In the beginning…
“We seem to have spent our whole lives becoming an overnight sensation!”
Synima was established in 2000 when our two founders Quint Boa and Matt Giles (who at the time were BBC Top of the Pops cameramen), saw a gap in the market for affordable corporate video. The breakthrough moment had come when Sony Mini DV cameras became readily available and affordable. At £3,000 they were a mere snip compared to the £30,000 Beta Cameras that they were used to carrying around. “Our humble origin story began with the ability of computers to edit video, and the dawn of a high speed internet” explains Quint, “This tech combo meant companies could not only produce video as a communications tool. But once produced, there were no punitive video duplication costs as any content was free to air via the net”. So that was it, the seed was sown and Synima had begun.
Next step, win some clients
Having established a name and a mission, the next step was to grow a client roster. With the help of Alex Kyrou, we designed a flash-based website and began to produce debrief videos for field marketing agencies. “We’d film their promotional campaigns nationally” continues Quint “and through them we got to grow our network, both with PR companies and the brands they worked with.”
As time went on, so too did the routes to market. In 2000 a new company with the odd name of Google had launched ‘Google Ads’. In 2002 Synima began its first ever PPC campaign spending a now rather favourable, 20p CPC!
The nascent but promising idea of ‘online video’ took a huge personal leap forward with the launch of Facebook (2004). And with YouTube (2005): a company even could have its own channel. All of these breath taking channel advances were consolidated by the launch of an entirely new platform, the iPhone (2007). Now access to online video wasn’t even a click away, it was in every person’s pocket. Then the iPhone spawned UGC which was spread by a host of new social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram etc). ‘it’s funny, Synima still has this ‘start-up/can-do / dawn of cyberspace’ mentality, but we’re older than all of the internet giants’ Quint mused.
As business grew, so too did the team
As the client book started to fill it became apparent that Quint and Matt would need support and so in 2005 Duncan Shinn and Jon Draper joined and a tight knit team began to coalesce around them. “Brilliant, wonderful, creative guys who not only edited video but also brought a knowledge of animation which was just starting to become an interesting new avenue.” Quint explains. At around this time, Synima also began its now long-established relationship within the financial sector, winning the support of a world leading business which we are now proud to call one of our oldest clients.
There’s no place like home
Over time, more staff were brought onboard to fulfil productions and the need for an established premise near London became clear. “Our attention was brought to a hidden row of derelict buildings in Addlestone, of which one had come up for sale” says Quint. ‘Right by the M25, and just 5 train stops from Waterloo. So, we purchased one building (£35K), connected it to electricity, threw down a tonne of pea shingle, and named the alley ‘Victory Park Mews’. With a bit of TLC, a newly registered Post Code and a huge team effort, it was converted into beautiful office space. Since then the remaining three buildings have also been snapped up and knocked through to create the quirky head office we know and love today.
Relationships are everything.
“Throughout our journey client relationships have been key.” says Quint. Their show of solidarity through tricky periods such as the crash of 2008 have enabled us to continue to grow and to pivot into new areas of opportunity. Their demands have ensured we keep pushing ourselves forward and together, we’ve created the award winning productions that makes us who we are today.
We are family
Along the way Synima has been fortunate to employ some incredible people. “In the last two years alone we’ve more than doubled our workforce” explains Quint “yes, employing editors and animators as PAYE is expensive in terms of payroll but it ensures job security for them, makes for an ‘esprit de corps’, and guarantees business continuity for our clients. They’re the brightest and the best (thank you, Farnham UCA!) and Charlotte our resilient ‘Head of Production’ works hard to create a working environment and ensure a lifestyle that everyone can enjoy. Our staff are the reason clients come to us and ultimately why they wish to continue a relationship, so we are very thankful for the whole team”
What next?
The future for Synima is exciting. We’ve expanded globally, last year opening an office in New York, headed up by Matt Wright and in January opened our first (Brexit proof) European office in Amsterdam. We’ve doubled down our investment in our animation department and continue to explore the possibilities of VR and AR.
As Quint himself says, “We’re no longer ‘just’ a production company. We’re strategic partners to a dozen Fortune 500 brands. The tech changes continually, it’s our responsibility to surf the bleeding edge of what’s possible and keep our client appraised of what’s new. In doing so we never lose sight of where we’ve come from, who we are and the trajectory we’re on’.
We’d love for you to be with us on the next stage of our journey. To find out more about Synima and the work we do email hello@shootyou.co.uk
