West Northamptonshire Council and the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership needed a hero film to anchor a knife crime awareness campaign. NSVPP’s research indicated that campaigns centred on harsh statistics can unintentionally normalise knife carrying. The stronger lever was empathy, helping young people see the real-world consequences on those left behind. We built the creative around the ripple effect: four interwoven narratives showing how one incident affects parents, siblings, friends, and the wider community. Our objectives were to humanise consequences, reflect the lived reality of local communities, and avoid sensationalism while maintaining emotional weight. With a limited budget and just under a month from green light to delivery, we mobilised quickly to make every decision serve that core message.

Resourcefulness was key from day one. We deployed a compact core crew and relied on our in-house kit to keep quality high and costs lean, while scouting and securing supportive locations willing to host filming to back the cause. Pre-production involved stakeholder workshops with WNC and NSVPP to align on audience, tone and desired behavioural outcomes, followed by script outlines, storyboards and a detailed pre-visualisation to lock the emotional arc and scene flow. With approvals in place, production ran across three consecutive days at five locations to capture four narrative threads. A core crew of three operated a minimal-footprint lighting and camera setup to move quickly without compromising a cinematic look. Coverage blended performance-led scenes, naturalistic b-roll and contextual details to ground the stories, with clients present on set to enable fast approval cycles and sensitive handling of the subject matter.

Post-production began with a rough cut that closely followed the pre-vis, preserving intent and the carefully planned rhythm. From there, we refined narrative clarity to ensure each storyline was distinct yet connected, shaping transitions and emotional cadence to avoid desensitisation and sustain empathy throughout. We collaborated with the client through structured rounds of amends to hone structure, timing and key beats. Finishing included detailed sound design and a balanced mix to heighten realism, alongside a full colour correction and grading treatment to unify locations and guide mood. In addition to the hero film, we produced four platform-ready social cutdowns optimised for Instagram and Snapchat, adapting pacing, openings and framing for attention-first viewing while staying faithful to the campaign’s message.

We’re incredibly proud of this campaign, and even prouder to contribute to work that can positively influence young people. Delivering the entire project from acceptance to completion in under a month was a major achievement for our team, and a challenge we relished.

The final film launched with a press event at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, joined by emergency services and first responders. Their support and feedback reinforced the campaign’s message and the impact it can have across our community.