People describe New York City in many ways, you can not deny, it is a crazy city. It truly is the city that never sleeps, and I love it. I had always dreamed of living in New York since I was a child and I never thought it would actually become a reality. In September 2019 I got the opportunity to move to New York from the UK with my wife to open and run Synima LLC. As we approach 8 months of being open I wanted to reflect on the journey so far and some of the things I have learnt.

When I first arrived in New York the list of jobs was endless. On a personal level we had to find an apartment in a neighbourhood we liked, try to understand health insurance and figure out the subway system. From a work perspective we had to get the office up and running with equipment, build a trusted team and most importantly figure out the best coffee spots. In the first 8 months we have achieved so much from completing successful shoots in LA, Texas and New York, we have created engaging content on all platforms and grown our team. Here are some of the things that have allowed us to do this:

Matt Wright New York

Being Flexible

Things move very fast here, faster than in the UK so we have had to be flexible and ready to scale up at any time. Being able to adapt and deliver within tight timelines for our clients has been one of our biggest successes so far.

Trusted UK Team

Having the support of our UK team has allowed me to act fast and film in London at a moments notice which is something our Global clients rely on us for. This also allows our quality to be consistent with anything filmed in the USA so that they can be seamlessly joined together in a film for our clients.

Location Location Location

Being able to pop into a client’s office in Midtown Manhattan at short notice has been so important in getting regular face time with clients. We chose to locate ourselves in Dumbo as it is easy and convenient to hop on the subway into Manhattan but also having access to talent in Brooklyn and Manhattan has been so important in allowing us to build a team quickly.

Matt Wright New York

Finding the right talent

One of the most important jobs initially was to build a team and find talented producers, animators, editors and directors of photography who fit into the ‘Synima way’. We have already built a small trusted team and are looking to expand that team as we grow.

The main reason for opening Synima’s office in New York was so that we could better service our global clients and have a local team on the ground to help with all their video and animation needs. While things are a little different right now, having the right infrastructure and team as reflected above has meant we have been able to continue to service our clients through this difficult time.

Matt Wright New York

On a personal note I have been very lucky to have the support of my wife who has made this whole transition very smooth. We both love New York and we can’t wait to introduce our baby girl, who is due in September, to this amazing city. This adventure is only just getting started and I cannot wait to see what the next 8 months holds for us.

To get in touch with Matt:

Email hello@shootyou.com or call +1 646-693-0890