WITH THANKS TO: MUSICBED | PELI PRODUCTS | BETTERHELP | CALMZONE | THE GYM GROUP | POLICYBEE | MEDIA TRAVELS | MICHAEL B. BENNETT ACCOUNTING |
THE HUMANIFESTO
(No, we're not really calling it that)
Originally formed by two close friends in 2018 as a Production Company, Human Creative spent years navigating the world of filmmaking for various platforms in many forms, for all kinds of brands across multiple industries.
Today - after eventually ceasing operations as a Production Company and entering a new chapter as a full time crew agency, Human Creative began a new path to make waves in the world of filmmaking when it comes to welfare.
The ‘one-man-band’ filmmaker has many names; self-shooter, editing videographer, shooting PD etc, but we refer to these filmmaking Swiss-army-knives as 'Shooting Editors'.
Shooting Editors became our immediate calling, a seemingly unmonitored and lawless part of the industry bursting with talent and new, aspiring filmmakers.
Unfortunately, we do not believe our industry was built on healthy - even sustainable ways of working.
We also believe that constant exposure to these toxic work habits, paired with the industries lack of guidance for tenacious, hard grafting filmmakers can brew the perfect storm and a downward ‘race to the bottom’.
Our mission is simple; provide a place like no other for freelance filmmakers that would keep the work flowing in, inherently providing exceptional, reliable crew to production companies, agencies and beyond all whilst providing tools, support and resources to help everyone flourish both professionally and in their personal lives.
Lets get to work.
Mike King
Director & Co-Founder
WE ARE NOT SUSTAINABLE
Undoubtedly our biggest challenge is doing our best to reshape the narrative in an industry that champions a ‘no days off’ mentality.
Sometimes work as a freelancer is ‘feast or famine’, we’ve been there ourselves and it’s our job to help freelancers navigate work/life balance for a better quality of life and to keep the stoke high in an industry we love.
Making a broken system 'less bad' is a good start, but if our actions can actually revitalise the workplace, improve work/life balance, restore working conditions which have been long forgotten, then our work is not just sustainable, it is regenerative.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE SYSTEM,
DON'T DEPEND ON IT.
Despite efforts to retro-fit processes that can make typical agency frameworks more mutually beneficial, the damage is already done.
Inflated, archaic agency fees should be a thing of the past.
With Human, we reverse-engineered how fees work in the interest of everyone, so freelancers will receive 100% of their rate with no monthly fees and no commission, none at all.
Yes, you read that correctly.
We developed our own, tiered system for rates which factors in the annual cost of living along with a healthy frequency of work days, against tangible financial investment into gear - creating a transparent foundation which can be widely adopted; we’re eliminating rate-slashing and the ever-common uncertainty for both freelancers and clients when it comes to ‘what to charge’ and 'what you get'.
Our progressive thinking promptly awarded our agency Living Wage Employer certification in early 2024.
ALL BOATS RISE WITH THE TIDE
From the beginning, one of the greatest endeavours was to create an unrivalled network of support for freelancers - one that would supersede any common workplace, irrespective of industry.
What if freelancers had 'in-house' style benefits and resources but still all the perks of freelance - be their own boss, choose their own hours and reap the rewards of working exclusively on projects they enjoyed?
In 2024 we began onboarding amazing partners who shared our vision and this really is just the beginning...
As these partnerships grow, so do the conversations, so does our reach and so does the level of support we are able to pass on.
We’re incredibly proud to pass on a constantly growing abundance of resources, discounts, subscriptions and perks to help our freelancers grow in as many aspects of life as possible, guided by our following core Impact Categories:
Mind, Movement, Money & Mastery
LAUGH NOW, CRY NEVER
Our four Impact Categories are the DNA that makes up our overall impact.
Mind:
From access to therapists to resources to navigate financial worry - tools from the best in class that can help with mental health.
Movement:
A healthy mind is nothing without a healthy body; at the core of Movement are our physical health and well-being partnerships, designed to keep us happy and moving.
Money:
Financial worry is a leading cause of stress and the importance of a healthy relationship with money can not be overstated.
Access to financial tools including an exclusive chartered accountants helps members stay on top of money and taxes.
Mastery:
This is where the filmmaking community holds us up; tools to level our members up in their careers and grow professionally.
BOREDOM IS THE ENEMY
We’re human, just like you, we have ambitious targets but we won’t always get it right, we’re here to grow together.
Accountability and transparency are huge parts of our own journey; our goals are free for the world to see on our impact page and our door is wide open when it comes to feedback.
If you’ve read this far, perhaps you’ll come a little further...
Whether you’re a freelancer or a client looking for crew, we love to talk.