The Weald & Downland Living Museum Film

The Aim

To create a film that not only celebrates the last 50 years of Weald & Downland but celebrates the next 50 years too.

The movie will speak to the volunteers, the specialists, the conservationists, the investors, the pioneers and the passionate alike. We wanted to tell a story of the people and the place that has a clear future-focussed feel and message to end on. It’s about where we have been, but also about where we are going. The series of short films will have a strong future focus message that juxtaposes the past with the present and the future. This is the red thread.

We elevated the film by using Christopher Timothy as the voiceover, most known for his role as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small, Doctors and Eastenders. Christopher is an ambassador for the musuem, and his smooth dulcit Welsh tones are an easy listen that help further communicate the importance of the living museum.

The Result

We spent a lot of time at the Weald & Downland Museum to fully understand exactly what makes it tick, and how important its preservation is. This time was invaluable for us to capture the footage we did, the beauty was in the detail, the nuances and the story. We could see things that people working there for 20 years missed, and it was this level of detail that was so important for the project to be a success. It was never about the obvious and the ‘things’ in front of us.

The film was a huge success, bringing a tear to the hard-working members of the museum team on their 50-year fundraising launch party. Used as their primary marketing tool, the movie is played on screens throughout the museum and alongside shorter social edits that can be seen on their social media.