wins overall at the 2026 Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival
Tell us what you’re making.
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on +44 7412 543822, or email hello@herenow.film.
5.0 from 54 Google reviews
“Their ability to quickly assemble professional and talented crews was impressive.”
Here Now Films · Jactin House, 24 Hood Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6WX · Booking a crew instead? Film crew hire in Manchester · All the ways to reach us
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