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LUXURY LIFESTYLE FOR SOLIHULL & SOUTH WARWICKSHIRE
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Staying Focused

- 19/09/2023
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Filmmaker Leanne Perrins has reassessed her priorities.

Henley-in-Arden based Leanne Perrins came out on the other side of lockdown with what she calls her “two babies.”

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One was the delightful Huxley, now aged two, her first child with husband Dave.
The second was the idea for Unearthed Studios, a collaboration with two fellow female award-winning filmmakers which Leanne explains is “an opportunity to create strong and engaging content through cinematography and visual storytelling – on subjects that matter.”

Not, of course, that her current work in the wedding and corporate sectors doesn’t matter. “But I think Covid resulted in us all taking time to reflect,” she says. “On who we are. What we want. And what we do. Ethical and cultural matters are at the core of what we are hoping to achieve with Unearthed. We are dedicated to making meaningful change, and committed to playing our part in environmental causes, and giving a platform to voices that need to be heard.”

It’s a slow burn, she admits. As many independent filmmakers will tell you, it’s a case of ‘make the films first, then try to sell them.’ But it’s something we’re all passionate about for the future.”

Speciality

In the meantime, Leanne has more than enough going on to keep her busy and fulfilled. Her joint speciality is as a destination wedding videographer and making brand campaign films for leading clients such as Aston Martin, Chanel and Liberty London

Her work has appeared in the media, in publications as diverse as Zoo magazine, Hello! and the Evening Standard, and throughout her 15-year career, she has also been a brand ambassador for Sony, a regular speaker at the National Photography Show, and was the founder of RISE, the UK’s first wedding filmmaking festival. Her work has taken her throughout the UK, Europe, Africa, Australia, Canada and the USA, consistently pushing the boundaries of filmmaking and yet in a style that can best be described as ‘effortlessly chic.’

But don’t be fooled. There is a lot of effort behind being as ‘effortless’ as Leanne appears. Having met her in person on numerous occasions, we only managed to conduct this more detailed interview on Zoom: and that was whilst she was in the midst of a rare family holiday in Greece. Oh, and just ahead of her having to coordinate a wedding photoshoot in the French Alps from her hotel room in Halkidiki. Pinning down mercury is easy by comparison…

Team

“I guess you could call me a control freak,” she smiles. “But it’s important if you want to achieve consistency and maintain high standards. We’re definitely not your average wedding videographers. I set up the business myself, and for a long time, it was just me.

But especially with Huxley coming along, and the logistics of filming abroad, I knew I needed a team to help me, and have been lucky enough to recruit some other excellent filmmakers who can duplicate our style on the big day so that we maintain continuity. But couples still have me as their main point of contact. I still handle all sales, pre-production, logistics and – most important of all – the editing.”

And for corporate clients, it’s always Leanne herself behind the camera.

Opportunities

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Her love of the lens goes back a long way. West Midlands born-and-bred, after studying photography and filmmaking at university in Aberystwyth, Leanne worked in TV production in London, for GMTV among others. “But I then took a late gap year, went travelling, and met Dave. We settled back in this area, but commuting to London for freelance work was proving awkward, and with the BBC moving up to Salford, the national job opportunities weren’t great. So at 23, I decided to set up by myself.”

She loves her work but adds that “home life is also important. Dave runs his own private courier company, we have a lot of support from friends and family, and between us all, we manage to get the balance right.”

The next challenge? Moving house. Leanne and Dave love their three-bedroom cottage on the high street in Henley, but have now outgrown it. “We need a garden, and parking space,” she freely admits, but in some respects, says she will be sorry to leave. Part of her commitment to her clients – not to mention her commercial savvy – was to install a state-of-art kitchen when they moved in and renovated. Not only do the couple love cooking and entertaining, but it has made a superb ‘set’ for film and photography shoots, particularly for those in the food and drink industries.

Quality

But back to where we came in: lockdown.

“It was a strange time for everybody,” she says. “Especially if you were planning to get married. So many weddings had to be cancelled, re-arranged, or scaled down. And I think it’s that element that has remained, at least in our experience.

The couples we are now meeting are far less focused on how much money they spend, or how many guests they invite. It’s more about quality than quantity. And more about what they want, rather than what is expected of them. That’s coming through in our films. They are much more personal. And we’re creating long-lasting memories for them.”

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Social media is another subject Leanne – and her Unearthed colleagues – have particularly strong feelings about. “Over the past six months, along with adventurer Jordan Wylie and Tv presenter Dr. Ranj, we have been working on a documentary film to raise awareness of the challenges that social media presents for young people.

“Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen a significant increase in bullying, trolling and negativity online that has led to many children suffering from mental health issues such as increased anxiety, depression and, in extreme cases, taking their own lives as a result. We want to highlight the problems, and offer advice to help young people in schools and youth organisations better understand how to navigate social media safely, whilst protecting their mental health. That’s our focus.”

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It’s a slow burn, she admits. As many independent filmmakers will tell you, it’s a case of ‘make the films first, then try to sell them.’ But it’s something we’re all passionate about for the future.”

Leanne’s brands:

Corporate: www.leanneperrins.co.uk

Weddings and events: www.bloominglovelyfilms.co.uk

Documentaries: www.unearthedstudios.com

Interview by Paul Rouse.

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