British Red Cross: TV advert

Director & producer

“Catherine is as good as it gets. She produced a powerful, high-end cinematic film that punches way above its budget. The project had absolutely no right to look as good as it did.

Her response to our brief was a vivid concept, based on a true-story. She applied her considerable expertise, fearlessness and energy to bring it to life, across multiple locations and with complex SFX and VFX requirements. She corralled a clever and good-natured crew, and the collaboration and open way of working with them was an absolute joy. And thanks to Catherine, an additional legacy of that creative has been the meaningful and sincere relationships she nurtured with our contributors and stakeholders.

The end result was a real feat, and I can’t overstate how impressed we were.”

Pally McAlley, Senior Strategist - Creative, British Red Cross

The British Red Cross (BRC) wanted to create a compelling TV advert about their work alongside the fire services in the UK, as it’s an area of their work underrepresented in their communications. Whilst working with the team on another project, I spotted an opportunity when they were sent a letter from a lady called Shirley who had been supported by Red Cross volunteers when she experienced a devastating house fire. I reached out to Shirley to find out more and see if she would consider being involved. 

After submitting a draft storyboard of how I’d approach the story, I was appointed to run the project as producer and director treating it as an in-house production. I was able to bring on board the necessary individuals to deliver this ambitious production at a fraction of the cost an agency would have charged.

I was able to build and shepherd relationships with Shirley and Cati, one of the volunteers from the night, as well as stakeholders at the fire service and in the Red Cross which helped me to capture and create this advert plus supporting film and photo content. 

Delivering this project involved setting up a complex fire reconstruction shoot with special and visual effects.  The content is now being used and tested to both fundraise and raise awareness of this important area of BRC's work.