The Majestical Story
Pretty majestical, aye?
It takes years to hone a truly great creative vision and, as it turns out it, it takes about the same amount of time to build a bloody brilliant creative studio full of folks who love what they do.
While Majestical’s journey is only just beginning, it’s been a long and winding round up to get to this moment we’re in now.
And if you want to understand where you’re going, it definitely helps to know where you’ve been.
From treading the boards to being at home backstage
The story begins as most epic sagas do: with a starry-eyed six-year-old girl who’s just discovered the glamorous world of amateur youth theatre.
While she, without a doubt, steals the show* as “unnamed royal child” in Congleton AYT’s 1989 production of Alice in Wonderland, alas, she is not destined for the stage.
As it turns out, little Katie Nuttall (now where have you heard that name before ...?) bloody loves being part of a creative production. Who’d have thought it, eh?
Twelve years later and Katie begins her degree in Media Production at the University of Lincoln (with a very unofficial honours in DJing, because why not?). After graduation, she bags a role as a technical operator in shopping TV and gets stuck in.
In the mid-noughties, Katie feels the need for a new challenge. She steps into a senior producer role at a corporate video production company, creating content for juggernauts like Microsoft, Vodafone, and BT.
Over the next four years, Katie jets around the world to manage local crews and oversee shoots in dozens of countries across five continents. It’s a truly wild ride, but when you’re newly married and trying to create life alongside great video content, there comes time for a change.
Superstar DJ!??
Turns out, motherhood and creativity go hand in hand
In 2010 our intrepid founder gives her mind, body, and passport a rest as she takes up position as media technician at a local sixth form college.
In school she supports the students with their media studies homework, helping these young folk to find their own creative groove. A huge highlight is being invited to take some very excited media students to the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, to interview finalists on the red carpet.
A few years and three sprogs later, Katie finds herself on a train to London for a two-day freelance producer gig. She is bricking it, convinced that everyone will just know that she hasn’t done this for a few years and that she is, in fact, a Big Fat Fraud.
It goes very well. The experience reignites the fire in Katie’s belly for creative film production, and in 2017 she decides to say goodbye to teaching and dives into the world of freelance production.
Along for the ride is her youngest nimbling, and Katie learns the ancient art of balancing motherhood with creative passion. If you imagine filming Fatboy Slim live on stage one day and taking an 18-month-old to a Mum & Baby swim session the next, and you’ve pretty much got the gist.
Two years whizz by, and in autumn 2019 Katie realises her youngest will be starting primary school in no time. It feels like the right time to move away from freelance and connect with her own awesome client base as Nimble Film Chick Ltd.
Vibrant brand launch animation
Testimonial from Red Rag Marketing founder Jamie Parker
Did something happen in 2020? It’s not ringing any bells for us...
Ah, hold on. Yes. There was that pesky little world-changing, life-shattering pandemic, wasn’t there?
Like most of us, Katie finds 2020 to be a very weird year. While her freelance work dries up, Nimble Film Chick’s client base continues to grow through the magic of online networking. While her hubby’s work is, thankfully, unaffected, she’s now home-schooling three kids under 10 while building her business. Swings and roundabouts.
Nimble Film Chick gets a name for itself for creating eye-catching video ads and nifty Zoom content. Katie’s nimblings open a café in their lounge and make her little drinks to keep her going. A full home renovation gets underway because the Nuttalls like a bit of a challenge.
By November the hard work and the home-made beverages are paying off; Nimble Film Chick is doing great! It’s no wonder Katie’s swiping tears of frustration from of her eyes just a few months later when Boris announces that kids will need to stay home again.
Sadness. Guilt. Anger. Lockdown 3.0 hits Katie hard and she feels disillusioned and lost. But in typical Nimble style, she and family are in a semblance of flow by February and the business continues to grow.
Plus, the kids throw her a garden party, complete with little, hand-cut, only-slightly-wonky triangle sandwiches. Which is, objectively, very adorable.
A lockdown garden party the kids threw Katie
“I don’t think that’s a word…”
“Majestical? Sure it is.” (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, 2016)
Here’s the thing about your business doing really well: success can start to feel suspiciously like drowning in a Titanic-sized typhoon of stress when you’re going it alone ...
The answer, as you will no doubt be shocked to learn, is to reach out for a helping hand. The idea of bringing on additional staff is daunting, but luckily for Katie she’s about to assemble the best bloody crew she could ever ask for.
In the summer of 2021, Katie is introduced to George Roberts, a tech-savvy editor and director with a background in documentary film. George experiences trial by fire as he accompanies Katie on a shoot, where his keen eye for composition and laser-focused approach make hiring him a no-brainer.
“I” becomes “we” and it’s clear that ‘Nimble Film Chick’ isn’t quite right anymore. Neither is ‘Studio Nimble’, which Katie and George briefly try on for size before realising they needed something big, bold, and brand new.
They take inspiration from a few lines of dialogue exchanged between a mischievous, Tupac-obsessed runaway and his cantankerous foster-father in a Kiwi comedy called ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’. As the two characters gaze out over a picturesque New Zealand mountain range, they gently bicker about whether the word “majestical” is actually a real word or not.
After some careful consideration, Majestical feels like just the right fit for this new creative (ad)venture.
CREDIT: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, 2016
Majestical: assemble!
While Majestical is starting to look ship-shape, the crew aren’t quite all accounted for just yet.
In September, Rachel Mellor comes onboard as the ever-logical producer who brings the calm in the midst of the storm. An ex-colleague of Katie’s, Rachel is an incredibly experienced production professional who facilitates Majestical’s creative endeavours.
Like Katie, Rachel is a working mum who wants to balance quality time with her kids and helping to create stuff she really believes in. She gets her kicks from producing great video content for people who do genuine good in the world.
Hot on Rachel’s heels is Vikki Hesse, illustrator and artist extraordinaire. She uses her creative skills to create gorgeous storyboards and illustrations, allowing everyone to visualise the final piece before the cameras or keyframes have even started rolling. Every digital line and squiggle that flows from Vikki’s stylus helps the team to capture the right kind of footage. And she’s in the process of launching the #REELKIND illustrative branch of the business which we’re all really excited about!
With the crew all assembled, it becomes clear that this new team needs a space to be all creative in the same room together, so in November 2021 the Majestical squad moves into their fabulous new digs.
Wowing clients and uplifting the team
The new year dawns and the Majestical team get down to the very serious business of dreaming big.
#REELKIND, a community-focused charity initiative is dreamt up and the team begin reaching out to local universities and non-profits to explore how Majestical can support their work.
As part of a newly refined mission to support businesses and organisations that are trying to make the world a better place, the team looks into BCorp certification. And speaking of the planet, the office becomes a binless, power-saving oasis of sustainability, with weekly deliveries of (packaging-free) fruit from the grocer round the corner.
To keep Majestical’s incredible crew shipshape, the team is given access to the Breeze app from Health Shield and family-friendly working policies are put in place. Personal and professional development plans are established for every team member, so they can grow as the business does.
And with a brand spanking new creative service launch planned for later this year, there’s plenty to keep the Majestical team on their toes and its clients beaming from ear to ear.
We know that everyone loves a good yarn (and we do hope you enjoyed ours) but the very best part is yet to come. Watch this space for thrilling new chapters of the Majestical saga, and get in touch to discover how we’re bringing awesome clients and collaborators like you along for the ride!
