For Charities & NGOs
When Your Charity Needs Creative Direction, Not Just a Film Crew
The Questions I Ask Before We Shoot Anything
I'm Andrew Davies, a director and DOP who works with charities and NGOs that often arrive without a finished brief — and that's the right starting point, not a problem to fix before we begin. Before anything gets shot, I ask:
- —Who is this actually for? Getting specific on audience, not settling for "the public"
- —What format does that audience actually respond to: a full film, social cutdowns, a case study, or something else entirely
- —What channel will this actually live on, since that decides pacing, length, and aspect ratio before a single shot is planned
- —What's already worked for you, and what hasn't. Most charities have more of this data than they realise, and it's usually more useful than a fresh creative brief
- —How does this fit your wider campaign: is this one asset doing a job alongside other tactics, or does it need to carry the whole message on its own
What It's Like Working With Me
A lot of the work I do involves real vulnerability, not abstract messaging. A project for Global Fund for Children took me to Africa, Bangladesh, and Nepal: a genuinely life-changing project, and one where protecting the people telling their stories mattered as much as telling the story itself. The same principle applies to work I've done with people abused by their own governments, including a project on Brazil's drugs policy, and to animal welfare and inequality-focused campaigns more broadly: the issue and the contributor's safety are never traded against each other.
- —I get informed consent properly, not as a formality
- —I protect identity and testimony when a contributor needs that, without losing what makes the story true
- —I treat sensitive subject matter, including trauma and lived experience, as something to handle with care as standard, not as a special request
Two Reels, Two Ways to See the Work
Sensitive / Testimony-Led Reel
Contributor-led stories where trust, consent, and care come first. The right reel for projects involving vulnerable communities or difficult lived experience.
Campaign & Awareness Reel
Punchier, faster-paced work built to shift opinion or drive action at scale. The right reel for fundraising, policy, and awareness-led briefs.
Core Capabilities
- 01Documentary-style briefing films that help shift opinion inside Parliament, including work on trophy hunting built specifically to persuade policymakers, not just inform the public
- 02Fundraising films that convert directly — a film for Food Bank Aid helped raise £1m in donations over a single weekend in March 2026
- 03Celebrity-led partnerships that move legislation — a Wildlife Trusts campaign featuring Sir David Attenborough contributed to new wildlife protection legislation progressing through Parliament
- 04Platform-specific content built for where the audience actually is, not a single film cut down after the fact — vertical content and motion graphics built specifically for Oceana's overfishing campaign
Selected Clients & Experience
Shifted perceptions of charity shop volunteering through relatable personas, helping specific types of people see themselves volunteering.
Showcased Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent talent from their Beyond the Music programme — demonstrating performance ability and talent on equal footing with industry norms.
A fundraising film that helped raise £1m in donations over a single weekend in March 2026.
Platform-specific content and motion graphics built for Oceana's overfishing campaign — designed for the feeds where the audience already lives, not cut down from a long-form version after the fact.
Children's Society — Direct Response Television
UNHCR
What Clients Say
They stand out for us because of the extra skills they bring.
★★★★★
Claire Bass — Director, Humane World for Animals
Frequently Asked Questions
We don't have a script yet. Can you help us work out what we actually need?
Yes, that's usually where this starts. Most projects begin with a goal and an audience, not a finished script, and shaping that into the right format and message is part of the job, not an extra service.
How do you protect a contributor's identity while still telling their story?
Through informed consent, careful framing, and sometimes deliberate choices about what's shown or implied rather than stated outright. The goal is always a story that's true to the contributor, never one that exposes them for the sake of impact.
Can you work within safeguarding and consent requirements?
Yes. This is standard practice on sensitive projects, not an additional process layered on afterwards. Safeguarding and consent are built into how a shoot is planned from the start.
Can I commission a charity video on a limited budget?
Yes. Packages can be scaled to prioritise core messaging and outcome — worth discussing what's achievable for your budget before ruling anything out.
Packages & Pricing
Charity video budgets vary by format and scope. As a guide, here's where current UK market rates sit:
| Type of Film | Cost Range | What You're Paying For |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly social content day (6–8 videos) | £1,200–£1,600 per month | A day of fast-paced shooting on simple kit — staff interviews, calls to action, short clips — quickly edited for social |
| Case study video | £1,500–£4,500 | Interview-led story, one or two shoot days, standard lighting/audio and edit |
| Event video | From £99 per hour | In-person events captured and edited quickly, ready to publish the next day |
| Brand / hero film | £6,000+ | High-end, broadcast-ready flagship content — full crew, extensive planning, visual polish |