Floating Harbour, a film production company in Bristol, makes brand films that say who you are, what you stand for and why anyone should care. They are made to a cinematic standard and cut to work everywhere from your homepage to a six-second social ad, for startups, established businesses, universities and not-for-profits across the UK.
A brand film is not an advert. A commercial sells a product in thirty seconds; a brand film explains an organisation, usually in two to four minutes, and it keeps working for years. We make both, and we will tell you which one you need.
More types of brand film we make
Launch and product films. A new product, service or space, shown properly. See The Bike Shed launch film and A Tan You Can Trust, which launched Consol's Prestige sunbeds on film.
Campaign films. A film built around one message, with the versions to run it across web, social, email and events. See Gympanzees Project Home, a campaign to build a permanent home for a disability charity, and the Bear Wood fundraiser for the Wild Place Project.
Recruitment and employer films. What it is really like to work somewhere, for people deciding whether to apply. See more than a decade of student recruitment and staff films for the University of Bristol.
Partner and sponsor films. Films that show a relationship or a programme in action, for the partners who fund it. See the Climate KIC ClimAccelerator Year in Review and Introducing Built By Nature for the Laudes Foundation, an argument for timber construction made from contributors recorded across the globe.
How we make a brand film
Pre-production. We start with a creative workshop to understand your brand story and explore ways to turn it into a visual concept. We handle scriptwriting and storyboarding if you need support with that. Then it is location scouting, crew, logistics and equipment. Working from our own studio in central Bristol, we combine in-house resources with external talent, and we plan every shoot to keep travel, crew and equipment to what the film needs, as part of our sustainable production practice.
Filming. On shoot days we deploy a crew suited to your project, whether it is a small interview shoot or a full cinematic set-up. We manage permissions, locations, safety and equipment.
Post-production. We edit in DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro, adding colour grading, sound design and motion graphics as needed, and we work closely with you through the review stages. Deliverables are prepared for web, social media, internal communications or broadcast: full-length films, social edits and highlights.
Social and campaign content
Most brand films now live longer on social than anywhere else. We plan the cutdowns from the start: vertical and square versions, sound-off edits with burnt-in captions, fifteen and six-second versions for paid social, and stills pulled from the shoot for the feed. Where a campaign is social-first we shoot for it, with the pace, framing and hooks that platforms reward. See the Consol social media campaign, The Lodge for Bristol Zoo, a promotional film shared far beyond the zoo's own channels, and the ZeroAvia event and milestone films cut for LinkedIn alongside the long versions, or read more about social media films.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a brand film and a commercial?
A commercial is built to advertise: fixed duration, a media buy, judged on response. A brand film is longer, less constrained and made to explain who an organisation is. We produce both, with the same crew and post-production team, and we will tell you which one your brief actually needs.
How long does a brand film take?
A single-location film with interviews can go from brief to delivery in four to six weeks. A multi-location film with a script, cast or animation takes longer. Tell us the date it has to be live and we plan backwards from it.
What drives the cost?
Shoot days, locations and the number of people on camera, plus how much needs to be built, animated or licensed. The finished length matters less than people expect. Tell us what you are working with and we will recommend the strongest approach for it.
Will we get social versions?
Yes, if we plan them from the start. Cutdowns, vertical versions, captioned sound-off edits and stills are part of the deliverables list we agree before the shoot.
Do you write the script?
We can, or we can work from your script, your agency's brief or nothing more than a business objective.