There are three types of film we offer: the Brand Film, the Project Film, and the Mood Film, alongside strategic services designed to ensure your story reaches and resonates with the right audience.
Each serves a distinct purpose, but all share a single goal: defining and strengthening your brand.
But first, let's define what we mean by ‘brand’: your brand is simply your relationship with your audience.
The function of our work is to develop that relationship by building deep understanding, confidence, and trust in your ability to serve them.
Because when you offer a high-value creative service, trust always comes before conversion.
Whether creating a single defining centerpiece or partnering with you for ongoing growth, we're here to help you build that trust:
At its heart, a Brand Film is about relationship-building.
It’s your flagship asset - an evergreen distillation of your practice, your values, and the unique way you serve your clients. Through human-led storytelling, it builds confidence and trust before the first call.
A Brand Film answers the questions your potential clients might be asking before deciding to work with you:
Will these people understand our vision?
Can we trust them with our project?
Do they seem like the kind of team we want to work with?
This is an interview-led study of a building, project or development. It’s proof for a client who needs evidence that you can deliver on a particular type of project.
Typically longer form and structured around talking-head interviews with the key people involved in the project. Topics might include the initial vision and principles of the design, the construction process, the challenges overcome and the outcome.
Architecture and design is meant to be experienced, but if a client is unable or unwilling to visit your project, the Project Film is the next best thing. It immerses your audience in what it feels like to move through the space.
It's a showcase for technical expertise, design principles, construction methods, the use of materials and the ability to seamlessly collaborate with contractors, suppliers and commissioning clients.
A Project Film answers a different set of questions:
Can they actually deliver on a project, not just design and render?
Does the finished result match what was promised at the start?
Were their clients happy with the results?
Because a Project Film is equally valuable to your developer or commercial client - serving as a high-value sales, leasing, and investor relations asset - a practice can build the Project Film cost into the overall project budget, allowing the fee to be co-funded or fully covered by the client.
This is perhaps the simplest, yet no less powerful form of film we offer.
Usually shorter in form, though still narrative-led, using a voiceover taken from an interview, it leans on beautiful, cinematic imagery - the contrast of textures, rain on glass, shimmering light across a concrete curve.
A Mood Film feels tactile, poetic and evocative, creating a lasting emotional response and allowing the viewer to experience the atmosphere of a space in a way words or photographs simply cannot capture.
A Mood Film can be particularly powerful for practices wanting to express a distinctive aesthetic, point of view or design sensibility.
You've invested in your True Story film and suite of assets, now what would you like to do with them?
Welcome to The Next Chapter, a service designed to help you tell your story to the right audience.
Our in-house marketing consultant specialises in creating person-centred strategies that make considered use of your True Story film assets, creating quality messages and campaigns that are thoughtfully targeted and resonate with your audiences.
The Studio Partnership is an ongoing creative collaboration, with True Story acting as an embedded storytelling unit and strategic growth partner for your practice.
Designed to maintain a warm, active pipeline of prospective clients through consistent output. We work with you on a monthly retainer basis to capture the evolving life of your practice: updates, studio culture, community outreach, awards, events and completed projects.
We then couple these assets with targeted distribution, ensuring your work, ethos, and expertise are consistently placed directly in front of the right audience, be it local developers, private clients or commercial decision-makers.
The Studio Partnership provides the strategic clarity, ongoing content creation, and targeted performance marketing of a dedicated in-house team, without the heavy payroll overhead.
All our Film projects include our full consultation process, creative development, production, and a full suite of edits.
Scope and complexity determines the final investment, but we always provide a fixed estimate of our creative proposal. We've delivered projects ranging from £5k to £25k+ in budget.
Brand films start at £8,000 + VAT. This includes a full exploration of your practice, values, and the people behind it. Typically involves a full consultation, multiple shoot locations and a multiple days production.
Project films start at £6,000 + VAT. This covers a focused study of a single project or development, structured around interviews with the key figures who delivered it. Because the final film serves as a high-value sales and investor relations asset for the developer, practices frequently package this directly into the project deliverable, this fee can be co-funded or passed through as part of the project deliverable. Typically a single-day shoot for a single location.
Mood films start at £5,000 + VAT. A faster, more visual production process that includes a VoiceOver taken from a recorded interview, and is built on location based cinematic imagery, usually from a single location and filmed over a single day.
The Studio Partnership starts at £3,250 + VAT / month (6-month minimum agreement). This includes bi-monthly or monthly on-site capture, the creation of short-form social and ad assets, and fully managed, targeted digital campaigns. An initial £1,500 setup fee applies in Month 1 for developing the overarching strategy.
The best way to understand cost for your specific situation is for us to have a conversation about what you're aiming to achieve.
For every True Story film you get:
- 30min online introductory call
- Proposal outline and costing
- In-person deep discovery session
- Narrative development and full creative proposal
- Cinematic production
- Post production: Editing (incl. 2 rounds of amends), colour grading, audio mix, social edits
Brand Film
- Deep discovery session with key people in your practice
- Production: typically 2-3 shoot days
- Hero brand film (2-5 minutes) for your About page
- Visual-led film (30-60 seconds) for your Home page
- Full edited interview (YouTube, podcast, deeper content)
- 5-10 short-form edits for social
Project Film
- Discovery session focused on the project and those who delivered it
- Production: typically 1 shoot day
- Hero project film (2-4 minutes)
- 5-10 short-form edits for social
- Full edited interview available as an add-on
Mood Film
- Discovery with VoiceOver subject
- Voiceover script development
- Production: typically 1 shoot day
- Hero mood film (60-90 seconds)
- 3-5 short-form edits for social
The Studio Partnership
- Bi-monthly or Monthly Shoot Days: Agile, on-site film capture at active builds, completed projects, or in-studio.
- Continuous Content Output: 1 monthly spotlight film plus 4–6 short-form vertical assets (9:16) engineered for social and ads.
- Targeted Campaign Management: Strategic ad account setup, hyper-targeted audience distribution, and active lead tracking.
- Strategic Reporting: Monthly reviews tracking engagement, audience reach, and direct incoming client inquiries.
Our service isn't transactional, it’s about connection and relationship. Our clients become part of the True Story community, and we will always seek to create connections within our network.
We offer a limited number of free online consultations every month. We’ll discuss where you are now and where you want to be. We'll ask about your philosophy, your ideal clients and their needs, and why you can serve them the best. By the end, you'll have greater clarity and insight into your positioning, and understand if a brand film would serve your goals. If it's a fit, we'll outline what working together would look like. Register your interest in a 30min consultation here.
Established creative businesses where the people, place and philosophy are central to the value they offer, and who are:
- Proven in their craft (portfolio isn't the question)
- Established in their field (you already have clients)
- Ready to attract better-aligned clients
- Prepared to communicate who they are, not just what they do
If you’re ready to go beyond competing on cost, and connect with people who truly value what you offer, True Story is for you.
True Story isn't right if you:
- Are just starting out and need to build a portfolio first
- Are happy to compete primarily on price
- Want quick content without a collaborative process
- Value cost over outcome
We take a high-touch, low-volume approach, working with a maximum of 3 clients per quarter.
Introduction: We begin with a 30 minute online conversation. We'll ask about where you are now and where you want to be, your creative philosophy, your ideal clients, and what makes your approach distinct. By the end, you'll have greater clarity and insight into your positioning, and understand if a brand film would serve your goals.
Consultation: This is a strategically frame-worked and collaborative session where we get to know you and your business better. This typically takes place in-person at your workplace, allowing us to get a sense of the spaces we may be shooting in.
Creative proposal: Based on our consultation, we'll provide a proposal that includes a narrative outline, a visual approach, deliverables, suggested timeline and a costing. This becomes our shared roadmap.
Production: Depending on the type of film, scope and locations, we film over 1-3 days, capturing interviews, process, projects and the details that make your work distinct.
Delivery: Within 4-6 weeks, you receive your complete content suite.
From discovery to final delivery: typically 6-10 weeks, depending on scheduling and production complexity.
Unless you’re used to being on camera, you probably won’t feel comfortable with the idea of being filmed.
We are used to working with people who have very little on-camera experience, and you can trust us to get the best out of you. We lead with curiosity and empathy to create space for authentic conversation. If you are passionate about what you do, you can do this.
However, if you’d like to work with us but would prefer not to appear on camera, we have creative ways to capture your story, values and vision without filming you.
Book a consultation. It's a no-obligation conversation to explore where you are and where you want to be, and whether True Story can help you bridge that gap. We'll be honest if we don’t think its the right time or fit.
Yes. While we're based near London, we travel throughout the UK and internationally for the right projects. Production travel costs are discussed during the proposal stage.
Legal Scope
True Story operates as a filmmaking service creating brand films for established creative practitioners.
All projects are governed by a written agreement outlining deliverables, timelines, payment terms, and usage rights.
We carry professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
You receive full usage rights for standard marketing purposes (website, social media, email, paid advertising).
True Story retains copyright of the underlying creative work and portfolio rights.
All music is properly licensed for standard use.
We handle your data in accordance with UK GDPR.
While we deliver high-quality films designed to attract aligned clients, we cannot guarantee specific business outcomes or ROI.
Ethical Scope
We're committed to authenticity over artifice - we'll never misrepresent who you are or create a manufactured persona.
If we don't believe in your work or values, or if True Story isn't the right fit for your needs, we'll tell you honestly.
We work collaboratively, not extractively - your story belongs to you, and the discovery process should feel like a partnership.
We take on a limited number of projects to ensure each client receives full creative attention.
We can't promise specific business results, but we can promise honest collaboration, high-quality craft, and a film that authentically represents who you are and what you stand for.