Nick, Barnaby and friends on the road to Mongolia. Kazakstan 2006
ABOUT CASUAL FILMS
Casual Films produces corporate and brand video for multinational businesses. Working globally, Casual supports companies - including BMW, Facebook, Marriott, PwC, RedBull and Vodafone - to recruit, sell and communicate with video.
In 2006, Nick and university friend, Barnaby Cook and took part in an old car rally from London to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They produced 15 diary films of the journey for Expedia. Working with just a camcorder and a laptop, they started to realise they were at the leading edge of the video production revolution.
Their lightweight, high-quality approach won a range of awards, new clients, new staff and followers. Casual has been voted number one corporate production company in the UK, by their peers, for three years running. To date they have produced nearly 10,000 films – continually honing their proprietary production process.
Building on these successes in the UK, Casual opened in New York in 2011. The formula worked well in the US; the business grew significantly over the following years, particularly following the relocation of a number of the senior team in 2014. The San Francisco office opened in 2017 and LA in February 2019. Casual was recognised by a Board of Trade Award in 2018 for services to transatlantic commerce.
The Casual Films story so far...
GREAT PEOPLE | GREAT FILMS | HAPPY CLIENTS
THE CASUAL ACADEMY
A proportion of the profits from The New Fire will be donated to the Casual Academy...
The Casual Academy provides 16-25 year olds from diverse, often disadvantaged, backgrounds with hands-on filmmaking experience. Working alongside professional filmmakers, the young people make a film for a local charity that wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it. This delivers a great win:win - the charity gets a film, the young people get the experience of working for a real client and a useful addition to their showreel.
The Academy also helps the students to understand the key roles in the production process: creative, producer, director and editor. This then allows them then to see where their skills and interests lie, so that they can make a more informed decision about entry points into the industry.
The industry’s lack of diversity is a reflection of how challenging it can be to break into. Most starting positions are unpaid, which considering living costs in cities like London, New York and San Francisco excludes all by the significantly privileged. The academy aims to address this in a small way, helping to make the media industry more reflective of society as a whole. So far we have reached over 150 young people across our home cities.
The Academy has global appeal: wherever you find young people, charities and professional filmmakers who are willing to give some of their time. If you fall into one of those groups, or if you want to make a donation, please drop us a line. We're always looking for new people to work with.