As the year 2022 draws its last few breaths, we at Astor took the time to remember and reflect on what has been a colossal run for us as a company. We have made titanic strides in improving all aspects of our working style and end products – by investing in the latest industry-standard cinema technology, experienced new creatives, not to mention a striking new rebrand, 2022 has been our best year to date.
Take a look at a compilation of our favourite projects this year for your viewing pleasure. You can also watch it in 8K resolution!
Why Rebrand?
Let’s start with the rebrand, in May we decided to formulate a fresh new identity to add merit to our blossoming body-of-work and the new style we’ve established with our recent projects. We did this with a major-league facelift to our website, considering this is the hub of everything we do, it only seemed right to make it pretty. To top off our rebrand we took the decision to simplify our logo – making it clean, stylish and easily recognisable.
RED
Next on the list of this year’s advancements is a little bit about what every professional cinematographer needs… an articulate and highly-capable camera system that cannot fail, whatever the weather. But here at Astor we don’t just do good, we serve the unparalleled – our equipment has to match our mentality. Enter the RED V-RAPTOR 8K! The ‘reel’ star of the show. This bad boy is what sets us apart from our competitors, being an actual hollywood-grade camera system, used to capture content for cinema and streaming service delivery such as Netflix (Netflix only allows certain cameras to shoot footage for their platform and this camera is one of them). So now you know, when you come to Astor, you’re not only being looked-after by pros, but we’ve got the kit to back it up.
Fantastic Projects for Hull University
Continuing on with our outstanding relationship with the University of Hull, we’ve had a brilliantly packed-out year together. Our favourite project of the year has to be the promotion of their new facilities and spaces for education. We were tasked with making short and engaging videos that show off the amazing staff and facilities they have to offer, using fast cuts, high-definition close-ups and creative-colour-grading resulting in a set of videos that really pack a punch.
Team GB
Next stop for the Astor highlights train is the head-to-head challenge with Olympic gold medalists Max Whitlock OBE and Tom Dean MBE. The two Team GB athletes took to the track in an F1 Simulator Challenge, racing each other virtually around the prestigious Silverstone Raceway from within the university of Hull’s Engineering department. We love how immersive this video feels and it was ace to capture the atmosphere in the room and the banter between the guys mid-race, take a look for yourself!
Frontier Risks Group
Nestled on the outskirts of York, Frontier Risks Group host their SRMC® ‘Security Risk Management Consultancy Course’ in the glorious setting of the Cabinet Office’s ‘Emergency Planning Centre’. From hostage negotiation, global politics analysis and natural disaster management, the SRMC® has it all. The guys at Frontier Risks approached us to create a short film about the course, what it offers, who’s it for, and what it can do for them. We love the footage we got from this project, taking great advantage of the dynamic range that our cameras offer in those darker scenes. The film was played on a cinema display in London to over 100 people at their recent ‘Alumni Event’ hosted yearly, for past students of the course, friends of the company and anyone interested in being part of what they do.
MyFresh Commercial
MyFresh, ‘the UK’s largest ingredients-focussed, fresh-produce business’ approached us to create an advert demonstrating their natural crops alongside their environmentally friendly approach to farming and food prep. Gathering some absolutely breathtaking shots of the countryside, food factories and renewable energy facilities situated in and around their grounds with our RED, Blackmagic and DJI cameras, we captured everything in cinematic quality and delivered something which we’re really proud of, we don’t know about you, but we can see it on TV!
Connexin Partnership
This year we further developed our relationship with Connexin and reaffirmed our partnership with this reputable company. We delivered commercials, case studies, promo videos and pretty much anything else you can think of! With so much tech involved in Connexin’s work, you need a keen-eye for detail when it comes to getting the shots they need and accurately conveying what each piece of kit or development actually does for you as an end-customer.
Keepmoat Homes Campaign
This is a relatively new partnership created this year, but we have jumped straight in. With a commercial and a series of web adverts and social videos we have been a part of Keepmoat’s grand campaign this year from the start and we are extremely proud to say that. Some stellar content has been produced and a new creative relationship has been kindled. We can’t wait to show you more from the project. but rest assured the footage looks absolutely stellar.
We feel a great sense of anticipation for the year to come, with plenty of campaigns already booked for 2023 and a feature length TV documentary, 2023 will again be a year of exponential growth for Astor.
Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year from all of us here at Astor Film Productions Ltd!