Fat Rat Films
Documentary Filmmakers & multi-media Storytellers Fat Rat Films is a multi award-winning documentary filmmaking partnership of Gemma Atkinson and Fred Grace.
Their films have been broadcast on BBC Newsnight, Channel 4, Al-Jazeera, The Guardian, The New York Times, screened worldwide at festivals and garnered national press coverage. They direct and produce documentaries for various NGO’s including Amnesty International, The Elders, Publish What You Pay and Oxfam on subjects of global governance and social justice.
11/12/2023
Our latest film for Amnesty International - it's a tough one to watch - but we're really proud of it, so please do check it out...
Deadly Israeli Attack on Journalists In Lebanon Must be Investigated as a War Crime Israeli strikes on a group of seven journalists in south Lebanon on 13 October, which killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others, were l...
Film peeps! We're currently on the lookout for freelance directors of photography in Uganda, Malaysia and the UAE for an upcoming project. If you have any recommendations, please drop Ella ([email protected]) an email before this coming Friday. Thanks! 😁
23/06/2023
Sign the Petition to Save Raha's Life!
Raha is a 9-year-old Syrian refugee, and victim of an apartment fire which left her with severe burns earlier this year. She's facing an uphill battle to heal from her wounds but healthcare in Lebanon is expensive, and her treatment options are limited.
By signing this petition, we demand a medical visa for Raha and her transfer to a hospital in the UK or Europe, where she can receive the specialised care she needs to recover. Every signature counts and brings us closer to saving her life!
Sign the Petition Save the life of 9-year-old Raha
22/06/2023
Podcast and documentary lovers! If you haven't done so yet be sure to check out Gemma's insightful interview on Documentary Storytellers where her and Chris King discuss what it takes to be an effective storyteller, motivations for founding a production company and so much more!
Fat Rat Films Founded in 2008, we are a small but passionate team of documentary film makers, committed to telling our subjects' stories in the best way possible - creatively and authentically.
12/06/2023
Calling all documentary enthusiasts! 🎥
In exciting news, our very own Gemma recently featured on the incredible podcast "Documentary Storytellers", hosted by Chris King. Join her and Chris as they dive into the captivating world of documentary filmmaking, discussing everything from Fat Rat's beginnings to the secrets behind crafting impactful narratives.
Click on the link below or simply search "Documentary Storytellers" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast platform to tune in!
PODCAST: Gemma Atkinson - Documentary filmmaker - Documentary Storytellers This week I’m speaking to documentary filmmaker Gemma Atkinson, who is based between London and Barcelona, and co-founded the production company Fat Rat Films 15 years ago where she is the current creative director. Gemma has a vast amount of experience within the industry, and has produced countl...
31/05/2023
Celebrating Menstrual Health Month! 🌸🩸
In honour of breaking stigmas around menstruation and creating awareness, we want to give a special shoutout to 28ish Days Later, a brilliant and educational podcast series that sheds a light on the everyday experiences women go through during their menstrual cycles.
It's an incredible resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of menstrual health, and what happens to a woman's body during her cycle.
AI Video experiment | Week 5 | 18th May 2023 | AI software used: Deepbrain
This will be our final output for these AI video experiments as we feel 5 outputs is enough to show the breadth of what the AI software available to us can do at this stage. It's also becoming tricky to find software that doesn't offer a similar service at this point.
As a reminder this was an opportunity to be creative and to have licence to experiment with AI programs available to the public. We can learn what tools are best to use, which programs work for specific effects desired. We wanted to understand this new technology and how we can best use it for our clients. The task we set ourselves was to create multiple videos from a singular script each week using different AI tools available.
Overall each software had its strengths and weaknesses. Where they fail is when they try to offer all of the services! The programs that worked the best are the ones that focussed on their strengths. These would become part of an already existing editing workflow. For example you could start in Chat GPT to form your script, then bring that into Steve.ai to create a short and snappy animation, then over to Murf.ai for the Voice over. And bring it all together in something with a bit more manual, human control like premiere. The main downfall of these programs is the un-adaptability to tone/branding, often basing the content from templates, it gets really fiddly and limiting to try and input your own style which is so important for consistent engaging content. That’s something we’d like to see more of, a program that gets to know your company and can output/suggest accordingly, we think that’s when we’ll see a big change in the industry for video editors.
We thank you for staying tuned with us over the last five weeks and welcome any feedback or questions you may have on any of the videos we’ve published.
15/05/2023
Today marks the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week. At Fat Rat Films, we have been proud to support the WHO in creating films over the years that help to break down the stigma surrounding mental health, and encourage open and honest conversations about this important subject.
It's always okay not to be okay, and we will continue pushing for better mental health care and support for everyone. Sharing a short film we made in honour of Mental Health Day 2021, where we heard about the challenges some faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMajYyya2mc&ab_channel=WorldHealthOrganization%28WHO%29
The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected our mental health? Listen to Helen, Jordan, Toluse, Sebastian, Laxmi, and Arsha talk about the challenges they faced w...
AI Video experiment | Week 4 | 9th May 2023 | AI software used: Murf.ai
The main takeaway is that this is a great program to get a quick VO sorted but would recommend another software to edit your visuals with.
- The text-to-VO function works really well! The range of voices is great, giving us many more options on tone of voice, style of voice, accents, gender, age, etc - overall I’m impressed with this function. The two real voices we chose for the final output are much more emotional and much less robotic than the other programs have allowed. The effect is as though Fred and I were narrating the video ourselves giving it a personal feel.
- The visuals are very static, it only allows a drag and drop which doesn’t allow for a lot of dynamism which is much needed for an output like this.
- There are too few images being used by the program so it feels slow and clunky.
- The images used are not illustrative of what’s being said.
- Tonally the music doesn’t suit the story being told.
08/05/2023
Let's break the silence for Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week. Our friends at Tommy's work tirelessly to find causes and treatments for pregnancy complications and baby loss, while also providing information and support to families in need. And as we come together to raise awareness, it's important to remember that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
If you're struggling with your mental health during or after pregnancy, know that you're not alone. There is support available, and it's okay to ask for help. Repost this photo, let's spread the message and support each other through difficult times.
04/05/2023
Political activist Jamshid Sharmahd has been held hostage by the Islamic Republic of Iran for 18 months in solitary confinement, without access to legal representation or contact with his family. His health is deteriorating, and he's being subjected to a political show trial that could result in the death penalty.
Please consider taking action by signing this petition to show your support for Jamshid and his family. Let's bring him home!
Sign the Petition Save Jamshid Sharmahd!
AI Video experiment | Week 3 | 2nd May 2023 | AI software used: Steve.ai
Overall this software has my vote out of the three we’ve experimented with so far.
- Impressed with the animated and graphical elements
- Although still not terribly exciting to watch engages me more than previous outputs
- More humour than other outputs due to the animated characters
- Like the lack of VO
- Images still not fitting for period of time being written about
- The music is well chosen for the rousing positive output this is meant to be
- Pacing needs work but it isn’t as painful as the previous outputs we’ve seen.
28/04/2023
Last year, we released The World Cup Whistleblower, a short documentary that sheds light on the working conditions of migrant workers constructing stadiums for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Made in partnership with the human rights organisation Equidem, this short film tells the powerful story of one migrant worker's experience, and brings light to dangerous working practices covered up by the Qatari authorities. It's never too late to join the conversation and stand up for workers' rights!
https://www.festivalformula.com/theslate/the-world-cup-whistleblower
The World Cup Whistleblower — Festival Formula Production Country: Nepal Running Time: 10mins Year: 2022 To host the World Cup, Qatar went on a stadium building spree, using hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers to toil in the desert sun. Anish helped build the world cup final stadium and his explosive story lifts the lid on modern s
AI Video experiment | Week 2 | 25th April 2023 | AI software used: Pictory
The issues I have with Pictory are very similar to last week’s software used (InVideo) although I do rate Pictory slightly higher because it takes less time to create a video which is better for the company. That said, the limitations of the software that make this time saving possible means the level of creative input from our end is vastly reduced.
- After the achingly long first output, we asked the prog to keep the video under 50 seconds which has improved the pacing but is still by no means perfect. Still, it’s nice to have this function.
- Unfortunately, there is no option to add atmos or SFX.
- It is possible to add music but only from their own stock libraries which are very corporate and don't have many options.
- There’s no eye for how the images sit together visually to tell a story.
- Colour and movement has not been taken into account either.
- The VO lacks personality. There is an option to add our own VO but there’s less options to time assets as there's no timeline view in Pictory which could get very fiddly unless you recorded the audio to match the video after creating it.
- As Charlie mentions the auto-suggested footage is better/more on point than InVideo's but it still doesn’t seem to understand dates and the chronology of the timeline - and unfortunately this software doesn't even give you an option to tag. You can only upload images and drag and drop them.
- A positive of this software is that it does allow you to drag the images within the frame so that all information is included and no information is lost in a crop.
- The text on screen is slightly more exciting than InVideo’s due to the two-tone colour it automatically generated. But it's not responsive to the images/footage in the background so you have to change each as you go to make sure the overlaps look correct.
Fat Rat’s AI Video experiment | Week 1 | 18th April 2023 | AI software used: InVideo
*Drum roll please* Here is our first foray into the AI experiments.
Although suitably impressed with this final output, it’s not content which would pass our quality controls. We’ve gathered together further thoughts below:
- The pacing isn’t right. From the speed of the robotic VO to the choice of the number of images used to illustrate points within the script makes it feel sluggish and quite frankly boring.
- Bridging between one section to another is lazy.
- The tone and speed of the VO is entirely wrong for the style of the output. It should be fun, upbeat, fast and full of energy. N.B There is an option to not include VO or add our pre-recorded VO but this is much more time consuming and doesn't fall within the parameters of the rules we set ourselves.
- It is humourless. Despite the script being in ‘our voice’ the software doesn't seem to understand where to pause for effect or to add a cheekier tone of voice.
- The software doesn't seem to understand dates, countries and nuance resulting in the wrong images being used to illustrate specific times and places and unfortunately this software doesn't even give you an option to tag.
- Some images have been cropped meaning the main information within that image has been cut out.
- The text on screen is good but again far too slow for a quick output like this. I feel this video could be 30 seconds or less if treated right.
Whether you’re a filmmaker or a client, how do you think AI-generated videos might impact the creative industry? Let’s hear your thoughts below.
Will AI redefine our Video Production?
Fat Rat investigates the pitfalls & possibilities with weekly AI Video Experiments.
It's the cool new thing of 2023 and has got people from all walks of life fascinated, intrigued and full of fear all at the same time. Has the day finally come where robots can do our jobs rendering us obsolete?
We’ve all been aware of the automation of jobs for many years now but what’s making some of us panic is that it’s coming after the creatives too?!
Personally I have my doubts about this tool that is only in its infancy but, despite this, I’m prepared to explore its scope. And, so, here, at the house of Fat Rat, we thought we’d put the artificial intelligence tools to the test. The experiment explores how AI is going to change social media videos and how it can be a helpful tool for all our lovely non-profit clients.
The AI experiment: The controls we’ve set ourselves are simple; our in-house editor Charlie will feed a singular script (written by us) and images/videos into the chosen AI program of the week. Depending on how good the video output is, we will spend a maximum of 2 hours tweaking it. The only variable will be the AI software used each week.
N.B We will be only using AI software that is free to use or has a free trial available.
Catch up with us every Tuesday lunchtime as we share these video experiments across our social media platforms.
27/03/2023
Last week we welcomed a new member to the team. Everybody, meet Charlie!
Charlie is our new in-house Editor and Post-production Supervisor. We're thrilled to have her on board and can't wait to create exciting content together.
Welcome to the Fat Rat family! 🎉
22/03/2023
Gendered disinformation is being weaponised to undermine the rights of women and minorities.
work towards uncovering the disturbing uses of this misinformation, and launched their groundbreaking research series over 2 years ago. The series has been featured by the Time, the Guardian and Bloomberg.
Join the conversation today:
#ShePersisted - Research and Thought Leadership Our original, ground-breaking research is the bedrock of our activity, shaping public discourse on gendered disinformation campaigns.
19/03/2023
Mother's Day can be an emotional time for many, especially those who don't have their much-loved baby with them.
Last year, Tommy's launched their campaign to show the realities of what being a mum can mean.
More info here: https://www.tommys.org/WeSeeAMum
Join us for #WeSeeAMum 2023 Gemma, we know Mother's Day can be an emotional time for many, especially those who don't have their much-loved baby with them. Which is why we launched our campaign last year - to show the realities of what being a mum can mean.
TGIF and a happy St Patrick's Day from the house of Fat Rat, with a special shoutout to our lovely Cork-based colleague James. 🍀
May your day be filled with plenty of green, good luck, and happy memories... Sláinte! 🍻
10/03/2023
Catalysing an end to child marriage in Uganda.
We worked with the team at Girls Not Brides to produce a short impact video which recognised and thanked the People’s Postcode Lottery for their funding. Their generosity financially supported their 2020 pilot project in accelerating efforts to end child marriage in Uganda.
09/03/2023
Do Girls and Women Count?
This podcast series shares stories from female rights activists around the world on their individual journeys through inequality. From the US, via Chile all the way to Sri Lanka, we hear brave accounts of their experiences and personal traumas.
08/03/2023
This Girl Can!
Last year we documented three inspiring stories, all celebrations of women in sport who have made a comeback through being active, and the power of community in helping them hit their stride.
07/03/2023
A powerful portrait of gender lines in the s*x industry – this short lip-sync documentary tells the story of men who buy s*x, rather than the women selling it.
It scooped up the SIMA 2016 Creative Activism Impact Video Award as well as a host of other nominations.
06/03/2023
Women have always made up at least half of our workforce. That’s something we hope won’t change.
Female voices are at the heart of what we do. In honour of International Women’s Day, we’ll be sharing some hand-picked female-led stories every day this week. Stay tuned!
If you haven't done so yet be sure to give us a follow on our new TikTok account:
Lots of exciting content coming soon, don't miss out!! 🍿
28/02/2023
We love the work that do!
Women in politics and journalism experience relentless volumes of online abuse, threats, and gendered disinformation campaigns on social media. This means that many women decide against running for office, self-censor, or refrain from speaking out. works to end this abuse against women in public life through a unique strategy.
Check out their three-pronged strategy and find out how you can be more involved:
#ShePersisted - Home Women in politics are under attack globally. is fighting to protect democracy from digital harms.
15/02/2023
The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have caused devastation on an unimaginable scale.
Please consider donating, and finding out about other ways you can help:
Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal Devastating earthquakes have killed thousands of people in Turkey and Syria. Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed. Survivors are facing freezing conditions and need urgent aid. Please donate now.
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
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