Benjamin Hackett - Freelance Creative

So, I’m 8 days into Movember and, seeing as I now have something to show off, I’m asking for your help.

In usual fashion, I’m growing a few whiskers on my top lip and asking people to donate money towards .

Together we can make a difference for men's health – in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and su***de prevention. Let’s help stop men dying too young.

https://uk.movember.com/mospace/14385233 🐛

Market day, not impressed

Out with again today at .

Some paint got thrown around.

Thanks to everyone who showed up today, it was great to speak to so many people passionate about creativity in the city.

As this was organised with very little notice, keep an eye out for the next one. I’ll give you more than 2 days notice next time.

Thanks .coffee for hosting us too!

It was great to be out shooting again yesterday with .hip.pop, an organic, vegan and really cool Kombucha brand based at Dunham Massey.

BTS photo taken by whilst we shot some talking heads.

Filmed with my new FX3 and lit with some beefy .lighting lights.

I can’t wait to share this project once it’s finished.

I had the pleasure of shooting my first wedding on New Year’s Eve.

It’s not ready yet but I wanted to share some frames from the initial cut.

Congratulations again to and . It was a beautiful day and I can’t wait to share the end result.

Being a freelancer can be hard but surrounding yourself with good people makes it a lot easier.

Whilst reflecting back on the past year, it’s easy to pick out moments where I would have been completely stuck without Rachel ().

Thanks for always lending me your creative eye (even if you’ve already checked things 20 times), taking the dog out for a wee when I’m “hard at work” and for not going completely mental having to live and work with me.

I’m still busy finishing off the last projects for 2021 but very much looking forward to we’ll earned rest.

What we’ve been listening to in the studio this week: Local Valley, José Gonzáles.

I’ve been a fan of José Gonzáles for a long time and finally got to see him play live at The Albert Hall last week.

To watch him sit alone with his guitar and play to a room of people, silent in awe, was incredible.

There was no extravagant lighting display, no drunken chanting and no unnecessary frills. Just one man, a nylon string guitar and a whole lot of talent.

P.S. When I say we, I’m referring to my studio pal and Remy the dog.

I’ve launched my new website.

Well, it’s not actually finished yet but it’s almost there.

I’m really happy to be able to show off more of my work so please feel free to check it out.

The link’s in my bio.

When the boss says “we’re filming in the lakes” but he actually means we’re filming in ‘a’ lake.

Great day out with and shooting some content for Speedo.

A few BTS shots, thanks .

Operating second camera for . Sony FX6 with 24-70 G Master on a Ronin DJI RS2.

You might have noticed that I’ve decided to change the name of this account (from ).

Proper Thinking continues to be a thing, albeit taking a slightly different direction - more on that another time.

By working under my own name, I’ll be able to show a lot more of the work I do without worrying about it fitting under the “Proper Thinking brand” eg camera operating, assisting on shoots and post production etc.

Essentially, the only thing that’s changed is the name.

Normal service will now be resumed.

Had the pleasure of working with on a really cool 3 day shoot in Blackpool this week.

Here are the brains of the operation hard at work on a very cold and windy day 3.

We’ve been working with recently to help them tell their story effectively through their web copy.

Alongside a full copy re-write, we went and captured some photos in their lovely new studio to add some imagery to their new site.

We’re looking forward to sharing what we’ve done with this great team of creatives.

Well, someone’s going to have to go and get changed. Not for their embarrassment though, it’s just because Ben’s feeling left out.

Extremely fortunate to have The Harris () on our doorstep.

It was nice to wander round again after such a long time.

We love bicycles and we love how many people got back on them during lockdown.

As restrictions are lifted, we’re hopeful that people continue on two wheels instead of rushing back to use four.

To throw in our two pennies worth, we decided to come up with . A group committed to getting the people of Preston on their bikes.

It’s early days but we have a lot in the works so feel free to check out the page.





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What we’ve been listening to this week: Ben Stafford - Poetry.

We had the pleasure of meeting at an open mic at a few years ago. Initially, we were impressed by his lovely Martin guitar but soon found ourselves even more impressed with the way he played it.

Ben was kind enough to send us his new album, Poetry so we could get an early listen before it comes out in a few weeks. Drawing influence from John Martyn, Ben Howard and Bon Iver, it’s not hard to see why we like his music.

The addition of Martyn-esque drum loops on tracks such as Poem 2 and Lanherne along with big swirling delays throughout the album help Ben create atmospheric sound beds on which his soft vocal tones effortlessly float across.

Our favourite tracks are Lanherne, Today And Tomorrow and we’re also big fans of the tasty guitar tone on Rose Pt II.

Make sure you check out Ben’s new album on the 4th June, trust us, it’s proper good.

We had a great time shooting with last week.

Looking forward to getting out there again soon.

As a studio, we’ve always taken pride in the emphasis we place on sustainability.

From minimising the waste we create to the way we travel, we believe that our work should leave no trace and we aim to be as kind to our planet and the people on it as possible.

We operate in a way which we believe everyone should.

Aside from offering campaign planning and strategy, brand strategy and identity, photography, videography and graphic design, we’d also love the chance to help you and your business operate in a more sustainable way.

If you fancy a chat, drop us a message, the coffee is on us.

We had a great time filming with last weekend.

Xanthe is a sustainable chef and grower and got us onboard to create some really cool outdoor cooking videos from her greenhouse in North Wales.

We’re really excited to share the end result, check out Xanthe’s Instagram and keep your eyes out for the videos being released.

We enjoyed photographing a couple of ’s new pieces recently.

Check out the rest of their range on their page.

For those of you who missed it, we moved into our first studio space at .house last month and we’re proper loving it.

We’re almost finished getting it all sorted so give us a shout if you’re around and fancy a coffee, socially distanced of course.

As it’s International Women’s Day, we’re showing some gratitude to our talented photographer .

Rachel is the creative behind all of our photography work and also provides a much needed sense of calm in the studio.

Here’s a photo of her eating some toast.

Cake Friday. Thanks .preston!

We put a post out on LinkedIn so some of you may already know but, if not, here goes...

We’ve moved into our own studio space!

We’re waiting to get a few more bits finished before we share the whole space with you so until then, this photo will have to do.

Our designer brought a bit of colour into the studio on Monday. Not sure if the coordination was intentional but it looked cool.

Need more height!
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