Internal engagement
across 35,000 acres

Response

Pre production began to scripting, storyboarding and plotting logistics across 35,000 acres.

The scheduling was a key element to the success of the shoots, running over would mean an impact on the budget and the potential loss of contributors. Additionally, the weather across Derbyshire isn’t always reliable, which was an even bigger challenge managing time, travel and equipment.

Filming across 10 locations per day, we had to be light on our feet, this meant we had to carry minimal equipment but still output 4K UHD quality across all films. Each location proved challenging with both lighting and sound, so we prepared for the worst given the fluctuation between interior and exterior shoots, this did mean some extra journey’s across the site, but we allowed for this during pre-production.

We worked with many contributors across the estate who had never been filmed before, so it was our job to form meaningful relationships to get the very best from them, whilst maintaining the story that sat alongside the overall values of the Devonshire Group.

During filming at Chatsworth, it was apparent that we needed to pick up the other estates which fall within the Devonshire Group to create a more inclusive film. We produced similar stories across Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales and Lismore Castle in Ireland that complimented the headline stories at Chatsworth.

Results

During post production, we edited over 40 narratives to create a catalogue of unique internal stories that were easily cascaded around the three estates, to kick off the year and showcase the groups values and new initiatives.

The films were produced, scripted, animated and exported as one file for the Devonshire Group to email and post on the intranet for all colleagues. We then delivered bespoke versions for each of the properties. The overwhelming feedback was positive and the culture of the Group really shone through it’s people and was at the heart of the stories.