Cramming 125 years of footballing history into 90 minutes was never going to be an easy task. But from the very first mention of the St. Johnstone Anniversary DVD, I knew I wanted to be involved…  football is near-enough all I think about anyway, so having a legitimate reason to do it all day at work was a major coup.

As with all great DVDs, we started with a script - adapted from the Official Club History - but brought bang up to date to include Saint’s latest triumphs (including a Challenge Cup win and promotion back to the SPL). With that in place and a temporary voiceover recorded by Speakeasy’s resident Saintee (Jim) we plundered the Scottish Football League’s archive for some goalmouth action.

With St. Johnstone being established in 1884, a bundle of goals from the last couple decades was never going to be enough. So we rustled up some key figures from Saint’s progress, including John Brogan (their record goalscorer) and Alan Main (who holds the record for most appearances made) to add some commentary.

200 photographs, 25 tapes and 8 interviews later, we nearly had ourselves a feature length production worthy of any Saints fan. The icing on the cake came on a drizzly Saturday night, when we filmed Stuart Cosgrove’s presenter links at McDiarmid Park after a game.  Filming went on late into the evening, but the resulting footage tied the video together into a neat little stocking filler for any St. Johnstone fan.

MarkM Team News

We’ve worked with all sorts – actors, doctors, cooks, bankers… but it’s not everyday you can say that you’ve worked with a group of young people who are truly inspirational…

We were lucky enough to meet some of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls for London 2012, on a recent shoot for Lloyds Banking Group. We spent a day each with four athletes on the Bank’s Local Heroes scheme - Tom Gibbs, a gymnast, Harriet Owen, a cyclist, Jonny Hay, a runner and Alan Mansell a paralympic Basketball Player.

Shooting on the RED camera system for the first time, we produced stunning slow motion footage of each of the athletes training and performing their sport. All four young athletes were unbelievably talented and an inspiration to watch. The hard work and dedication they put into their sport is incredible – and should be an example to all of us!

We wish them all the best for their preparations and training on the road to 2012.

Lucy Trendle - Producer

MagnusM Speakeasy Company News, Work Completed

Awards Season is upon us and we’re making some room on the shelf:
Today four of our productions were shortlisted for three categories at
the Communicators In Business Awards.
Best Use of Interactive Media
Best Live Communications Event
Best Use of Visual Communication
The ceremony is at the end of February, so fingers crossed, and Mr.
Sheen at the ready.

MagnusM Speakeasy Company News, Work Completed

Following the acquisition of Woking-based Orchard Communications, Speakeasy Productions welcomes onboard Andy Zanelli-King as Head of Client Development to bolster the company’s sales operation and play a key role in its continued growth strategy.

Andy, formerly of The Edge Picture Company, said “I am excited to be joining such a fast growing, forward thinking organisation. Speakeasy’s success is based upon the recognition that clients need partners that can collaborate on a range of different communication challenges - with a range of different budget levels! That flexibility is key within the present economic climate”.

Andy’s appointment consolidates what has been Speakeasy’s best ever year, with a raft of new clients, including Tesco and the recently merged Co-operative Financial Services, adding to a long standing roster which includes Deutsche Bank, BAE Systems, NM Rothschild & Son, Metropolitan Police, the Department of Health and the COI.

Speakeasy’s 35-strong in-house team offers a wide range of business communication services, including events, video, webcasting and disc-based interactive applications.

“I have worked extensively in video production but it’s increasingly clear that agencies with all-round expertise offer a more attractive proposition to clients,” says Andy. “Speakeasy not only has the best in-house post-production facilities I have ever seen at an agency, it also has a broad range of production expertise across different media. It’s this cross-discipline experience and the new opportunities it offers that really attracted me”.

Bringing Orchard Communications into the Group in the summer of 2009 was a major step forward in bolstering Speakeasy’s production base in the South of England, complementing the existing office in central London and the company’s Scottish HQ in Perth.

Speakeasy Sales and Marketing Director Jonathan Young said “Orchard had a great reputation for producing quality work and we were keen to retain the goodwill attached to the name. In fact, it wasn’t just the name that was retained - the entire production team remained in place”.

Jonathan added - “this has been a fantastic year for Speakeasy, one in which we have continued to buck the trend. We’re delighted to welcome Andy to the team and are confident that, with his help, we will maintain our position as the UK’s fastest growing communications production company”.

MagnusM Speakeasy Company News