Henry Boston Crayfourd on his remarkable journey in film: “I always knew it was what I wanted to do”

Henry Boston Crayfourd

I think it was probably the fun of bursting a balloon full of water over my Dad’s head and filming it in slow motion on my 9th birthday that really got me hooked on film. Or possibly that my Mum let me use my underwater camera to swim after, and film, reef sharks aged 10.

Whatever it was, I have had an obsession with film direction and production for as long as I can remember. I used to spend weekends making films with my friends (hilarious to watch now as the acting skills left a lot to be desired). There was no doubt though that I always knew it was what I wanted to do.

Travel grew my love as I had such wonderful things to record on video. My parents invested heavily in taking me on far-flung trips to remote places like Papua New Guinea, Sulawesi and Ecuador. Places well off the beaten track, full of incredible wildlife, giant clams, pistol shrimps and marine iguanas. It was amazing. By the age of 15, I was heavily into freediving and have since been able to hold my breath underwater for 6 minutes.

This underwater odyssey led to a second hobby of marine fish and coral keeping and it was the reason I started a marine biology degree. There just wasn’t enough camera work in it for me though… so after a year, I switched to film production and the rest is history as they say.

Now I channel my love of film into Boss Content: a content creation company that specialises in brand aware advertising. I love what I do and I love it when I meet like-minded, passionate people who understand the power of video.

As blogger Seth Godin says, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but the stories you tell.”

I am a storyteller but I tell stories in short bite-sized clips because that is how the world is today. It’s the new advertising. However, just like the old advertising, it is originality and relevance that count. That is how you differentiate yourself and how people differentiate you.

I go to extremes to get the right shots when I am shooting live. I recently spent about two hours lying on the floor to film an advertisement for Paw Patrol. We had the dogs running round the corner time and time again. It turned out brilliantly though. We even managed to get the main pooch to put his paw on the card swipe machine.

This year I also went to Spain to film a 1000 year old kiln. It was incredible and took 36 hours to fire up. It did mean staying up for 36 hours though but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Most jobs are far more straightforward. I produce content for top restaurants, banks, retail clients and more specialist people such as fine art lighting companies and sculptors. I’ve also been lucky enough to film some interviews with people like Dame Judi Dench and Jeremy Irons and I feel fortunate to have heard some great stories first hand.

Of course, I have to mention the new big word, AI. People keep asking me if AI is going to do me out of job? Honestly, I don’t think we need to fear it. AI doesn’t think like advertising creatives do. It doesn’t dig to find the emotion of what makes consumers’ hearts beat … and then turn it into a campaign or story that connects. It’s not as human. Not yet anyway.  AI is amazing though and I use it to enhance production values. Give me your product and I can transport it to sunnier climates or frozen landscapes without ever leaving my office. What AI does do is bring down the cost of business, meaning that medium-sized companies can afford campaigns as good as the corporates. In that way, it’s a game-changer.

How important is video? It’s critical. Done right, as Forbes says, “marketers who use video grow their revenue 49 per cent faster than non-video users”.

Video is memorable and it’s vital for business growth and customer loyalty. How else today do people discover your brand, services and products? It’s the new norm. “86 per cent of businesses use video as a marketing tool.” Whether you are a one-person band, a hairdresser, engineering company or are promoting your personal brand, make sure you are one of them.

A successful content campaign is the result of many inputs, but it is the relationship between client and videographer that can really make the results zing! When I met Ronel, the Chief Executive of Finito Education, it was a meeting of minds.

I love it when I meet like-minded, passionate people who understand the power of video. And how original thinking and creativity combined with quality production can really excite your audience. Originality and relevance is how you differentiate yourself and how people differentiate you.

Finito was fast on the uptake with this, and they are bold with their creative approach, believing fortune favours the brave. And it does.

At Boss Content, we produce short advertising videos that provoke an emotional response because that is what leads to rationale action. We work with both direct clients and agencies – in other words we can create or execute.

We are also always happy to help clients plan. After all social media and content are just buzzwords unless you have a plan of how to use them. We have a deep understanding of social and how to use it. Undoubtedly the more you plan, the more success you will achieve.

For more information go to http://www.bosscontent.co.uk