Outmost Studio

I'm the Creative Director for Outmost Studio. 

Our focus is on making film and animated video production work exceptionally well for brands. Together, we define what you want to achieve, who you want to engage, and where you'll reach them. Then we guide you through a rock-solid creative process with collaboration at its core, so you get a video that does exactly what you set out to achieve.

Creative Director

Curveball Media

Together, we dig deep to discover the message that will resonate most with your target audience. Then we guide you through our rock-solid production process, packed full of culture and collaboration. This is how we ensure your film or animated video production will do exactly what you set out to achieve.

I am a multi-award-winning writer, producer and director with 15 years in the animation and film production industry.

I could give you all the clichés about why I love producing film & animation, but the only cliché worth saying is it takes an epic team of super talented people, all working together, to make awesome content!

Storyboards are a tightrope. Too vague and the team's lost. Too prescriptive and you kill creativity.

It's taken years to find the balance. 

Be clear enough to communicate your vision, 
but not so prescriptive that you stifle imagination.

We want the animation team to be able to make full use of their talent, skills, and creative problem-solving.

Here's the DRINKiQ storyboard walking that tightrope. 

Full link to the project in the description.

Oliver Lawer

We craft animation to perform beautifully | Creative Director @ Outmost

For so many reasons, I've been super excited to release this one! 👏👏👏 

🎬 A story-driven piece we created for DRINKiQ (Diageo's responsible drinking platform) with UK Men's Sheds Association, in partnership with Blurred.

👉 The challenge?
How do you get people to care about responsible drinking stats without losing them in the first 8 seconds?

You don't lead with the stats.
You lead with a bench.

👉 Here's how we structured engagement:

🚀 0-8 seconds (hook): 
"This bench was built after a phone call that lasted exactly three minutes and forty-seven seconds. That's how long it took to change a life."

Specific. Intriguing. Human.
No one knows where this is going yet. 
But they want to find out.

🚀 8-45 seconds (humanise): 
Meet Martin. 
Work boots in the cupboard. 
Retirement at 57. 
A purpose-shaped hole where loneliness crept in.

This isn't a PSA. 
It's someone's dad. 
Someone's neighbour.
Someone's friend.

🚀 45-90 seconds (core message): 
Only now do we reveal the challenge.
Nearly 1 in 3 men aged 55-74 drink at increasing risk levels.

We immediately follow with hope:  
Mission Shoulder to Shoulder. 
100 benches. 
Real connection.

📌 Why this structure works:
Stats don't change behaviour. 
Stories do.

We could have opened with the drinking stat.
Instead, we wanted that drinking stat to mean something first.

Then the stat lands differently. 
Because now it's got a story behind it.

This is what story-led content really means.
Making content relatable. Human. Understood. 

We're also incredibly grateful to be trusted to concept and produce such a story. That's well over half a great product already. Great client. Great brief. Great collaboration. Thanks Blurred and especially to Cathal Wogan and Malini Bhargav.

Link to full video in comments.

The 'clients never see this' series. This one is from an animation on unconscious bias in recruitment.

When I first saw the before frame, I couldn't quite work out what wasn't working.

It followed the visual storyboard perfectly.

There was nothing wrong with the animation movement or pacing.

So what was it?!

The script line offers some clues: 
"Especially with complex decisions, like recruitment."

A very short line for starters. 
But there's another aspect to it. 

The script isn't explicitly stating the message the visual is trying to convey—when we interview someone with a headscarf, we're much less likely to recruit them.

(An uncomfortable message for sure).

So the visual is having to do the heavy lifting (which it wasn't doing very well). 

The solution?

👉 Add "Interview Success Rate" as a heading
👉 Swap the transition for a side-by-side comparison
👉 Make the numbers way bigger so they draw the eye

I've talked about how important storyboards are before. And they are! But they aren't 100% bulletproof. 

Sometimes what looks good in still frames doesn't translate well in motion.

Or maybe it's just an experience thing.

Full project in the comments.

"Work from home" Strike that. "Work from anywhere".

I am so grateful to live in a time where working from (quite literally) anywhere is actually possible.

I'm sitting at a quiet cafe in Chiang Dao, Thailand.

👉 Does the cafe have WiFi? 
No, but I can tether my phone to my laptop.

👉 Whoa, you have mobile data in such a remote location? 
Yep. Just not in Norwich City Centre, England 🤷

👉 Doesn't it cost a fortune for mobile data?
Nope. Cheap as chips. 

If one of the things holding you back from the digital nomad lifestyle is reliable access to the internet... you can scrub that off the list. In most of Asia at least.

You really can work from anywhere (and I've really pushed that belief to the limit!).

So if you're teetering on the edge of exploring the world whilst working... maybe this helps nudge you off :)

Have a lovely weekend all.

How do you make PR campaign content sticky, engaging and shareable?
🚀 By thinking story.

Why? 

Because stories are how we make sense of the world. 
How we relate to one another. 
And one of the most powerful ways to communicate.

When agencies come to us, it's not just about delivering a brief.

It's about discovering the narrative angle together—the story that makes content genuinely engaging, newsworthy, and shareable.

🎬 Then we focus on flawless execution.

Or in other words—how to make the story as engaging as possible.

🏆 Some of the most notable projects include Wellcome Trust/CEPI's Pandemic Prevention campaign, which helped secure over $460m in funding and won multiple CIPR awards.

🏆 And the Association of British Insurers' Dad Comes Home campaign, which won PRCA Financial Communications Campaign of the Year and PR Week Corporate Affairs Best Use of Content.

If I had to sum up what makes animated content for a PR campaign successful, I'd say three things:

👉 Know your audience (inside out)
👉 Find the angle that will resonate
👉 Use a story wrapper to deliver the message

If you're interested in the latest campaigns we've worked on, I'll put a link in the description.

What's the cardinal sin of explainer videos? Trying to explain everything.

The trouble with trying to explain everything is...

It usually makes for a very long and boring video. 

And we know what the stats say about those. 

So what to do instead?
👉 Read our blog ;)
Link in the description. 

Here are some other things it covers:
👉 Follow a clear narrative structure (mirror how people actually decide)
👉 Lead with their problem, not your solution
👉 Focus on 3-4 key benefits (not every feature)
👉 Make the call-to-action crystal clear
👉 And much more

"Can you make it pop?" I've been in this industry for 15 years and I still don't know what "make it pop" means.

Not really.

I know what the client thinks they mean. 
They want it to stand out. 
To grab attention. 
To feel more dynamic.
Or something...

But "pop" isn't a design principle.
It's a feeling they can't articulate.

So here comes the real challenge — how do you tease out what "make it pop" really means?

You ask. 
Those deep and annoyingly probing questions. 
And wait in the sometimes awkward silence for the answer. 

My experience is if you give people enough time and work with them to figure out their feelings towards the creative, the answer usually becomes clear. 

And usually it's not as dramatic as "make it pop" might foster in us creatives 😱

“Some people are creative. Some aren’t.”
Is this true?

I mean, it would be hard to class creativity as a skill. 

You can’t go to university and do a degree in creativity. 

So you’re either born with it or you’re not.
Right…?

It’s interesting to think about. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines it as: “The use of imagination or original ideas to create something.”

Could you teach someone to have original ideas? 🤔

Here’s where it gets fascinating tho:

According to OCC London > 

👉 Every child aged 3-5 is naturally creative. Most lose it by adulthood. (OCC London, 2023)

So let me get this straight…

We’re naturally born creative, then something happens and we lose it. 

What? How? So many questions. 
What happens to all our creativity?

What’s your take?

Is creativity inherent? 
Or can it be taught?

What’s the deal with creativity?

P.S. that’s me in the picture, apparently at my most creative!

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Why do I always have my best ideas on a plane? 🤔 Turns out it's not just me!

Spotted this utterly mesmerising cloud on a flight to Bangkok.

And my brain seemed to come alive with new ideas!

It wasn't the cloud as such, but I got curious. 
Are we more creative 35,000 feet up?
So I did some digging.

Apparently we are! 

But it's actually the idle time that makes space for our brains to make new connections.

No notifications. 
No interruptions. 
Just thinking.

It made me wonder whether this can be artificially induced.

"Airplane mode" on the ground, so to speak.

Curious to know if anyone has a little routine like this they do daily or weekly, and what's been the effect?

And why is it so hard to do make time for idle time?

I filmed a monkey eating an Oreo yesterday.
Sounds random, but hear me out.

The monkey twisted it apart. 
Licked the cream. 
Then ate each biscuit separately.

Exactly like millions of humans do.
It was fascinating. 

It also reminded me of Cadbury’s old Creme Egg campaign: “How do you eat yours?”

The campaign was brilliant because they essentially built an entire personality test around their product. 

Genius. 

Are you methodical or impulsive? 
Patient or immediate? 
Ritualistic or efficient?

The monkey has its method. 
You have yours.

It also made me reflect on client personality types. A kind of… how do you like your creative relationships? 

👉 Some clients like to tightly control. 
👉 Others are incredibly trusting.
👉 And then there are those in the middle that love to collaborate throughout. 

If only we could tell at the start by how they eat their Oreo eh?

‘You only get burnout if you fail.’ Do you agree with Sam Altman (Open AI)?

I stumbled onto this recording, and honestly, I’ve never heard this perspective before.

And it made me question my own belief.

Because yes, I do believe burnout comes from overworking — regardless of whether it’s ‘successful’ or not.

But maybe I’m wrong 🤷.

Maybe burnout only affects those who have both worked too hard and failed.

Having experienced burnout myself, I must admit, I did come off the back of failure.

What’s your take?

Video credit: @JohnNack / YouTube

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