Simon Frost and Ben Hanson, the directing duo behind Borderland Studios, are spreading their wings with a new production company Witness.
The duo (below) say Witness will highlight the value of authentic storytelling in an increasingly AI-dominated content world. Their portfolio includes Cannes winners ‘I Will Always Be Me’, banking the voices of people living with motor neurone disease for Dell and Intel, and Lexus’s 2015 Hoverboard campaign ‘Slide’, which won the Gold Cyber Lion at Cannes and the Eurobest Grand Prix.
DELL / INTEL | I WILL ALWAYS BE ME from Witness on Vimeo.
LEXUS SLIDE: ANNOUNCE from Witness on Vimeo.
Witness launches with upcoming campaigns for Microsoft and Dell, setting out to create a destination for brands looking to champion CSR initiatives and ESG credentials and young directing talent eager to learn the craft of emotive storytelling that connects on a human level.
Frost says: “We’re seeing with AI video generation like Sora that much of what we do as an industry will soon be available with a few well-crafted text prompts. Once this takes over, the value and appetite for genuine human experiences, authentic expression and real-time moments captured on film will only increase.”
Hanson says: “In an industry of ever-more-automated, increasingly glossy content, Witness’s trademark authentic, emotive human storytelling will stand apart. Brands coming to Witness will get work that is instantly identifiable as Witness, that cuts through and connects on a deeper level. Talent coming to Witness will have all the infrastructure for authentic, documentary-style filmmaking at their disposal; from specialised casting agents to story researchers and editors who excel in our unique, timeless brand of storytelling.”
