So it’s our 10th birthday. Yipee! Pass the champagne!

Ten years ago this week Samantha Dowswell and myself were climbing into my beaten up Escort to drive to Wales for what would be the first leg of a three month long shoot to create the first all British surf film, ‘Made in Britain’. We’d secured a distribution deal with Black Diamond, a Covent Garden based extreme sports video distributor and we had until September 2001 to deliver. It was Dreaming Fish’s first job and little did we know where it would lead…

Ten years on and the world has changed. We were editing Made in Britain when the planes hit the Twin Towers and now they’ve caught bin Laden. Video tape is a thing of the past (or it will be when we sell our old cameras!) and even DVD is old hat. YouTube is the king of online video and corporate films have gone from 15 minutes to 1 minute. But what have we learned in that time?

1. Get a good tripod
Spend a bit of money on your tripod – it will pay you back! I could also say that this is a metaphor for ensuring you have strong foundations on which to build, but that would be a little too deep for so early in the list.

2. Get a good accountant
We were recommended an accountant by a friend when we first set up the company. He’s a partner in a large firm but has been there through the whole journey with us and remains one of our best sources of support and advice. Also he often pays for the drinks when we go out, which is nice!

3. Your network is your strongest asset
Not only is your network your best source of leads but also your strongest source of advice, support and talent. I’ve known our script writer for over 20 years and both our animators for around 15 years. Dreaming Fish wouldn’t be what it is without them and working wouldn’t be half as much fun! Though we do suggest that Greg changes his hair colour. Red is very last year!

4. It’s the little things that make the difference
We’re all about the detail! Not the boring detail (though we’re all over that too!) but the little things that make the difference to the client. Hand delivery on a Sunday night so that a film can be watched on a Monday morning. Deliver two videos instead of one, pre-empting the need for a second edit. Sending cake. That sort of thing.

5. Don’t stop dreaming!
This could also be ‘Set goals’ or ‘Plan’ but they’re boring so let’s stick with dreaming – because after all that’s what we’re about! Dreaming Fish was set-up on a dream and continues to be run in the same way. Behind every dream there is a structured plan and a lot of work of course, but in order to want to do something there needs to be a powerful driver which contains passion and purpose, and it’s this that still drives us today. Out latest dream is to work with Justin Fletcher (aka Mr Tumble). We like him, he’s funny!

6. Keep your promises!
We do what we say we’re going to do when we say we’re going to do it, and we live and die by that! Strong project management and attention to detail means that we ensure that we continue to delight our clients. As a result we have had clients come back again and again (and what’s more they tell others about us too!).

7. Never stop experimenting
Sometimes our most innovative work has come from a scary shot in the dark. “Can we do it? I’m not sure – let’s give it a try!” We developed our animation arm this way and we continue to push the boundaries with international expansion and 3D. It’s this that keeps us excited and coming back for more every day. Involving clients in this can also be a great way to build a relationship.

8. Doing something for nothing can lead to great things
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating giving away the crown jewels, but sometimes you just need to show a client what is possible and what you can do. It can lead to pricing problems down the road if you are not careful, but as long as you stick to your guns and don’t downgrade the service you could end up with a life-long client and with a return that negates the initial outlay. Also as it’s a freebie it’s a chance to have a little fun!

9. It’s all about the package
For us, just offering a video or animation is never enough. We ask the questions, what do you want to do with it? Where will you show it? Do you have an internet channel? Have you considered your audience? If the client needs additional help we are there with it and we back this all up with great customer service.

10. Smile
Finally, and probably most importantly, it’s nice to be nice! We’ve become great friends with some of our clients over the years, and you could argue that it’s because we do what we say we’re going to do, that we have creativity, integrity and are great value for money, but actually we think it’s because we smile. A lot. It’s a much nicer way to do business!

About us

Dreaming Fish is a communications agency specilising in high quality corporate video and custom animation. Based in Surrey, UK we serve London, the South-East and the rest of the country. Follow us on Twitter @DreamingFish or find on Facebook.

Advertisement