The Story Design Agency
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Sprezzatura Motherlode Why Motherlode? Animation Branding Branding Principles Film Renegade Economist Talk Show Four Horseman Editorial Services Contact
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Sprezzatura (sprez-za-tura),
noun [mass noun].
An archaic Italian word for being able to do your craft without a lot of visible effort. It’s a combination of elan, grace and class.
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At the Motherlode studio we are passionate about the art of storytelling, the future of business and the execution of broadcast ideas. We use our technical capabilities and knowledge of the wider economy to help clients understand their context and positioning during the age of disruption. We work with clients to find intelligent ways of presenting their business, authentic story and sponsored content.
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ML Motherlode
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THE STORY DESIGN DESIGN AGENCY
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WM Why Motherlode? Customers buy stories before they buy products. Now that filmmaking is so accessible - story and the ability to emote have never been more important. Our job is to find the only thing that will sell your product or business - your authentic story. We create products to facilitate an ongoing conversation between you, your customers and new markets. Film and animation communicate what your organisation does and the style in which you do it. We differ because we find the science of story fascinating. We’re fanatical about doing the ground work to get the story right – only then do we begin to shoot the film or create the content. Our backgrounds allow us to combine technical knowledge with creative solutions. Motherlode ethos: don’t tell, just show; don’t promise, just deliver; if something is broken, fix it; and if it’s only good, make it truly excellent.
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A Animation
We create custom animation and motion graphics for internal communication, education and above the line campaigns. Â At a time where employees and customers are continually saturated with complex information animation remains a unifying language. Good animation simplifies complex concepts. At the core of our animation and storytelling process is the ability to distil large amounts of intricate information into understandable messages. Animation can de-personalise messaging and break communication into entertaining sequences which elucidate concepts, products and brands.
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Colleagues
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Top Left: Top Middle: Right: Right bottom: Middle bottom: Left Bottom:
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Barclays New Product Launch Channel Four Trail Birdworld - Director Alastair Mccoll Barclays Customer Profiles Little Red Ridding Hood - Director Vladamir Shopov Film Animation - Vladamir Shopov
“I would just like to re-emphasise what a fantastic job you and your team have done on this. Not only did you interpret our brief exceptionally well, you executed it brilliantly, and in what must be record time. They liked the animation so much it was played twice! I can’t think of a better result than that, so thank you once again for a superb job!” – Sian Bamber / Head of Marketing – Cleary Business
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B Branding
“The etymology of the word design goes back to the Latin ‘designare’, which means to designate, to give meaning to things... Design is not about styling. It’s not about technology. It’s about radical change in meaning. These are things that people were not asking for, but when they saw them, they fell in love.” – Roberto Verganti / Author Design Driven Innovation
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“Tis plain there is not in nature a point of stability to be found: everything either ascends or declines.” – Sir Walter Scott WWW.MOTHERLODE.ORG.UK
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BP Branding Principles
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Be different.
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Do one thing really well - then keep doing it.
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Collaborate - individualism hasn’t worked.
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Innovate restlessly - then keep tweaking.
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Talk to your market, not at it.
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Empathise and emote.
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Give meaning and purpose then leave your followers to tell their / your story.
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“Story is equipment for living” – Kenneth Burke
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Film
At a time when cameras are available for anyone to shoot a film story has never been so important. Good story makes every film work and it’s the science of storytelling we find fascinating. We are fanatical about doing the ground work to get the story right – only then do we begin to shoot the film.
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Three years ago Motherlode launched an in-house brand called Renegade Economist. This is our laboratory and we use it to test ideas and keep our finger on world events as they unfold. The Renegade Economist hub has created a loyal community of citizen journalists and critical thinkers.
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ML The Talk Show
The logical progression of the Renegade Economist was to make Four Horsemen - a feature documentary about the issues that we knew captivated our target market. We co-created a film with our audience and we were the first production company in the world to use YouTube analytics to influence what went into the final script of a commercially distributed feature documentary. www.RenegadeEconomist.com
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Netherlands Poland Croatia South Africa Ireland Turkey Sweden Denmark Norway United Kingdom Israel Chile Iceland Finland Canada United States of America Italy Iran New Zealand France
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Featured Film
In order for us to properly advise our clients about storytelling we must continue practicing our craft. We challenge ourselves to make films that have a positive social effect. It is important for us to keep putting our work into the world as we have to keep learning. Our latest film is Four Horsemen. This feature length documentary does not blame bankers or politicians. It is a film that questions the systems we’ve created - and suggests ways to reform them. We understood that global mega-trends are converging at a time when governments, organised religion and mainstream economists have stalled. Understanding that we will never return to ‘business as usual’ we found 23 thinkers and crafted a story explaining how we can get out of the current situation.
“While in some films talking heads can hamper flow, in Four Horsemen their thoughtful and intelligent insights help drive the analysis…which given that the premise is broad and complex takes some doing.” – Mark Adams / Chief Film Critic Screen International London “Four Horsemen - it’s Inside Job with bells on” – Total Film
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“Four Horsemen is a breathtakingly composed jeremiad against the folly of Neo-classical economics and the threats it represents to all we should hold dear.” – Harold Crooks / Co- Director of The Corporation
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“There are thoughts here of such profundity you might feel the need to reach for the rewind button. I, for one, have been left substantially enlightened.” – Derek Adams / Time Out
“It may seem unrealistically lofty to declare this film as one of the most important documentaries ever made but it truly is.” – Jonathan Glen / Front Row Reviews WWW.MOTHERLODE.ORG.UK
“One of the most powerful, cultural frameworks that shapes the way we think today in The West is the Hollywood film construction.” – Gillian Tett / EDITOR OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES
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It’s Business – but not as we know it… The world won’t be returning to “Business as Usual” - so how do you adapt your strategy and ethos to thrive during the age of disruption? Whatever the assumptions or semantics the shift we’re witnessing across the global economy is fundamental and poses an important question to us all: how do we adapt our businesses and thrive during the age of disruption? At Motherlode we see no difference between who we are and what we do. Working with clients across many industry sectors in countries around the world has refined our own organisational philosophy to ensure that we remain relevant. Here are three things we have learned: Sense of belonging: staff and customers want meaning – they want to be involved in a meaningful network, not a steep alienating hierarchy. Collective identity, clarity of purpose, motivation and sustained creativity are the lifeblood of an effective organisation. This manifests itself in a collaboration revolution that blurs the boundaries between departments, clients, partners and competitors. Evolve or die: agile leaders are creative thinkers with a deep sense of purpose. These people know command and control management is obsolete and steep hierarchies are a response to a low trust environment. It is these leaders who can create the environment for progressive business and consequently the conditions for genuine innovation. By substituting control freaks with nimble collaborators any organisation can challenge the stagnant status quo.
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E “Everything must change so that everything can stay the same”: progressive organisations create an internal culture (or philosophy) which respects traditional practices but equally supports constant change. Implementing this culture has to be done with and by those who understand the danger of the failure to evolve. Remaining at ease with the inherent uneasiness of change - whilst still moving into action and making sound decisions are, in a world of uncertainty, the cornerstones to progress. So, in the face of such fundamental global re-organisation, what does it come down to? There are only two choices: action or reaction. Reaction means incessant short term responses to competitor pressure and ultimately a loss of control. Action means nurturing the old and innovating the new with an internal philosophy that gives employees and customers a product, service or experience that actually matters. Act or react is the question and how you answer it will become the new business as usual. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now” – Chinese Proverb
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Editorial
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“We are already seeing the results from Motherlode’s re-branding of Pathway. We cannot thank you enough” – Dr. Aidan Halligan / Chair Faculty of Homeless Healthcare
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Motherlode’s creative insight, flexibility and ability to tell a story make them one of the most exciting studios in London. Young and hungry they will go on to do great things. – Graham Fink / Chief Creative Officer Ogilvy & Mather China WWW.MOTHERLODE.ORG.UK
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Services
Motherlode provides the following services:
Strategy and Innovation Consultancy
Film and Animation Production
Illustration and Storyboarding
Motion Graphics and Title Sequences
Graphic Design and Branding
Web Building
Copywriting
Post Production Facilities
Augmented Reality
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C Megan Ashcroft megan@motherlode.org.uk +44 (0) 207 386 5277 Studio 5, St Oswald’s Studios 80-82 Sedlescombe Road Fulham London SW6 1RH UK
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Contact
Services
“The universe is made up of stories, not atoms” – Muriel Rukeyser
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Forced to write within a certain framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom, however, the chances are good that the work will sprawl. – T.S.Eliot
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