The #1 Video Production Company in London

We are co-located in London and Manchester, with head office facilities at the heart of MediaCityUK. Working across the World, we also have satellite partner-offices in Dublin and Liverpool, UK.

Naturally we work throughout London and the Home Counties, producing films extensively across the North of England, with two offices within the North West. Thinktank makes video content throughout the world and have a full logistics, carnet, location management, fixers and crew who either travel overseas or have strong partnerships with us within their local domain. We partner with film production companies in the EMEA, where access can be complex to ensure that maintain local integrity when working within highly regulated environments.

A London-based production team starts by listening to your needs and determining the way to provide best-value to achieve your production goals, within budget. Based on your individual requirements we'll provide you with a proposal detailing what is included within the service we provide. We're able to respond to urgent client needs and work within the framework of what's achievable within the timescales as we're aware that some projects have a real sense of urgency

Pre-Production: Working within the agreed proposal, our pre-production process  focuses on what we need to do in order to deliver your project on time. We're able to advice, guide or manage filming locations, filming approvals and other considerations  so that the filming process runs smoothly during video production.

Filming: We assign a team to your project, depending on what we're producing. We're able to provide anything from two-person crews through to a team of 100+ crew members.

For example, smaller productions sometimes need only a Director of Photography (DoP) and Sound Assistant, whereas others may need a full production team and crew including a Director, ADs, Producers, Line Producers, Runners, Stage Managers, Vision Mixers, Camera Crew, Technical Staff, Sound Engineers, Location Managers, Makeup, Wardrobe plus an array of other staff including Focus Pullers, a full Sound Department, Makeup, Continuity, Gaffers, Assistants, etc.

Generally production crews at the larger end of the spectrum are reserved for complex or high-end film or TV Advertising productions for household name clients - producing major TV campaigns for example.

Filming day(s): Some Customer testimonial films can be filmed in one day or a couple of days, depending on the number of contributors or the proximity of where b-roll is to be filmed.  However, we will discuss this with you in detail before project sign-off.. The number of days we film, number of locations and crew allocated will depend on what we are trying to achieve and also the production budget for your video.

For projects requiring cinematography of the local area we will capture GVs and Cutaways (subject to weather and requirements). Aerial filming is weather dependent and also dependent on any flight restrictions in your local area on the day of filming.

First Cut: A first cut will be made once our video production company in London has ingested the film footage into our edit suite. At this point a Director will discuss the creative process with edit, prior to the First Cut being produced and once approved internally, you will receive your First Cut for comment and approval.

Amendments: Our agreement is likely to include specified amendments - for example a specific number of amendments, type of amendments and/or time amendments, within the fixed price of the project. Additional fees are subject to client approval and we work to a strict Purchase Order system so that you're always in control of video production fees.

Delivery: Delivery is dependent on the client and format required. For example, you may wish for us to deliver directly for TV/ DRTV. Perhaps for Social Media Video Content use 0- in a variety of different formats and aspect ratios. Or simply you may want the finished video converted for YouTube, Vimeo or other online format. Whatever the delivery format, we will discuss this with you prior to project commencement.

The best length for a videos is usually less than two-and-a-half-minutes in duration. For TV Adverts or Social Media Video Content, the optimum time is somewhere between 30-seconds to one-minute.

Deciding on the ideal duration for your video will normally be based on a number of factors, including what the purpose is, who is going to see it. You can always ask for advice or guidance from a video production company like Thinktank Video Productions Manchester, to determine what will work best for your market.

Naturally if we're making a documentary or series, then around 46 minutes per episode is the required run time for broadcast television productions. But again, this varies depending on the commissioned length and the channel airing the finished work.

Depending on what is being produced, it can be anything from £500 to £5,000,000. For example, if you're making a TV advert with an A-list celebrity and planning to close down an area of London, with a 50-person crew, then it isn't a £500 project. It's more important to have a budget in mind before contact a video production company in London like Thinktank, so that you can get the most for your budget. It's important to agree a fixed-fee with a video production company wherever possible so that you know what your production budget is right from the start.

Sometimes we are asked if video is sold by the minute or by filming days. But this isn't the case either. For example it may cost £10,000-£70,000 to produce a brilliant documentary film which airs for an hour, yet a Christmas TV advert can cost millions if you're thinking of engaging a celebrity with their own star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Normally what is included in a video production budget is creative development, pre-production planning, client discussion time, crew costs, travel, accommodation, use of equipment, limited public liability insurance, editing time, the first cut, agreed amendments and delivery of the final video in a pre-approved format.

It's difficult to give an exact answer because every production type has production items which are included whereas for others they may be optional extras.

If the content is for web, online or Social Media, then it usually doesn't matter what format is used to film. Sometimes there are advantages to filming in 6K or 8K such as the ability to crop into shots and retain 4K quality. The 8K and 6K formats can be used for productions, yet they generally come into their own for TV Advert productions.

The colour science, sensor technology and equipment quality requires considerable knowledge. For example all 4K equipment is not created equally. There is a world of difference picking up a £1,000 smart phone and filming in 6k, to working with a high-end broadcast camera and lens which may be 'technically' 4K yet cost £100,000  - the difference is night and day in what can be produced and the creative expertise you need to use a cinema camera is completely different to trying to make a video production with a DSLR or Mirrorless Camera.

Professional video production companies use a variety of different camera equipment, however, the cameras used are generally cinema cameras from manufacturers such as Arri, Red, Sony, Red, Blackmagic and DJI.

Lighting and Sound is generally always off-camera (separate and not mounted on the body of the camera). Radio microphones and shotgun microphones (from a range of different equipment manufacturers) are used and lighting kits are usually high-end tungsten or LED lights, made by specialist providers to the filming industry.

Video productions are normally edited on proprietary edit suites made by Avid , Adobe or Davinci and Colour Grading (if required within budget) and Post Production is carried out using a variety of tools.