Arctis x RFI

We were commissioned by our friends at Wooshii to produce two testimonial videos for the US-based biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific, focusing on their Arctis device and its integration into the Rosalind Franklin Institute (RFI).

The brief was to capture an interview with RFI Director Jim Naismith, along with supplementary b-roll of the device in situ and the facility in general. The goal was to highlight the key features of the Arctis device and convey how its integration into the RFI’s ecosystem has improved workflow at the facility.

The shoot took place over one day at the RFI in Didcot, Berkshire.

For this project, we opted for a skeleton crew and nimble equipment setup to navigate the tight and congested spaces. The crew consisted of a self-shooting director, director of photography, and sound recordist. We used a two-camera setup – Sony PXW-FX6 and PXW-FX3 – with the FX6 on sticks and the lightweight FX3 alternating between sticks and gimbal for b-roll.

For the interview, we chose a high-contrast lighting setup rather than the standard, muted lighting we’ve used on previous shoots. This approach aimed to give the video a more intense, dramatic edge and lend an unconventional aspect to differentiate it from similar content. The goal was to create something that felt more like a television documentary than a standard corporate testimonial.

The edit was completed by our post-production team at our York studio.

Though we have produced hundreds of corporate testimonials since our company’s inception, we wanted to push the boundaries with this project. We chose to keep the footage at 50fps, rather than conforming to 25fps, to maintain a fast-paced feel and let movement drive each cut.

We avoided an overly saturated colour palette, instead enhancing the vibrancy of the mid-tones – this worked particularly well in the outdoor shots featuring green grass and the yellow RFI branding.

For the score, we selected a building piano piece with string accompaniments to add a sense of excitement to Thermo Fisher’s offering and evoke a feeling of “striving to overcome.”