Samuel McElwee

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Whether he is on stage taking Lionel Ritchie's portrait or spending the day filming with the awe-inspiring Erica from Surbiton, he uncovers the characters of all the people he works with, whilst making them feel quickly at ease.

No matter if he is up to his chest in the freezing Icelandic ocean with a -18 degree wind chill or battling blistering heat, Sam will always find the humour in any situation, a characteristic you can see through much of his work. 

He always has a personal project on the go, but there’s nothing he loves more than collaborating with creative colleagues. 

Check out Sam's Instagram here. 

Us...

Be More Than Content

We want to make you more than content. Our award-winning photographers over the road at Horton-Stephens, transformed long ago into award-winning directors, whether for broadcast commercials or online campaigns. 

Stills and Motion?

Film-making is as much a part of our lives as shooting stills but our experience leaves us ideally placed to offer both. Sometimes we shoot film alongside stills, sometimes it’s the other way around. It’s a very cost-effective way to add value for clients whilst we have all the crew, location, models and other resources together. We do a lot of this.

Expensive?

Reassuringly Inexpensive, actually. From the outset we have a lean mean attitude to production, although we don’t skimp on production values.  If we can shoot on a DSLR with a crew of two that’s fine. When we’re shooting broadcast TVC we’ll ramp that up as far as necessary. It’s horses for courses and a recognition that projects come in all shapes and sizes.

Does It Work?

Have a look at the work and see what you think. We won a Gold and two Silver DMA Awards for nine PayPal films, shot and post-produced by us all the way to final delivery. We shot stills on the same shoot and one image won the Sony World Photography Award for portraiture! Oh, and one of our directors picked up a recent Cannes Bronze and our amazing motion graphics team at Revenant are multi-Bafta nominees.

Who do you work with?

We love working with ad agencies and their own motion production departments, but we work with clients direct too offering a full project management service.

And who exactly do we get to work with?

First off you get us, and we’re very well known for project management and having produced just about every shoot imaginable. We're about solving problems rather than creating them... team players!  Second, you get a team of award-winning image creators with proven track records. When it gets to post-production, we have an enormously experienced team we bring into the picture according to the need. Line production through edit and grade with marrying of sound, VFX, music and delivery. Broadcast delivery, not a problem. In the case of Revenant’s motion CG process, the whole process up themselves. Online specification needs and multiple format deliverables no problem. Sometimes our clients prefer to complete their own post... that’s fine too.

Will we End up Hugging and Being Friends?

Advertising and production can be a combative exercise with tighter and tighter schedules and budgets, with the whole process in danger of stressing to breaking point.  Sometimes we’re all looking for reassurance, advice, somebody that’ll stand next to you and say “I am Spartacus”.  Someone that’s going to support through the difficult bits and high-five when it’s all over. That’s us! Lunch afterwards helps too, we are told.