Indigo Productions
Established by Lee Hollands and Paul Dodd in late 2014, Indigo Productions is an award-winning multimedia production agency based in Ashford. Having operated in the creative industry for over 20 years, Lee and Paul are schooled in all areas of creative solutions, but specialise in film, animation and photography.
Indigo Productions operates locally providing video production for the public sector including Kent County Council, as well as nationally and internationally renowned clients including Mars, Unilever, Virgin Media and Hilton.
Lee Hollands, Co-founder and Client Lead, explains what sets them apart: “Myself and Paul come from a film school background, so we like to think we take a high-end, cinematic approach to corporate productions. We use the latest technology, including Netflix-approved cameras to ensure the production level is high at all times.
“One of the most important things when working on video projects is embedding ourselves in the culture of the companies we work with to ensure we understand them and can tell the human story. Quality production is important but no one is going to want to watch the video if the story isn’t there. That’s why black and white films endure because while technology has progressed since they were made, the story remains strong.”
Indigo Productions relocated to Ashford from Maidstone early 2020 and chose The Coachworks to set up the new home for the business. Lee continues: “We were looking for a new office, but we didn’t want the usual sterile office environment. I don’t just mean the decor, but different businesses working in silo, we wanted a creative and collaborative space with quirky surroundings.
“We didn’t think we could find somewhere that ticked every box, but The Coachworks did. It’s in a good location for our local, wider UK and international clients as it’s only a short walk to Ashford International train station and has excellent road links too. Every client we’ve had to visit loves the space at The Coachworks, which is great and Carl and Mary who run it are brilliant.
“We’re proud to be part of the Ashford community - there is a diverse smorgasbord of businesses. People in the digital and creative industries can be dismissive about being based outside of London, but we’re not limited at all being based in Ashford. The area is a great place creatively, transport links are brilliant and everything you need is on your doorstep. It’s a great alternative to London as you save on costs, but also benefit from being close to the countryside and from great local contacts and businesses.
“The plans for Ashford International Studios at Newtown Works are very exciting to hear. This kind of future development for Ashford will be massive for businesses in our industry. These projects show the potential for a place like Ashford and will put it on the map even more.”
“We’re proud to be part of the Ashford community - there is a diverse smorgasbord of businesses. People in the digital and creative industries can be dismissive about being based outside of London, but we’re not limited at all being based in Ashford.”
Lee Hollands, Co-founder and Client Lead at Indigo Productions
Like many businesses, Indigo Productions had to pivot in the ways it supported its clients during the pandemic, but they have strengthened client relationships and have lots of exciting projects they’re working on currently. Lee adds: “A lot of people came to us to ask for advice on what they could do virtually and what came out of this was knowledge sharing, as we helped clients produce content themselves.
“This could have backfired but what happened was the market was completely saturated with user generated content, so when we were able to get out filming again our clients wanted professional videos to cut through and disrupt this. Our videos had an amazing impact for our clients as after creating content themselves they were looking to up their game from a production perspective.”
With filming now able to go ahead without disruption, Indigo Productions has several exciting projects with clients locally and further afield currently in the pipeline. Lee concludes to outline some of this work and that the company is excited for the future in Ashford: “We’re doing a big project for our long-term client Saga, who have recently rebranded, including a high profile Saga Cruise promotion and documentaries on historic houses around the UK. We’re also creating some graduate training films for Virgin Media, which shows various scenarios in the working day for different roles and the graduates will get to choose options as part of a situational judgement test. Our projects are really varied which we love and we’re looking forward to the years ahead in Ashford.”
