November 2004:

Kevin and I were at the pub planning our next short film production, surely destined for film festival success and glittering careers in Hollywood, when for reasons we couldn’t quite put our fingers on at the time, we suddenly decided that we were going down the wrong path.

We needed to put our skills to use for corporate clients and use the money we’d earn to buy camera kit, enabling us to make any short films we wanted rather than rely on money we could raise and kit we could borrow.

I had some experience in a pre-start business – the phrase “just enough knowledge to be dangerous” comes to mind – so we started making enquiries and putting a business plan together.

Fast forward to April 2005 and we had a company name, website, phone number and some video package deals to sell to anyone willing to take a chance on two young pups with no portfolio to their name, outside of school work and a short film we’d made in 2001.

Amazingly, thanks to some judicious link placement by Kevin, the phone rang within a few days of us declaring ourselves open for business. It was an enquiry from Associa (1), who wanted their staff to produce some funny videos as part of a training exercise. We booked the shoot for July, and just like that… we were in business.

Our first year was exciting and challenging. Not only did we have to use (and improve) our technical skills, but we needed to start the tricky process of a) learning how to woo clients and win projects and b) balance our time to avoid the classic see-saw effect of a new, young business: namely being too busy delivering work to find the next project. Finding a way to iron out the peaks and troughs would be a common theme in the early years.

• We pitched an ‘Analyse Your Golf Swing’ package to local courses.
• We went back to our old school to cast drama students as readers of a magazine we were promoting with video.
• We stumbled into working with several Sure Start (2) centres – a great gig! – because I was at a house party and bumped into an old friend who worked there.
• We hired the first of a few terrible accountants, and handed back far too much of our hard-earned money at the end of the year (we should have gone LTD. on day one, but were badly advised).

In all fairness, the first year was mainly just… exciting!

It was an amazing feeling to be generating income from our passion (“playing with videos” as my mother once described it to our Media Studies teacher). The idea that we were getting paid ANYTHING to make videos was novel.

So much, in fact, that after one shoot, we got back into the car and spontaneously burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all. We’d filmed for an hour, would edit for a day, and were making hundreds of pounds. What?!

As anyone who’s ever owned a business will surely agree, the best way to describe the 20 years which have since passed in the blink of an eye is “a wild ride.”

We’ve had amazing highs and gutting lows. Laughs and tears, wins and losses… you get the idea.

We plan to spend 2025 celebrating our 20th birthday by releasing lookback articles like this, producing special episodes of our podcast where we’ll reconnect with old clients, hosting a party and launching an exciting competition soon which we hope will finally close the loop on one of our initial ambitions!

We hope you’ll follow the content and enjoy our celebration year with us!

Written by Matthew Newman, Co-founder of YourFilm.

Note 1. Associa was a trade association based in Leicester, UK, that operated in 2005, supporting businesses in the wholesale and distribution sectors. Its mission was to provide members with resources, advocacy, and networking opportunities to help them navigate industry challenges and improve operational efficiency. The organisation offered training programs, market insights, and representation on regulatory issues. Despite its efforts to foster collaboration and innovation within its membership, Associa eventually ceased operations, with its dissolution attributed to shifts in the market and evolving needs of the industry it served.

Note 2. Sure Start centres were a flagship initiative launched by the Labour government in the early 2000s to support families with young children, particularly in disadvantaged areas. These community-based centres provided integrated services, including childcare, health support, parenting advice, and early education. The program aimed to improve child development, reduce inequalities, and enhance parenting skills by offering accessible, locally tailored resources. By bringing together various services under one roof, Sure Start sought to create a strong foundation for children’s futures, aligning with Labour’s broader agenda of tackling social exclusion and promoting equal opportunities