Welcome

 

We’re Pebble – A creative technology studio creating world-first content experiences for today’s tech-enabled customer.

With a longstanding heritage in the award-winning production of film, animation, VFX, CGI, virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, we help ambitious brands and agencies connect deeper with their audiences.

It’s easy to say this, but achieving it takes world-class creative talent and deep technical knowledge. That’s why our 40 seat East London studio is brimming with pioneering expertise, producing both high impact digital campaigns to bespoke content experiences.

Our end-to-end process uses data to drive insights, creative storytelling to build emotion and technology to create truly original work. The result – greater exposure, advocacy and commercial performance for our clients.

Featured Content Experiences

Brands

Clients

Film

Located in the creative heart of London, our video production company is made up of a team of highly experienced producers, editors and increasing network of award winning Directors. We tailor make our teams to suit every project we work on, to push boundaries and elevate yours (or ours) creative vision. Our deep understanding of the production process means shoots are assured to stay on-time and budget, while given the flexibility to fly.

Film Services

Animation

With a team of over 15 specialist designers, our London animation studio is a hub of some the UK’s top creative talent. Trusted by the likes of Disney, Sony, adidas and the biggest Ad agencies our team works nimbly across style and genre, so whether you want to work with 2D or 3D animation, video or creative visualisation, we can produce something that’s strong, stylish and eminently shareable.

Animation Services

Virtual Reality

Set on the cutting edge of what content creation can offer, our VR animation studio can take  your audience into an immersive virtual world. Bespoke video production services include 360 degree videos, experiential content and projects that use innovative hybrids of animation, traditional filmmaking and VFX. Having been at the forefront of what is possible in Virtual Reality for the last 4 years our team is on hand to deliver ground breaking experiences across all industries.

Virtual Reality Services

Download

How do you pitch VR?

If you’re looking to pitch VR & 360 video content to your clients but you’re not sure exactly how to go about it, don’t worry, you’re in the right place. Our Pebble guide to selling VR will give you all the ammo you need to convince your clients (or internal team) that VR is definitely the way to go.

In this download, we’ve included the basics, the latest stats, plus info on all the top applications of this powerful immersive technology.

Latest From Pebble Plus

What They Say

I’ve known the team at Pebble Studios since they were professional babes and watched them grow into consummate pros. They’re not only super talented bunch, they’re a real pleasure to work with – full of can-do energy and enthusiasm. They go above and beyond on every project and I genuinely can’t recommend them highly enough. (They also think they make the best tea in London – they don’t – I do).

Shaun Mcilarath

Shaun Mcilarath, Global ECD @ Iris Worldwide

Pebble Studios really understand what we need as an agency and always offer a friendly and professional service to us. We’ve worked with them on numerous projects and they consistently deliver top quality productions, on time and on budget. They’re a valued production partner and a real pleasure to work with.

Sam Sheterline

Sam Sheterline, Client Services Director @ ODD

They are a hugely valuable partner to have within our roster, their ability to work on a variety of briefs and always deliver great quality work, on time and within budget is hugely valuable to us. The team is proactive, positive and a real pleasure to work with.

louise forbes

Louise Forbes, Director of Product Marketing @ Sony

The team at Pebble have been brilliant for us, always so obliging, agile and professional in everything they do – and quite entertaining too. In the short timeframes we worked with them in, they knew exactly what we wanted, and delivered accordingly. We look forward to working with them again soon.

David Pomfret

David Pomfret, Head of Account Management @ RKCR Y&R

This was our first project with Pebble Studios and we are delighted to say it has been an absolute pleasure from start to finish. Their process and leadership of the project could not be faulted and their attention to detail left nothing to chance. We will certainly be using them again!

Matt Hunt

Matt Hunt, Brand Director @ Matta

Pebble Studios were a delight to work with throughout this campaign from their impressively-detailed pitch, which really painted the picture of how the project would pan out, to the relaxed yet extremely professionally run day’s filming to the carefully communicated post-production process. There were no unexpected surprises or delays and we were delivered an advert we were delighted with and which represented the Spreadex brand in exactly the way we were hoping.

Andy MacKenzie

Andy Mackenzie, Marketing Manager @ SpreadEx

FAQ SECTION

Choosing the right video production company for your project can be tricky, and it should never be a decision that’s taken lightly.

The difference between the right choice and the wrong choice can have potentially huge impacts on the success of your video and your business. So it’s important to take the time to properly understand who you’ll be working with.

What do production companies do?

A production partner will take your brief and deliver creative ideas, which will then be honed in tandem with your own team and developed into a final video product.

Whether this is an explainer video, an animation, a 360 video or VR project, a great production partner will create, develop, and deliver anything and everything necessary to give you an amazing piece of audio-visual content that far exceeds your expectations (with plenty of video marketing ideas and video marketing tips thrown in along the way too).

When choosing the right video production company, there are 5 key areas you need to consider:

  1. Your budget
  2. Their creative portfolio
  3. Their team, process & strategy
  4. The project specifics
  5. Added value / Results

 

  1. Budget

 The budget you have available for your video project will have a direct effect on the type and size of production companies you can work with. If your budget is relatively small, you should be looking for smaller or more junior agencies, studios, freelancers, etc. If your budget is huge, you can be approaching much larger, more established companies with your brief.

Most creative production studios will offer a range of pricing options. For example, at Pebble, while we regularly cater for big companies with large budgets making boundary-pushing work, we also offer a Pebble Light service aimed at powering up the creative might behind even the smallest budget video projects. A small budget can go a long way with the right production partner, so you don’t necessarily need to limit your ideas and aspirations for your video/film/animation based on your budget.

  1. Creative Portfolio

 Next, you need to look for a company with a deep, end-to-end understanding of video creation process. The best way to do this is to dive into their portfolio. Take a look at their website, their work, their Instagram, etc.

Portfolio – What type of videos are they capable of producing? Does it match up with or exceed your ideas/brief? Does their style suit your industry? These are the types of questions you need to be asking and answering before you commit.

Script – How well can they write? Script and copy is a vital part of the video production process and can often make or break a video project.

Visuals – What’s their standard of filmmaking / VFX / 2d animation / 3d animation / 360 video / virtual reality video? Essentially, ask yourself, are they capable of exceeding my expectations? That’s the kind of partner you want to work with.

Results – Their work may look and sound good, but is it hitting the mark for their clients? What levels of engagement do their videos draw? What performance stats do they have? Now more than ever, results-oriented, data-driven creative is what is working for clients, so this needs to be an important part of the process. (More on the importance of a results-driven production partner later.)

  1. Team, Process & Strategy

 You should be looking for a team with great communication skills, a defined process and a clear strategy to get you the final product/results that you’re aiming for.

This is important to clarify upfront. You want to be working with dedicated account managers and producers with a passion to make your film or animation the best it can possibly be?

A few more things to think about:

  • Do they have in-house talent, or will they be outsourcing your work?
  • How detailed is their process?
  • Do they have the intelligence and capacity to properly understand your brand and your message?
  • Are they like minds? Consider their work culture, is it a good fit for you and your project?
  1. Project Specifics

Once you’ve narrowed it down, it’s time to get more specific to see if your chosen video production partner can deliver your specific project to your desired timeframe.

To make everything as smooth as possible, you need to do the following:

  • Find out when they can start the project
  • Find out whether they have the capacity to deliver to your timeframe
  • Find out who specifically you’ll be working with. This should cover their team structure for this specific project and anyone else who may be involved.
  • Find out about the level of communication you’ll receive. I.e. How will edit requests be handled?
  • Get everything in writing! Every detail that has been covered during the set-up stages for the project should be provided in writing. This needs to cover the start date of the project, costs, as well as key production and timeline info.
  1. Added Value / Results

Are they making you a video, or can they offer you a whole lot more?

For example, do they have expertise in digital marketing and content marketing? If so, this will bring an extremely valuable layer to the creative process, leaving you with a video that is designed with channel-specific, digital performance in mind.

With this in mind, think about if it’s just a video that you want, or if you require a more comprehensive campaign.

  • Is the distribution method being taken thoroughly into account in the creative process?
  • Is there a broader strategy that can maximise the reach of your video?
  • Can the performance of your video be measured via key KPIs?

With the right approach, a simple video can do so much for a business or brand. Choosing the right video production partner is the way to make this happen.

To find out more about what’s possible with video, contact us to speak with one of our digital experts.

The production process is divided into three distinct stages: pre production, production and post production. To understand the importance of each of the stages of film production, let’s take a look at them individually:

The 3 stages of the production process:

Pre-production

Okay, so what is pre production and what elements does it include?

The pre production process is by no means a step by step process that is set in stone, it is simply the preparatory phase prior to a shoot to get everything in place and in line. Each project (and each shoot) will require a different set of things from a producer – it’s a producers job to figure out what these things are and make them happen.

However, in general, your pre production process should be covering most, if not all of the following key elements:

NB: For exclusively animation projects, many of these (such as director, talent and location scouting) may not apply.

  • Project Kick-off
  • Establishing the production schedule
  • Script development
  • Scouting a film director (and DOP)
  • Visual treatment
  • Storyboards
  • Style frames
  • Creative sign-off
  • Comprehensive pre production research
  • Scouting & hiring talent
  • Scouting & securing location
  • Organising crew
  • Ensuring you have the requisite film production insurance
  • Catering arrangements
  • Props & wardrobe
  • Making arrangements for post production
  • + any other specific preparations that the project may require

Production

The production stage is where your pre production research, script development, and video production planning comes to fruition on set.

At the film shoot, your director, DOP, crew, talent, and anyone else who is there on the day need to be at their best to get every shot needed to take back to the studio for post production – the final stage of the video production process.

Post production

Post production simply refers to the editing stages of production.

In post production, the digital designer(s) take the recorded video and audio footage and begin to piece together the final product in conjunction with the underlying video production script.

Here all graphics and VFX are created and painstakingly added to the edited footage, as well as all music and sound effects. Many projects require colour correction, audio sweetening, and extensive sound design to create the best possible final product.

A great video brief leads to a great final product. Knowing how to write a brief that is both concise and comprehensive is the first step to a great video, film or animation. So it’s important to get it right.

To ensure your brief is as strong as possible before you send it out to video production companies, simply make sure you cover the following 7 areas and you should be on to a winning brief and winning result:

 

1. Background & Objectives

 Learning how to create a briefing document that will give you the results you desire must include the objectives themselves. If you don’t outline what you hope to achieve with this video, how can the video production company help you do that in a professional way?

Essentially, you need to state why you want to make your video and explain your end-game. For example, is the video part of a wider campaign or launch? And do you have specific metrics by which you want to measure the video’s success?

2. Target Audience

Your creative brief template needs to include a section on your target audience.

Every effective campaign video or stand-alone social video needs to be built around a specific target audience to achieve maximum impact. To get this right in your creative brief, you need to ask and answer the following questions:

  • Who are you trying to attract?
  • What demographics of people will you be speaking to?
  • Are they any key insights you can offer on ways to do this effectively?

You probably have a better idea of your audience than most production companies, so use this space as a place to give them the necessary insight.

3. Your Key Message(s)

In this section, you need to cover exactly what you want your video to say to your desired audience. What are your key messages? What’s your primary message? Do you have specific language (slogans/lines/CTAs) that you are tied to?

4. Tone of Voice

Here you should include audience insight into the tone of voice for your video. Is there a specific tone that will connect with your target audience? For example, should it be casual and colloquial, or more technical?

5. Where the video will be seen/hosted

This section needs to cover how and where your video will be distributed. What channels will it be hosted on? What aspect ratio does it need to be? Etc. All good creative ideas will take into account the distribution strategy, this is how to create videos that have maximum impact online.

6. Your deadline and budget

All great creative brief examples will include plenty of info on timelines and budget. How soon would you like to get started? Is there a specific deadline you’re working to? How many rounds of revisions and approvals will be needed?

7. Anything mandatory

If there are any aspects of your video that are simply non-negotiable, they need to be included in your video production brief. If not, production companies can spend a lot of precious time developing creative that simply won’t fly with you. So make sure to include anything that is 100% mandatory, and anything that you 100% don’t want. This will save everyone a lot of time and energy.

 

A good place to start when writing a brief is to look back at any examples of great creative briefs that you have received or seen in the past. If a particular project brief struck a chord with you or someone in your team, then they probably did something right. A

And remember – the more detail you can include in every section of your creative brief, the better your final video will be. So don’t shy away from being specific.

If you have a creative brief you want to discuss, and want an industry leading video production partner to exceed your expectations, contact us to find out what we can do for your brand!

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Location of Pebble Studios
Pebble Studios, The Frames, Unit 113, 1 Phipp Street, EC2A 4PS