Videographer Joseph Palmer tells unLTD how he and Daniel Bale founded their ‘diverse and dynamic’ business thanks to Sheffield’s ‘engaging and supportive’ environment
We were inspired to start Open House Pictures by …
Producing a short film in our second year of University. Being movie-lovers from a young age we both decided to try our hand at making our first short film. Over the course of three months we crowdfunded, produced and shot the film and we haven’t looked back since. We both agreed that the next step was setting up a business in the industry.
Our favourite thing about running Open House Pictures is …
Being given the opportunity to be creative and expressive in the work we do. Running a business that requires us to be imaginative and find new exciting ways to engage people is what drives us as a team. Everyone is looking at video content at the minute so finding a way to stand out from the crowd is integral and that’s where we come in.
The three words that best describe Open House Pictures are … Individualistic, diverse and dynamic.
Sheffield City Region is a great place to start Open House Pictures because …
Sheffield is such an engaging and supportive city, having both grown up and lived here our entire lives it really was a no-brainer to start here. There’s an excellent network of support here from the Universities to other free services across the city. Sheffield is becoming more and more known for its independent and collaborative scene and we both wanted to be a part of that in our own way.
Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow Open House Pictures because …
The video production industry is growing. When we first started here, there were some great platforms full of filmmakers across Sheffield. But with the introduction of places like Kollider that are funding their own digital hub, it’s obvious Sheffield is becoming more and more connected with technology like the rest of the UK. Being here at an early stage allows us to best judge the market and so grow along with the video production industry as it progresses.
The best advice we ever got was …
People are always looking for a reason not to use your business. Don’t give them one.
The worst advice we ever got was …
Just wing it. We still don’t understand why anyone in business would have that mindset.
The organisations that have supported Open House Pictures include …
Sheffield Hallam Enterprise Team, Business Sheffield and CADS to name a few.
The main challenges facing our industry/sector are …
Sheffield as a city is still playing catch up with video content as most other large scale cities such as Manchester, Leeds and London have already adapted to using videos as a means of promotion.
In 5 years’ time we expect Open House Pictures to …
Have progressed into a fully self-sufficient business. We’ve just marked off our first year of Open House and for the coming years we are keen to expand our team and develop our business further afield.
