Filming 22 Makers in 5 Days: Working Fast Without Losing the Film
Some shoots are defined by how much time you have. Others are defined by how little of it you can afford to spend.
A few years ago, I filmed a series of short profiles for Atelier100, an initiative backed by H&M and Ingka Group (IKEA Retail), focused on supporting emerging designers and makers across London. The programme exists to help creatives develop and bring products to market locally, with an emphasis on craft, production and community.
As a London-based filmmaker and videographer, this kind of work often involves adapting quickly to different spaces while maintaining a consistent approach.
The brief was straightforward on paper: capture each maker, their process and their environment in a way that felt considered and coherent as part of a wider series.
In practice, the structure was far more compressed.
Over the course of five days, I filmed 22 makers across London, typically between four and six per day. Each visit lasted around an hour, which meant that everything, from arriving and understanding the space to filming and moving on, had to happen quickly.
That hour had to hold the entire film.
Starting from Zero
Each location came with its own set of variables. Different spaces, different light, different working rhythms.
There was no opportunity to build a setup in advance or plan in detail. The first few minutes were always about reading the space. Understanding where the natural light sat, how the maker moved within it, and what part of their process could be captured in a way that felt both clear and specific.
From there, the decisions had to come quickly.
Building Something Quickly
With limited time, the aim was never to capture everything. It was to identify one or two ideas that could carry the piece.
A simple sequence of actions, a repeatable gesture, or a moment within the process that explained the work without needing to overstate it.
The setup stayed deliberately minimal. At the time I was shooting on the Canon C70, working with a small set of lenses, a gimbal, and a single panel light where needed. The priority was mobility and speed, without losing control of the frame.
The gimbal in particular became a useful tool for establishing both space and movement. It allowed for a quick, fluid profile shot that could anchor each film, even when everything else had to be captured under time pressure.
Once those elements were in place, it was time to move on.
Letting Go of Perfection
Working at that pace inevitably changes how you approach the work.
There isn’t time to refine endlessly or chase an ideal version of every shot. Decisions have to be made quickly, and you have to trust them.
That doesn’t mean lowering the standard. If anything, it forces a clearer understanding of what actually matters within a piece.
In that sense, the constraint becomes useful. It removes the excess and focuses attention on what’s essential.
Consistency Without Repetition
Across the five days, the challenge wasn’t just speed. It was maintaining a sense of consistency across the series without flattening the individuality of each maker.
The solution was to keep the structure simple and let the variation come from the people and their work. Rather than reinventing the approach for each shoot, the framework stayed consistent, allowing the differences in craft, environment and personality to define each film.
What It Comes Down To
Shoots like this aren’t about scale or complexity. They’re about making something coherent within a tight window, without losing the sense that it has been considered.
It’s easy for fast work to feel rushed. The aim here was the opposite. To move quickly, but still arrive at something that felt intentional.
If you’re working on a project that needs to move quickly without losing clarity or intent, feel free to get in touch.
