Blog

A Secret weapon for Health & Safety compliance

I create a large amount of training films and content, and one of the biggest barriers to getting the content I need is maintaing my personal safety. I also need to comply with the multitude of policies and restrictions that companies have in place. Because the sub 250g class of drones are now at a... Read More...
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COVD-19 challenges for videography.

Of course video is the obvious “safe-distance” method of reaching people, as ZOOM and Teams have shown – and never was there a greater need for video training material now so many people are home based The problem is keeping everyone involved in the filming safe and apart during this pandemic. If you don’t believe... Read More...
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2020 and moving forward…

Although I’ve been involved in media production for over 25 years, the rate of change still amazes me. My niece and nephew are blissfully unaware of the incredible exponential leaps technology has made over the last 50 years to where the phone they hold in their hand has many times the power that the early... Read More...
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2019 – Where are we now?

It’s been an amazing journey so far in terms of skill set and direction. I remember when first starting Big Ant, I had a clear goal of creating short films with strong narrative – and which were centered around people rather than special effects. However life is rarely that straight forward, and if you keep... Read More...
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2016 and beyond…

2015 went by in the blink of an eye. I had always planned on blogging regularly but business has been both exciting and incredibly busy and so blogging was one of the things that disappeared. I don’t believe in doing anything for the sake of it, so unless there is something worthwhile to say I... Read More...
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Gearing up for a busy 2015

We hit the ground running after Christmas – we were half hoping for a slow-down to allow us to re-assess how to make our workflow more efficient, but it’s only been the last 2 days that have allowed that. One area that has developed considerably is creating 3D elements and compositing. Although our original machine... Read More...
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The challenges of languages and a fading ‘O’ Level German…

We had a call from the awesome guys at Unify about creating some more tutorials. The previous OpenScape videos had been a real success, so Unify in Germany wanted to create a set too. Michael from Unify Germany was a real star and made my life very easy by being fluent in the product, and... Read More...
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Efficient Software Demonstrations for Unify

We got a call from Sally at Unify asking us how many product demos we could film in a day for a tight deadline. These videos were to be hosted on their YouTube channel, and also needed to include an ending sequence that had video links to all the other tutorials. Ever the optimists, we... Read More...
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Filming for pleasure!

After an incredibly busy year we made sure that we had a few days off over Christmas and the New Year. We had planned to hole ourselves up and just eat and drink / hibernate, but because of the mild weather the urge to get out and do something overtook us. On our doorstep is... Read More...
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#HarmonizeNow – the birth of Unify

Things are crazy at the moment for Big Ant. A big project for M&S, videos for Marketing Derby, The Irongate Group, Optimise Accountants, a large project in completion with Winvic, a promo video for GB Bobsleigh, CGI demos for Tippers and Gen-3… well, you get the picture… Then the phone rings, and Tim from Siemens... Read More...
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Sprint & Push training with Team GB and Big Ant (no really!)

Back at Loughborough University today for our final day with Team GB Bobsleigh’s training camp. We’ve had an amazing few days meeting the Athletes and filming their efforts in their quest to be world No1 in Bobsleigh. To understand the explosive energy needed to propel a heavy 4 man bobsleigh to maximum speed, Big Ant... Read More...
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Gym Monsters!

We’ve been lucky enough to have been invited down to Loughborough University for 2 days to film the British Bobsleigh Team preparing for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics . Now bear in mind that these guys at the moment are just conditioning training for when they go onto the big heavy, strength training. Imagine lifting... Read More...
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Flashmob time with Siemens Enterprise Communications!

We had a call from Siemens Enterprise Communications to go down to London and film their Flashmob that was linked to their #AmplifyTeams initiative. It was very short notice, and the request was for a single camera, but us being us, we decided to bundle in a couple of others to capture audience reaction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MirMRWhkS1c... Read More...
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Videos for Exhibitions – Aganto Ltd

Aganto had been wanting to complete a timelapse of the build process of one of their temporary buildings, but the weather and the build schedule never co-incided!  Welcome to Great Britain… Because they had plenty of decent photographs, we decided to create the building layer by layer in After Effects, and then use the photos... Read More...
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#AmplifyTEAMS Event at Siemens Enterprise Communications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjmc-GZGlmY We had the pleasure of working with Siemens Enterprise Communications, earlier this month at their Milton Keynes office during the launch of the Amplify Teams initiative which focuses on the disparate, disconnected communication tools we all use and how these have developed into a fragmented mess! Even as an SME, BigAnt Video sometimes struggles... Read More...
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Big Ant, Big Ben, and the London Eye!

We recently went to London to film some major landmarks for a client in Derby. One of the commissions was the beautiful Battle of Britain Sculpture by the Thames by amazing artist Paul Day. These sculptures have to be filmed as it’s only when you track around the sculpture that you appreciate the way the... Read More...
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Big Ant and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – The Conclusion

We first met Gary Anderson from Team GB Bobsleigh when filming in Bath back in October 2010. Gary expressed an interest back then about having a video made to promote Bobsleigh in the UK. We stayed in touch via email and Twitter and then had a meeting almost 2 years to the day at HIPAC... Read More...
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Big Ant and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 5

The weather this morning was better than yesterday – very misty on occasion, but quick to clear. No more rain, and the guys at the track had done a great job getting the ice smooth again. Early reports from the Skeleton racers confirmed that the ice was smooth and fast. The warm up was tricky... Read More...
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BigAnt and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 4 Part 2

Well lunch time came and along with it torrential rain – not good news for the guys racing this afternoon. We made our way up to the start of the track where all the teams assemble to prep the sleds before the inspection pre racing. Once the sleds have been checked for runner size and... Read More...
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BigAnt and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 4 Part 1

Definitely warmer to day – all the snow has melted off of the village roof tops and the biting wind seems to have dropped for the moment, although there is a mist rolling in from the West. We had a leisurely breakfast this morning, enjoying the traditional continental spread laid out by the lovely Sporthotel... Read More...
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BigAnt and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 3 Part 2

The previous day the mens junior team had been up early to tune the sleds. Olly fine tuned the steering on the sled in the morning whilst the Will and the other lads checked runners and added the little components that make all the difference. Today, with the sun out and the temperature rising this... Read More...
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BigAnt and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 3 Part 1

The weather has warmed up slightly today, it’s 0 degrees, but there is no sun and a stiff breeze so feels a little cooler. This morning we headed into Innsbruck itself to capture some of the beautiful scenery in and around the town, and soak up some of the Christmas Market atmosphere. The new Manfrotto... Read More...
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Big Ant and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 2

A beautiful day in Austria – brilliant sun and a crisp -6 degrees C! Start of the JWC competition today with Mica McNeill and Nikki McSweeney are drawn off 3rd at 14:00 local time here in Igls. The girls had a good practice session yesterday and hopes are high for the competition today. We’ll have... Read More...
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Big Ant and the British Bobsleigh Team in Innsbruck – Day 1

An early start at 5am saw a really cold and very frosty morning. Heathrow Airport were cancelling flights due to freezing fog, so fingers were crossed that it would stay warm enough down at Gatwick for us to fly. Luck stayed with us and we took off on time for an uneventful flight into Innsbruck... Read More...
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Simon Smith, Tippers and Big Ant Video

Just had a great weekend filming the fabulous Simon Smith at the equally fabulous Tippers Builders Merchants in Lichfield. Tippers staged a Christmas market, with Simon demonstrating his amazing skills using the Rangemaster Induction cookers. The audience got to see in fantastic detail everything Simon did, picking up tips and tricks from one of the... Read More...
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Bobsleigh Futures Programme – get a gold at 90mph!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU18JFjvAzY Big Ant were delighted to be asked by the Bobsleigh Futures Programme to come up with a short promo that integrated footage taken on an iPad, footage from competitions, and some footage we filmed last year at the Bath push track, and get across a message to young teenagers about the upcoming search to... Read More...
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Preparing for Sochi – Big Ant Video and the British Bobsleigh Team

Proud and pleased to be a Performance Partner for the British Bobsleigh Team. We have been asked to make a documentary that captures the struggle and triumph of the team as they follow the road to Sochi 2014, and also use our cameras to help the team analyse and fine tune their performance. All the... Read More...
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Dent in Cumbria

It’s been a long while since we’ve had a holiday in the UK and had completely forgotten how much amazing scenery, good food and accommodation is available right here in good old blighty! We had booked a “get away from it all” cottage in a tiny hamlet called Gawthrop in the beautiful Dentdale A spectacular... Read More...
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Marks & Spencer at Castle Donington and Big Ant Video

We had a tight deadline request from M&S for an event where they were celebrating the progress they had made with their incredible distribution centre in Castle Donington. With only 5 days (including the weekend!) we had to come up with a design, convert and embed miles of timelapse, film in the warehouse, and then... Read More...
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Christmas is on it’s way!

I know it’s only August, and most of us are thinking of sunshine and beaches, but one of our forward thinking Clients has already has their Christmas video card filmed! It may seem a tad early to be filming for December, but last year we struggled to get all our Clients filmed and edited in... Read More...
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The Tattershall Park country pub in Lincoln

Recently completed another virtual tour of one of Mike Staniforths wonderful pub/restaurants. The Tattershall Park has received a ?500,000 refurbishment, and it has resulted in one of the most stylish and well designed country pubs we have personally ever seen. The breadth of detail and thought gone into the design is amazing, and as ever... Read More...
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The Hunting Lodge in Barrow Upon Soar – great food and stylish accomodation.

Had a fantastic day at the Hunting Lodge in Barrow Upon Soar – one of the many pubs owned and run by Mike Staniforth of Probably a pub company. All the pubs in his care have exceptional attention to detail, great food, and really helpful staff. We have eaten at three of the outlets and... Read More...
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1,000,000 man hours and no accidents!

We’ve been working with QSC Health and Safety, based in Derby for a while and have been impressed with the organisation, knowledge and passion that these guys have. YES! passion for Health and Safety! When you are contracted to work for Jaguar Land Rover as their principle H&S providers, you need to know what you... Read More...
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Mackney Photography Makeover and Sheila from Big Ant Video

Steve is our normal blogger, but this time you’ve got me – Sheila! Back in April as a birthday present I was given a voucher for a make over with Simon Mackney from Mackney Photography in Darley Abbey Mills. I had met Simon before and knew of his work both by seeing it and by... Read More...
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Sapphire Events, Hills Motors, Liverpool Football Club, JCB and Big Ant Video

We were approached by Sapphire Events to cover a two day event, so off we set last Friday in the pouring rain to Liverpool and Hills Salvage and Recycling Ltd,? one the UK’s leading vehicle dismantling and recycling specialists, where part of the event was being held on behalf of Round Table International and two... Read More...
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Working with Motor Plus Motorhomes in Derby – dealers for Elddis, Mercedes and Auto-Sleepers

We’ve had a lot of fun filming with Motor Plus Motorhomes in the heart of Derby. We met first with John, Brian and Tim and decided that their video requirements were quite complex: They wanted an online introduction to their range of Autosleepers and Elddis motorhomes, but also wanted the personalities of the business to... Read More...
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Marks and Spencer at Castle Donnington

Had a great day filming at the amazing new distribution centre for Marks and Spencer at Castle Donnington. This is a crazy place – almost 1 million square feet, and racking and machines 100ft high. It feels like a Sci-Fi set; hard to believe it is retail! The actual building is half a mile long.... Read More...
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High Growth Academy and Big Ant Video

Had a great afternoon filming Stuart Ross for High Growth Academy. The High Growth Academy works with the most ambitious and fastest growing companies across the world providing the skills, knowledge and discipline to achieve and sustain high growth. The real strength of the academy is that the knowledge is delivered online and through tailored... Read More...
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Sign & Digital 2012 and Big Ant Video

Went to the Sign and Digital Show at the NEC in Birmingham today. We had created an HD video display for Digital Print Innovations based in Pride Park in Derby, and were curious to see how many other companies would be interested in videos on their stands. Whilst there were quite a few video displays,... Read More...
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Penny Power – Digital Youth Academy, Theo Paphitis and Big Ant.

With the Big Ant mobile loaded up, I set off to Wimbledon to assist Penny Power (co-founder of Ecademy) and her daughter Hannah, capture an interview on behalf of Digital Youth Academy with Theo Paphitis. Digital Youth Academy’s aim is to bring together two groups of people in an initiative which will combine skills to... Read More...
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Big Ant, Actus and Advance Change

What a great day! Beautiful sunshine, hospitable clients, and even wine gums and Magnum ice-creams. It doesn’t get much better than this! Lucinda Carney from Advance Change and Actus Performance Appraisal Systems was the perfect host as well as being an extremely capable and engaging presenter. Together with the amazing Gordan (you KNOW when you’ve... Read More...
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Big Ant Video celebrates the start of Spring!

Looked out the window yesterday and saw our Crocusses open to the sun. They looked so beautiful we thought we would rifle through some of our old footage, combine it with the new, and create a mini film. Inspired by Korean cinema and Kar Wai Wong, we also created a minimal cello/piano and strings composition... Read More...
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BigAnt team up with QSC at Jaguar Land Rover Solihull

When QSC Health and Safety Consultants of Derby, approached BigAnt about making a Health and Safety (H&S) video for them at Jaguar Land Rover we knew that it would be a big site. We arrived in Solihull and were shown to the area were were filming in – this is the size of 18 football... Read More...
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Working with Payne Worldwide in Cardiff

It was a bit nippy on Wednesday at 6.30am when we set out for Cardiff – the car thermostat was showing -2, but at least we didn’t have the snow that had been predicted. Fairly tedious motorway journey most of the way, but improved hugely once we got into Wales and saw some very tempting... Read More...
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Big Ant at Marble Arch with AstarCloud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOpkwnZlss Big Ant were priviliged to be asked by AstarCloud to film a company profile, to be shown at Cloud Expo Europe at Olympia, and also to be shown on their YouTube channel. AstarCloud knew what they wanted; their staff to participate, but be filmed in such a way that would allow them to appear... Read More...
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BigAnt go Clubbing!

Anyone that knows us would think – Steve and Sheila CLUBBING!? Don’t worry we haven’t discovered that we like raving and all nighters! You will remember Joe Oakley – he reached the semi finals last year of Britain’s Got Talent with his amazing trials bike display. BigAnt were asked by Joe’s management team if we... Read More...
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A BIG Christmas Thank You to all our Clients!

Well, 2011 is drawing to a close and it’s been a fabulous year for BigAnt Video. We’ve gone from strength to strength, by perfecting our craft, and building our customer base as well as having a lot of fun on the way. We’ve had the pleasure of videoing and producing some amazing projects and working... Read More...
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Filming for Julian Smith of the Alternative Board

Had a great morning filming Julian Smith and a group of potential members enjoying a tasting event. Julian wanted the video to show people what they could expect at such an event, and that it is a relaxed and enjoyable process where you can share ideas and learn methods of improving your business. Check out... Read More...
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Helping Mark Campbell Motors and SsangYong launch the Korando.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIMj268Njyk Had a great few days working with Mark at Mark Campbell Motors in Breaston launch the SsangYong Korando. This is an awesome car – 4WD crossover, every conceivable gadget wrapped in Italian style, and built to a ridiculous price – check out Marks page to see more. We designed a quick video designed to... Read More...
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Flint Bishop LLP team up with Big Ant to add value to their clients.

Had a motivational week this week – working with Flint Bishop LLP has been awesome. What a great group of people; energetic, dynamic, and they really really know their stuff. The series of videos will be solid gold for those of us who have little knowledge about the workings of the law, and the best... Read More...
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Big Ant, ECS and Sapphire Events company launch film premiere

What a fantastic night! Big Ant teamed up with Sapphire Events and ECS to create the official launch of ECS at the Alea Casino in Nottingham. Big Ant created 3 themed films designed to compliment the Hollywood feel of the launch. With the support of David Ryley, Graham Dolling, Stuart Ross and Lavinia Pavis, we... Read More...
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Big Ant, ECS and Sapphire Events film stills

A selection of stills from the 3 films we created for the launch of ECS. Click here for more details of the event...
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New Matte Box for the NXCAM

Got our new matte box for the Sony NXCAM today – was a good price and it’s great to see it’s all metal and carbon fibre – fits really well with lots of adjustuble gubbins, and also came with a really cool handle that doubles as an accessory mount; see microphone and monitor. Very pleased...
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Plum Soles and Wolverine Beer and Boots night captured by Big Ant Video

The beers were chillin, the records were cued up and people were hammering on the door to get in – see what all the excitement was about by watching the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLFcTToZDI A great evening with Carl Hill and the gang from Plum Soles along with Nathan and Rob from Wolverine Boots also on hand... Read More...
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ECS LLP, Sapphire Events and Big Ant Video

Big Ant have had a great time recently creating 3 short films, each in the style of a famous movie. We’ve had to re-create some of the camera work, develop CGI, lots of chroma-key work, and custom sound tracks – from orchestral to rock. Tons of work, loads of logistics to handle, but we’ve had... Read More...
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PPS Ltd – professional stainless steel polishers based in the West Midlands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uih2obvWi-Y Ever wondered how the steel in lifts got so polished and smooth, or how your pub tables got their beautiful circular patterns? No? Well neither had we until back in July with met with Kirsty and Peter from PPS Ltd in Smethwick, West Midlands. Their commitment to producing the best finishes to steel is... Read More...
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Big Ant join the Pub Trade!

Big Ant Video have teamed up with Probably a pub company to create virtual tours of these quality establishments. We cover everything from the facilities to the food, and try to give a real flavour of why this particular chain is so special. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsl0CjTn1zc Mike, Adrian and Derek are great guys to work with; reactive,... Read More...
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We love our job!

Great day filming some fab people. Didn’t realise how fun it could be talking about streamlining the NHS! Big shout out to Geoff, Lina from and Nigel for making our job so easy!...
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East Midlands HIEC

Big Ant are currently filming for the East Midlands HIEC. HIEC stands for Health Innovation and Education Cluster, and they are tasked with looking at different aspects of patient care, and coming up with new ways to focus resources, and streamline/document processes so they can be repeated reliably and consistently. It has been a real... Read More...
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Use Video to answer common questions from Clients

Video touches multiple senses and has a big impact delivering a solid punch that mobilizes viewers to take action. We are visual animals. People get to see, hear, and most importantly feel your companies’ presence. We know that people do business with people they like. We make very rapid judgments and decide within seconds whether... Read More...
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5 ways to make your video count!

Leave a Comment Online video marketing may be one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website because people prefer watching videos to listening to audios or reading text. Using inexpensive technology, you can easily create your own home video and upload it to share with others on a video sharing site like... Read More...
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Hourlier Wines tasting at the Quad in Derby

We attended a great wine tasting held by our good friends and business colleagues Jean Pierre Hourlier and Chris Michael. Great variety and selection of Reds, Whites and Rose, with some real surprises. We discovered 2 whites and 2 reds that will now be on our permanent list, and we also discovered how a lable... Read More...
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Video Testimonials

Ever noticed that you close more sales when you’ve been recommended by one of your clients? How believable is a written sentence boldly stating how great you are? Imagine hearing your clients describe the benefits of your product or service on your behalf. We all understand the power of testimonials in business, but using video... Read More...
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5 ways to increase your SEO with video

1. Prepare a unique concept for your video. Don’t make it apparent that you’re promoting your website or your products. Think of a theme that will be entertaining, informative, and practical for most users. Naturally, your video’s concept should also be relevant to your target or to the products that you are marketing. You only... Read More...
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Video Stings

If you want a very cost effective way of stamping your brand onto your video products, then consider a video sting. We charge an hourly rate to come up with a design, so this works very much in your favour. We also like the ‘simple is best’ approach. Ultimately it’s not there to impress people... Read More...
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Series of illustrative videos completed for Inspirative Arts

Inspirative Arts is an organisation run by co-founders Tracey Cullen and Sarah Paine. It uses the arts to provide therapy for all types of people. Dance, Art, Drama and Music all play vital parts in getting people to examine and analyse how they interact with one another, and to understand why problems arise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXxacNXh-2I Big... Read More...
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Video Testimonials

How do BigAnt Video get your Clients working 365 days a year for you? By producing HD quality Video Testimonials. Ever noticed that you close more sales when you’ve been recommended by one of your clients? Imagine hearing your clients describe the benefits of your product or service on your behalf. We all understand the... Read More...
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Royal Wedding mug gets royal treatment!

Mark Campbell Motors of Breaston commissioned a Royal Wedding mug from Debra Yates of Vivid Creative. She used various car parts including seatbelts and exhausts, to form a royal crest, and the words within were the tongue in cheek phrase ‘The Worlds largest car dealership in Breaston”. We felt morally compelled to film it, and... Read More...
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FiveLamps films triumph again at The Quad in Derby

Had a really great evening at the FiveLamps film night held at the Quad in Derby. Carl and Sam held it all together despite a rogue laptop, and there was some really inventive films shown. Big Ant also had their mini documentary on the big screen, and many thanks for the feedback we received. The... Read More...
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Spinrite saves the day….again!

Here at BigAnt we are very keen on backups, so we never lose client work. However on some of our rendering machines we don’t have a ghost image. It’s something we know we should do, but at the moment we are incredibly busy, and it never seems like a priority (stupid I know!). One machine... Read More...
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A short film about Alysn Midgelow-Marsden; textiles artist.

We have just finished a short film about a local artist. Alysn is an artist who works primarily in copper, bronze, stainless steel and pewter metal shims and woven metal fabrics; often altering the original surface by burnishing, texturing, printing, patterning and patinating. The results vary from subtle to spectacular, and she was ideal material(!)... Read More...
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Lawn3 Derby and Big Ant Video

Started a series of 6 videos for Steve Monk of Lawn3 Derby. These will consist of an introduction to his company, and also a set of training videos. Steve is passionate and knowledgeable about lawn care, and has a very impressive client list to back that up. We are really pleased that he wanted to... Read More...
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Great networking event at the Quad – Hatch’d Out

Went to the Hatch’d networking event at the Quad in Derby this evening. Hatch’d is run by Holly Booth and a fantastic team consisting of Sharon Stevens Cash, Chris Seddon, Samantha Eynon, Pete Salter, Katherine Cory, Ash Bird and Debbie Longridge. Really appreciate everyone making us feel very welcome – and met some very interesting... Read More...
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Five Lamps films free film night at the Quad, Derby

Five Lamps Films hosted an evening of short films at The Quad in Derby. Carl and Sam were ace hosts, and played off each other very well. There was also a really good turn out, with people having to stand because all the tables were taken. Really worth a visit, not least to get some... Read More...
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Naked i and Big Ant Video

**UPDATE** Video will be showing this weekend at The Beetroot Tree art gallery in Draycott. www.thebeetroottree.com Had a really creative video shoot last night with Debra Yates – a very talented artist and graphic designer. In Debra’s words: ?NAKED i? is an ambient exhibition that introspectively examines the fragility of the human body and considers... Read More...
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Reuge Music Box

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE_d0br9WKE This beautiful music box made by the Swiss company Reuge has a 72 note comb, and is played via a barrel. The cabinet is beautiful wood inlay, and it sounds gorgeous!...
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Soundtrack to short film

Working hard on a new soundtrack to a short film. Watch this space…...
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Video Testimonials

Ever noticed that you close more sales when you’ve been recommended by one of your clients? How believable is a written sentence boldly stating how great you are? Imagine hearing your clients describe the benefits of your product or service on your behalf. We all understand the power of testimonials in business, but using video... Read More...
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St Wystans School Repton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfLFCfvBPaQ We had a a great day at St Wystans School in Repton when shooting a video for Best of Derby. The children were as excited as we were and had a lot of fun queuing up in the playground to try the jib out. The school itself is a delight and all the children... Read More...
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Creative Garden event in Derby at the University of Derby Corporate (UDC)

Had great fun today at the Creative Garden event. Loads of talented creative businesses all under one roof. We shared space with Inspiritive Arts, Katherine Cory, Martin Broadhurst, The Snug Recording Co, and Benjamin Talbot. Met up again with our good friends Claudio and the guys from Black Apricot, Pam and Damian from Best of... Read More...
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Old Technology…

My first laptop. Used this one to record Pictures of Japan. …Hold your breath for the spec: 486 processor at 33Mhz 4MB RAM 16K mono graphics – not even sure it knew what graphics were, but it was fine for text. A whopping 128MB – yes MB Hard drive. That’s enough to store 4.2 seconds... Read More...
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Filming at St Wystans School in Repton, Derbyshire

Had a really fun day over at St Wystans in Repton. They are an Independent school catering for children from 2 ? to 11, having recently celebrated 80 years of excellence in education. The children were very excited and you can see from the photos there was a long queue to try out the jib.... Read More...
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BNI Big Breakfast

Great networking event this morning – early start though! Setting up at 6am, coffee and danish, but wow! Met some great people, loads of interest in our stand, and some great leads and sales. Really productive, and a real buzz! The new hybrid Pixel8Creative / Big Ant Video stand really stood out, yet was amazingly... Read More...
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Composing soundtrack for corporate client

Hard at work creating music to underpin a short film commissioned by a corporate client. Interesting as it can’t be too quirky or intrusive otherwise it will take over from the narrative, but equally we don’t want it to be too vanilla and bland. I must drink more coffee…...
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Video Benefits

What are the benefits of having video on your website? It’s quick with minimum disruption to business – we can arrive shoot and leave in 2 hours for a 2 minute video. Lower costs than traditional advertising or marketing, with better results – remember – 700 billion videos viewed last year! It makes money –... Read More...
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Every day is a school day

Phew! We are excited, exhilarated and exhausted! We’ve had a fabulous day with Patrick Welsh who offers mentoring and marketing services. Patrick has helped discover how to use our marketing more strategically and cost-effectively. We’ve been through everything we do, identified an action plan and now have to put it into practise. We have 13... Read More...
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Big Ant Video captured by Mackney Photography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMpvDFgJ22M&ap=%2526fmt%3D18 Simon from Mackney Photography ( http://mackney.com/ ) is the preferred photographer for Best of Derby ( http://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/derby ) and was asked by them to photograph us for their website. We are also working with Best of Derby to provide the vital video element for their advertisers. It was a really enjoyable afternoon, and was... Read More...
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Great Week

Busy Busy Busy! Great week so far – lots of filming, lots of editing, new kit arrived and an appointment with a dream Client on Friday! It’s all Good!...
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New Kit

New kit arrived today! Now gets to sit by the side of our Sachtler and Velbon. Happy families!...
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Green screen in the comfort of your own home!

Filmed a very busy client today who hadn’t got time to attend a studio shoot, so popped round in the evening to their house and quickly got the shot we needed to insert into the production. We were in and out in 1.5 hours...
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Big Ant Video logo sting

Just finished the new logo sting designed to appear out of the black on a fade out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwNbvjtRQtQ...
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Video Logos

Creating a great animated logo for a client. Real footage (no 3d) to be imported into our editing process and then effects applied. Fun and games! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCGjiV05L0...
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Filming at the Beetroot Tree art gallery

Beautiful art gallery in Draycott, Derbyshire. Home to numerous artists and collections. Really recommend a visit to the cafe too; great food, strong coffee; can’t fault it! The Beetroot Tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIE0308kPO4...
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Dave Smith – Bobsleigh techniques and tips.

Dave talks us through why everything is in the start with a Bobsleigh event. http://vimeo.com/17779605...
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Big Ant in Action

Big thanks to Simon from Mackney Photography for the ace photos...
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Erewash Partnership Winter Networking Event

WOW! What a day – BNI Two Valleys at 6am and then straight over to The Arena Ilkeston for The Erewash Parnership Winter Networking Event. We set up our display, which was very kindly loaned to us by Pixel8 Creative. We were impressed with how easy it was to assemble the display for the 1st... Read More...
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Latest Olympic news!

Check out Dave Smiths youTube channel for news and interviews on his progress towards the 2014 winter Olympics. Please please subscribe to his channel; the more visibility, the greater his chance of gaining sponsorship! Dave Smiths youTube channel...
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Big Ant Video and Dave Smith Team GB Bobsleigh

What a day! Woke up to deep snow and an appointment at BBC Radio Derby at 8:00am. Left at 7:00am and arrived in the car park at 07:45 after a slippy journey into Derby. Dave Smith Team GB Bobsleigh arrived shortly after, and we soon had the bobsleigh unloaded and ready. Phil Trow from BBC... Read More...
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Filming at Pierre-Hourlier Wines

Just completed filming footage for a customer testimonial for a FTSE100 company. Pierre-Hourlier Wines are a user of their services, and kindly agreed to be filmed to promote new services offered. A big thank you to Jean-Pierre and the family for their hospitality, and great wine samples!...
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Adding that human touch!

It is hard to convey sincerity through words alone, so for a very competitive price, we can film a short clip that blends in with your site, and provides the human connection a website often lacks. We are not looking for a perfect performance – in fact often this is not a good idea due... Read More...
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Mark Campbell Motors WebTV

Mark Campbell Motors video channel is now live. Here Mark gets introduce you to why his selection of cars is so effective in providing a first class car for you, and also the importance of servicing your car...
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Big Ant win Best Audio Visual Award

Big thanks to Business on Toast for the award for Best Audio Visual we were presented with last night. It was a great meeting with a real buzz! Thanks also to Yvonne from ASAP for making it so much fun, and to Chris from Cactus Images for being everywhere, but never in the way!...
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Plumbing Merchant Video

Putting together a promotional video for a plumbing merchants. Green screening the owners, and then letting them add a commentary. Watch this space…...
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Exhibitions – how to stand out!

Big ant video are proud to announce that they will be working closely with Pixel8 Creative. Please check out our page on Exhibitions to find out more…...
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Video is King

Even if you check figures from December 2009, over 178 million people watched 33.2 billion videos…. Here’s a breakdown of the situation back then: Total audience – 33,242,835,000 Google sites: 13bn plus Hulu: 1BN plus Microsoft sites: 0.5 BN Fox interactive media: 0.5 BN Yahoo! Sites: 0.5 BN Viacom Digital: 0.37 BN Turner Network: 0.35... Read More...
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Improving your www ranking.

Search engines are designed to notice when someone plays a video that you have posted. Because quality videos are so efficient at sustaining interest, and holding someone on your page for a longer time, search engines assign the page with the video a higher ‘stickiness’ rating, raising the overall ‘interest quotient’ that search engines give... Read More...
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Victorian Model Workshop video

Just finished a short video to showcase the amazing products hand built by Chris and Angela.  They are based in the fantastic Ferrers Centre for Arts & Crafts, Staunton Harold, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. LE65 1RU. http://www.modelworkshop.co.uk/...
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BT Local Businesses

Working on a sequence of Sales Training videos in conjunction with IPDL and BT Local Businesses.  Big thank you to BT for making us so welcome, and for their support throughout the filming...
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