Maniac Films are an award-winning media production company based in beautiful North Devon, UK. We make films including drama, corporate communications, documentary videos, music videos, sports videos, live event coverage and interactive content for DVD, Blu-ray, smart phones and digital cinema. We provide services in post production for editing, colour grading, visual effects, format conversions, rotoscoping and motion graphics as well as full production services for video and audio. We offer camera and camera accessory rental and use our experience to help you choose the best gear to suit your needs and budget.

We provide a full DVD production service, from DVD authoring to DLT tape for mastering, DVD disc and packaging artwork design and can provide very competitive pricing for large scale DVD replication (1000+ pressed DVDs) or short-run DVD-R duplication using a very high quality disc printing process in-house. We also produce Blu-ray discs and Dual-layer DVDs for replication or playback at exhibitions and conferences.
Check our services or faq's for more information.

  We are also licensed to create Dolby Digital ™ Audio tracks and use Dolby ™ trailers and logos for our DVD productions.

   More Video streaming and downloads in our downloads area.

Recent Projects:

We are searching for two new apprentices. See our job vacancies page for more information

Genesis Surf Shop Spring clothing lines 2013

Virtual tour film and website for St Anne's Chapel

Universe Inspectors Documentary edit

Album launch videos for Taunton based band 'Nautilus'

New Maniac Films rentals web site - now live

Our SP Profile

Secure On-line Shop now open

      MANIAC films news and updates 2013:

May 2013 - Presenter filming for Ecombat promotional & instructional films

Stu has been on location with eCombat Wholesale again to film a number of 'pieces to camera' for the upcoming promotional and instructional films to feature on their websites.

The main film in a promotional piece to advertise their newest gaming gun - the MP7. The other films will appear on the gaming gun hire site - lasertag4hire.com as instractional films to teach customers how to use the guns and enjoy the game more.
The footage will be cut together with shots that we filmed in March and should appear online soon!

<more info on our Promotional video production services>..

April 2013 - Maniac Films are official partners of the Film Festival Guild

Maniac Films have become the an Official partner of The Film Festival Guild in the role of Post Production partner

We have already been helping the FFG out by preparing screener DVD's and an awards nomination film for the upcoming British Independent Film Festival
We were sent all of the entries and our task was to build a dvd of the short film entries that was to be sent to cinemas that are holding BiFF screenings.
We also created the award nomination clips reel that will be played at the festival awards ceremony.

<find out more about our DVD authoring and production services>..

April 2013 - Sony release WiFi control software for PMW-200 video camera

Sony have just released an major update for the Sony PMW-200 50mbps video camera which provides the facility to control the camera via your smartphone!.

You can now control major camera functions such as zoom, focus, iris, start/stop record, gain, white balance and more from an iPhone, iPad or smartphone!
You don't even need to download the app as it works via your web browser.

Combine this with a wireless video sender or even a monitor on a long cable and you have an ideal remote focus solution!

<find out more about our equipment hire services>..

April 2013 - Come and see us at the Inspiring Business 2013 event in Barnstaple on 11th April

Come and meet your Maniac Films team at the Inspiring Business 2013 event at The Factory, Petroc in Barnstaple on 11th April 2013.

The event is being hosted by the Barnstaple and District Chamber of Commerce with an aim to bring businesses together, promote networking and also teach new business techniques through seminars.
We will be setting up a stall with examples of our work being shown via our new showreel. You can come and meet us and chat through any ideas you might have.
We would love to meet you so please come along!

April 2013 - The Filmmakers Handbook by Mark Brindle now available to buy online

The new book by Mark Brindle 'The Filmmakers Handbook' is now available to buy from the Maniac Films online shop.

The book was released on the 28th February through Amazon and other retailers and we are now able to offer it at the low price of just £5.99 + p&p.

You can read the press release about the book by clicking here (pdf - 660kb)

March 2013 - Location filming with eCombat Wholesale for new product demo video

Stu and apprentice Charli have been out on location with eCombat Wholesale - formerly the UK arm of Battlefield Sports - to film the promo for their latest gaming gun

During the shoot we worked alongside a local photographer as we filmed 2 female models and a male model with the gun. We also used the opportunity to film sequences for instructional films that will appear on their gaming gun hire site - lasertag4hire.com
The footage will be cut together with a voiceover and will appear on the website to promote the new gaming gun soon

<more info on our Promotional video production services>..

March 2013 - Major redesign of genesissurfshop.com complete

Wxe have just completed a major website facelift for Ilfracombe based online surf store Genesis Surf Shop. The site was looking dated and cluttered so the owners asked us to create a new layout.

Users should instantly find the site easier. The old layout used side columns full of adverts and categories that was confused and cluttered. The new design utilised a drop-down menu that is not only cleaner, but easier to navigate. We also improved the search feature so that the site now finds your products a lot faster.
The main brief was that the site should look more minimal, but without losing functionality for the customer. We and the owners of Genesis are happy with the finished result and so far Facebook feedback has been positive!

<more info on our website design and e-commerce solutions>..

March 2013 - New website trailferret.co.uk goes live

Our IT apprentice Barnaby has completed his first full project since starting work with us in February!
Trail Ferret is a website for local man Ben, who arranges training and trail running events in the local area. Ben asked us to build him a site to promote his business, a site that also had to give customers the opportunity to book places on courses as well.

Barnaby built the site from scratch using coding skills that he had learnt at school and in his own time. However he also had to learn a lot of new tricks which included his 1st ever experience with integrating Paypal into a booking form!
Ben is really happy with the new site and Barnaby is currently builing a custom data entry page so that Ben can update his site from home while also posting news updates directly to Twitter whenever he updates the website.

<more info on our website design and e-commerce solutions>..

February 2013 - Mark Brindle to appear on the John Govier show on BBC Radio Devon

Mark from Maniac Films will be appearing as a guest on the John Govier show on BBC Radio Devon.
Mark will be there to speak about his new book - The Digital Filmmaking Handbook - which is released on the 28th of February 2013.
You can listen to the show live on Saturday 23rd February between 9am and 1pm and it will be available on the BBC iPlayer after the show is finished. To listen Live tune into one of the following - 95.7 FM, 103.4 FM, 103.6 FM, 104.9 FM
The listen again link and a synopsis of the show will be posted here - John Govier 23-02-13.

February 2013 - Live event filming for Actavis Town Hall presentations

Actavis Pharmaceuticals are a company that are deidcated to keeping their staff up to date. This involves regular 'Town Hall' meetings where senior management givve presentations to the staff.
Unfortunately not all members of staff can make it, so we were back at Actavis to film a talk by Sara Vincent, Vice President of the UK and Ireland arm of Actavis as she updated those present on the successes of the previous year and what to look forward to int he year ahead.
The presentation which will be edited and uploaded to the company's intranet - allowing employees who could not attend the talks to see what they missed.

<For more on our Corporate video production services>..

February 2013 - Mark Brindle appears live on the BroadcastShow webcast

Mark from Maniac Films has just returned from Newbury where he was interviewed live on BroadcastShow.com about his new book. You can watch the show again by visiting http://www.broadcastshow.com/live. Mark's interview begins at around 17:24mins.
The interview was conducted in a small green screen studio with a studio background being added as the broadcast went live.
Mark was there to talk about this new book 'The Digital Filmmaking Handbook' which is released on the 28th Feb 2013.
The book is available to pre-order and can be purchased using the link on the right.

February 2013 - Awards ceremony film production for Actavis

The Actavis Awards Conference is an annual event for the UK sales teams for the pharmaceutical giant Actavis aimed at celebrating their successes and looking forward to the next year.
For the event Maniac Films were asked to produce an Oscars style video presentation, complete with voiceover, music, motion graphics and video highlights. The aim of the video was to be a highlights reel of the year, both within Actavis and the UK as a whole.
The film was show at the conference and (we are told) finished with a round of applause from the guests. It has also been posted onto the company Intranet to be viewed by colleagues that couldn't make it on the day.

<more info on our Corporate video production services>..

January 2013 - Mark Brindles article on using Da Vinci resolve published in tv-bay magazine

This month Mark has found his work in print yet again, having previously been publish in the IOV magazine on a number of occasions.
This time Mark's knowledge has been put to paper in the tv-bay magazinein an article about using Da Vinci Resolve colour grading software.
The article looks at colour grading processes in Final Cut Pro and compares them to the same processes in Da Vinci, ultimately demonstrating that Da Vinci is the superior tool as long as you don't mind spending money on some new gear.

You can read the article for free online via the tv-bay online magazine page.

January 2013 - Inflatable wall promo filming for Battlefield Sim

We have been back to Battlefield Sim to film a new piece to promote their Inflatable Training Walls.
The walls have recently been upgraded with an improved pressure release valve and the guys at Battlefield wanted to demonstrate this important feature. In order to do this we used an air compressor and talc to show the air release as a visual.
Stu took the opportunity to try out our new Sony PMW-200 camera for the shoot and it worked perfectly. The video has been posted up on the company website for viewing by registered clients

Why not visit our Promo video services for more information.

January 2013 - Conference filming, workshop filming & highlight videos for BP

We have just spent 4 days in London with BP. We were contacted by North Devon based Tinder-Box who were organising the conference for BP.
Our first job saw us spending 2 days at the BP Faculty conference, filming interviews and highlights which were editing on location to be shown later in the conference.
Before the event we also edited a number of iPhone videos together to create 3 promo videos that were shown on the 1st day.
After the conference we moved down the road to Fleet Street to film 2 days of masterclass workshops for BP staff trainers. These films will be edited and shown on the BP training website.
It was a long 4 days but well worth it for the chance to work with an International leader in Business like BP.

Why not visit our Corporate video services for more information.

January 2013 - Location filming with Anthony for US university scholarship

We have been braving the elements on the greens at the Royal North Devon Golf Club in Westward Ho!
We were there to film Anthony, a promising young golfing talent who has been offered a number of exciting scholarships at US Universities - the only problem is that they need to see footage of Anthony playing a few rounds.
We spent an afternoon out on the course where we filmed him playing 3 holes followed by recording a series of voiceovers and the introduction to the film. We returned a few days later to film Anthony on the driving range where he showed his prowess with a number of different clubs. The final film was uploaded onto Youtube so that the link could be quickly e-mailed to the right people.
Good luck Anthony - we hope you get the scholarship you deserve!

Why not visit our Video production services page for more information.

January 2013 - Entrepreneur First promo film for Seb

Wow this was an interesting challenge. We were contacted by Seb who had applied for the Entrepreneur First programme. In order to make his application stand out he wanted to make a short film in a similar style to the Old Spice ads a few years ago.
The aim was to create a seamless film that would take the viewers on a journey through different locations while he informed us of his merits and why he should be picked as a candidate.
The journey took us from an office, to playing chess on a beach and ended up with Seb sat on a horse in space! It was a really challenging shoot to put together and had to be filmed and edited in just 3 days! Especially when the 1st day involved setting up a green screen in a stable with a temperamental horse!

Why not visit our Video production services page for more information.

January 2013 - Charlotte joins Maniac Films as a media apprentice

We are pleased to welcome the newest member of the Maniac team - Charlotte Maishman or Charli for short. Charli has joined us under the government apprenticeship scheme from Plymouth University.

Charli had a busy first couple of weeks. She assisted with filming for Seb (see above) on her 1st day and found herself in London assisting with the BP event in her 3rd week.
As a media apprentice Sam will be learning a range of skills including filming, editing, photography, web design and of course.....making the tea.
But seriously - welcome and good luck!

January 2013 - Maniac Films celebrate 10 years of film making

Wow! Has it really been 10 years? We have gone from one man using a single camera and laptop to film surfing to where we are today, working with international companies, making music videos, corporate promos and a whole lot more!

So how do we plan to celebrate? By doing it all again! We are expanding the business by taking on two new apprentices in January and February and we will continue to provide the same high quality services that we have always done!

January will also see the arrival of a new deputy managing director (aka the birth of Mark's first son) which will kick-start what we hope will be a great year!
we would like at this point to thank everyone who we have worked with in the last 10 years and look forward to working with you again in the next decade!

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