Newsletter #1 - Company launch
Let’s get started.
It’s Sam Boneham here, one of the co-directors at Machine Studio. To celebrate the official launch of Machine we are starting a regular newsletter. Each month Hugh, Damien, Rory or I will provide company updates and a short review on a piece of content we are loving, a format I like to call ‘Glued: What I’m watching’.
These are my musings on the process we undertook to get us to launch day and a review of a documentary I recently discovered by Appalshop.
Over the past six months Hugh O’Brien, Damien Boneham and I have been developing our new entity, Machine Studio. TBH six months isn’t accurate. You could say this company has been ten years in the making. The three of us have worked together on various projects across the last decade whether it be contracting for each other’s previous companies or in Damien and Hugh’s case working full-time together at a digital agency. It’s fair to say there’s a long track record of great work between the three of us. Throw Rory Nix, our full-time videographer and editor, in the mix and you’ve got a well-oiled…machine.
In the build-up to August 1st, we needed to get a lot done: a brand identity, website, email, social media, contracts, accounting systems… the list was extensive and I’d be lying if I said it’s entirely ticked off. Probably the most time-consuming and rewarding work was the showreel. For those who have created a showreel in the past, you’ll understand the challenges associated with presenting your best work seamlessly. As a company, we produce commercial video content, documentaries, photography and animation so the showreel needed to speak to all those elements. We went through a whole lot of brainstorming sessions early on. One idea involved hiring a blacksmith to smoulder our brand into existence, leaning into the Machine quite literally. Eventually, we focused on a more traditional showreel led by our post-production king Damien Boneham. Together we’ve packed a huge amount into 45 seconds, guiding the audience through our key capabilities and showcasing some of our best work. All killer no filler.
The soundtrack for the reel is a dance track called ‘Escape’ by STÜM. A pulsating banger. Bandcamp says: “STÜM’s fans have coined it “chaotic and sweet”. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, STÜM has captivated audiences worldwide with his mesmerising productions and mind-blowing performances.” We were stoked to partner with Gallery Recordings led by our friend Angus Russell on this one, thanks Toux!
The final showreel is a joy ride through our collective content library for global brands and publishers and the reaction online has been solid so far:
We couldn’t agree more.
As important as the showreel was it would have not been possible to launch the business without solid branding for Machine Studio. Our approach was to produce initial concepts in-house using co-director Hugh O’Brien’s brilliant graphic design abilities. From those incredible initial concepts, we reached out to Laura Jones a Designer & Brand Director based out of Denmark. Laura took our brief and created some phenomenal work. The finished product reflects our approach as a people-powered production company. The logo identity is my personal favourite, expect to see some tasty merchandise shortly….
There were plenty of late nights, heated discussions, and celebratory beers along the way and we are over the moon with the final product. I’m lucky to work with such lovely, talented, creative people and look forward to growing together in the years to come.
Outside of the launch we’ve been busy working on a huge project for Adidas and Pedestrian Group, content for AquAsia, event coverage with Black Communications and servicing long-time collaborator and chef Matt Moran. We’re also in post-production on a TVC campaign with a beer brand. Plenty on!
Glued: What I’m watching
That Tree Lives on: A film about Terry Ratliff, 2021 - a film by Ethan Payne for Appalshop
This short doco is about legendary furniture maker Terry Ratliff based in Floyd County Kentucky. He’s been hand-crafting wooden furniture for over 40 years.
Terry starts his day hand crafting a wooden spoon. As a ritual to make connection with his creativity. “Get into a rhythm in your day, get the rhythm going in the first hour and you will work hard the next seven.”
From a filmmaking perspective this documentary captures Terry’s world effortlessly, opening with expansive aerial photography amidst the forest that Terry works in. The edit, complemented expertly by Gresham Cash’s musical composition, taps into Terry’s poetic way of seeing the world mixing slow-motion with real time work.
A quote that stood out to me was about embracing change in tough circumstances.
“Think of wood as a fluid, flowing up out of the ground wrapping itself around whatever gets in the way. It’s almost a metaphor for life. Sure you’re going to have trouble you’re going to have things going on. Instead of fighting that, when you can, embrace it and go with it. Don’t invite it into your life but when it’s there embrace it and deal with it.”
Away from his workshop, he loves to dance at a local club in the evening - jigging along to old-time mountain songs. This guy truly embodies the spirit of mastering his craft and living a carefree lifestyle.
The director of photography (director Ethan Payne) shoots plenty of close-ups ensuring intimacy is maintained. The film’s success for me is in the relationship between Terry and the crew. Clearly, the production team had built outstanding rapport with Terry who seemed to be comfortable throughout. Not an easy task, particularly when producing a solo bio-pic style documentary. Everything hinges on the relationship between the subject and the director being solid. A principle that I try to constantly remind myself of when I’m capturing any form of content.
That’s it for this for our first official blog post. Each month we’ll be posting a new blog written by Hugh, Damien, Rory or myself. Be sure to reach out on email or insta if you want to chat all things content.
Stay flashy,
Sam Boneham