Behind the Lens: Making a Corporate Documentary Series for Willmott Dixon
- Liam
- Jun 15
- 2 min read
Every now and then a commission comes along that reminds you exactly why you got into this business. The Willmott Dixon documentary series is one of those.
I want to walk you through how we approached it — not to show off, but because I think the process of making a proper corporate documentary is genuinely misunderstood, and understanding it might help you if you're thinking about commissioning something similar.
What Willmott Dixon needed
Willmott Dixon is one of the UK's leading construction and property companies. They needed a documentary series that told the story of their work — not a polished PR piece, but something with genuine texture. The kind of thing that shows the people, the craft, and the complexity behind what they do.
That's a very different brief from a corporate talking-heads video, and it requires a very different approach.
Planning is everything
Before we filmed a single frame, we spent serious time on the production bible. That's the document that maps everything — the narrative arc, the characters we'd follow, the locations, the visual style, the tone of voice. On a documentary series, if you skip that step, you end up with a lot of footage and no story. I've seen it happen.
We knew we wanted it to feel observational. Natural light where possible. Interviews that felt like conversations rather than depositions. And B-roll that actually meant something, rather than just being wallpaper.
The shoot itself
We ran a two-camera setup on the interview days, which gives you options in the edit that a single camera simply can't. It means you can cut between angles when an answer runs long, or you catch a reaction on one camera that you'd never have planned. Some of the best moments in documentary come from the camera that nobody's looking at.
For the wider location footage, the DJI Mavic 3 came into its own. Construction sites have a genuine drama to them from the air — the scale, the geometry, the activity. Drone footage that would cost a fortune to capture any other way.
What made it work
Honestly? Trust. Willmott Dixon gave us the creative space to tell the story properly. They weren't looking over our shoulder at every decision or asking us to crowbar in the company values at the end of every sentence. They briefed us well, we delivered on the brief, and the result was something everyone was proud of.
That's the relationship we try to build with every client. Not supplier and buyer, but creative partners.
What this kind of project costs
I'm not going to give you a number here because it depends enormously on scope — number of shoot days, locations, interview subjects, edit complexity, music licensing, and final deliverables. What I can tell you is that a properly produced documentary series is an investment that keeps working for years. It lives on your website, your social channels, your pitches to clients. The ROI is real if the content is good.
If you're considering a project like this, the first conversation is always free. Come and talk to us.
Liam
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