A commercial production company in London, built around the producer.

How we produce a commercial.

A commercial usually reaches us as an agency script, sometimes as a brand brief with no agency at all. Either way the job runs the same: we read the script for what it will really cost, propose directors and get treatments in, and build a budget and schedule the agency can take to the client. Then casting, locations and permits, crew and kit, the shoot, post supervision through edit, grade, sound and VFX, and delivery — the masters, cutdowns, social versions and stills the media plan needs. Father Figures for Courvoisier, created by Calling, is the model: one producer from the first call to the final master.

• Director search, treatments, budgets and schedules
• Casting, locations, permits and art department
• Crew and heads of department we already shoot with
• Post supervision and delivery — masters, cutdowns, social, stills

What “deliberately small” means in practice.

In Color takes on a small number of commercials a year, and the founder produces them. Jonny Kight has produced commercials for O2, Budweiser, Converse, NatWest, Admiral, Nissan, Carlsberg, Audible, Coors and Copper, with directors including Peter Lydon, Paul McGuigan, Chris Faith, Ben Taylor, Diarmid Harrison-Murray and Kiku Ohe — work recognised at Cannes Lions, the British Arrows, D&AD and the APAs. In practice, small means the person who quotes the job is the person on set and the person who signs off delivery: one number to call, and a decision when you call it. The team scales to the job; the relationship does not.

• One producer from quote to delivery — no handovers
• Crews and HoDs booked for the script, not from a roster
• Credits that name the producing company honestly

London, the UK, and the network beyond.

London is home base: crew and kit from the London rental houses, borough and Royal Parks permits, and the producers on the ground — In Color is a member of Film London’s London Filming Partnership. When the script wants coast or country we take it to the Jurassic Coast from our Dorset base. When it needs sun in January, glaciers or the Alps, we hold the job from London and our production partners run the ground: Groundglass in Cape Town, TrueNorth in Reykjavík, Two Point O in Ljubljana. One producer, one contract, one line of sight. In reverse, for overseas agencies bringing a commercial to London, In Color is the UK production service company on the ground.

• London — crew, kit, borough and Royal Parks permits
• Dorset and the Jurassic Coast — two hours from London
• Cape Town — Groundglass
• Reykjavík and the Nordics — TrueNorth
• Ljubljana and the Alps — Two Point O

Are you a commercial production company based in London?

Yes. In Color is a London commercial production company, producing commercials for agencies and brands from brief to delivery, and running UK production service for commercials that come to London from overseas agencies.

Do you work directly with brands, or only through agencies?

Both. Most commercials come through an agency with a script; Father Figures for Courvoisier came from the agency Calling. Brands also commission us directly, and we can bring in a creative or a director to shape the idea first.

What does a commercial cost to produce?

It depends on the script, shoot days, talent, locations, post and deliverables. Send the script or brief, dates and deliverables and we will come back with a first view on cost before anyone commits to a treatment.

Can you produce a commercial outside the UK?

Yes. In Color holds the job from London and partners on the ground — Groundglass in Cape Town, TrueNorth in Reykjavík, Two Point O in Ljubljana — run the territory, so the agency has one producer and one contract wherever the shoot lands.

Who actually produces the job?

Jonny Kight, In Color’s founder and executive producer, with producer Clare Wallis and location manager Mike Glynn. We take on a small number of commercials a year so that every one is produced personally.