Reels in Motion for 7 years!
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Reels In Motion turned 7 this week! Like most 7 year olds on their birthdays; the team have been running around, drinking far too many fizzy drinks and throwing the odd tantrum. (The tantrum came about due to a distinct lack of any birthday cake – a serious breach of contract which will be brought up in the next board meeting)
With the company celebrating 7 long, happy, years in business this week I think this presents the perfect opportunity to take a step back and evaluate what exactly has happened.
Reels was formed in 2004 by a trio of rogue graduates who shared a dream, a dream to become the most powerful production team of the 21st Century. They also shared the belief that they could remain friends. (Jury’s still out)
Their first premises was in ‘E2’, after some investigative journalism it turns out this was either a Barbers or a book shop but somehow the Reels team, in their Alpha stage, managed to operate there. However a flood of what some might claim to be Biblical proportions forced them to relocate to The Staffs University Business Village.
But when Reels actually started to get some proper business it was time to cut the apron strings and get out in the big wide world. In 2006 the team set up shop in Longton, presumably because it ends in an ‘on’ much like ‘SheppertON’. Thus The Reels Tower became home and they’ve never looked back - despite the fact that it’s possibly haunted and the lift broke down last week, Not. Fun.
2006 provided a high point with the crew working with the late great Roy Fowler on his documentary entitled Roy ‘The Red Fox’ Fowler. This was Reels’ first ever DVD produced for sale, Matt’s mum cried during the closing credits at the premier in The Stoke-on-Trent film theatre. Matt also cried.*
Reels were growing fast and three filmmakers where quickly becoming fairly good businessmen, at least according to Business Week Online who in 2007 nominated Matt Hubbard for European Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He didn’t win and he still claims it’s because of a bad photo. I have looked at the photo and can’t help but agree with him.
The company was now hitting the top end of the corporate game; working for the likes of National Grid, Jaguar and Land Rover and Michelin. To Joe’s delight, Reels also took on the mighty Potters (Stoke City Football Club for you rugby fans) as a client. This enabled him to spend a lot of time in the company of his heroes. Although it’s a good job they can’t hear what he calls them from the stand on a Saturday afternoon… Especially in recent weeks, yikes.
2009 was a steady year and one that seemed to fly by for the team. Especially for Phil, with him taking two whole months off to travel the world! Luckily Joe and Matt managed to keep the reels in motion - between Tuesday 10.00am and Thursday about 3ish.
As Reels’ profile grew so did the travel time as they ventured over to Africa for a charity promotional project and various European locations, often without Joe because he was getting married and having children and all that sensible, grown up stuff that Matt and Phil have yet to understand.
2010 arrived and heralded ‘The Dawning of Pulp’. Reels met Adam Hamdy and embarked on a perilous and possibly very silly quest to make a feature film. According to recent stats – The Reels team collectively managed 117 hours sleep over the course of that year. But the long term health disadvantages didn’t matter to them, they’d made a movie.
2011 was the year that saw the introduction of Ms. Harri Bailey to the group, she immediately began the task of sorting out over six years worth of disorganization and is still fighting the good fight today. I was also lured to Longton to write this blog.
So Reels are still going strong today, although at the time of writing the team is currently embroiled in a long and very violent debate over who’s to blame for the non-appearance of the birthday cake.
Anyway, Reels in Motion have had a wonderful seven years so far (that is until the lift broke and work become abject hell) and everyone’s looking forward to what the eighth year will bring. Besides, just because Reels has reached the ripe old age of seven, they’re certainly not getting set in their ways - what with these newfangled email thingeymajigs and blogs and whatnot. How modern.
*Far louder than his mother.