December 12, 2023
What have we been up to this November?
November 2023 was a packed month! From an exciting opening in town, to gearing up for the Christmas season, to creating video content – loads of video content! We’re almost breaking a record with the number of videos we’ve filmed, including thrilling interviews, highlights from events, and trendy TikToks. Despite the hustle and bustle, November was a blast.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what we’ve been busy with!
Our team had so much fun attending and capturing exciting content at many events, including multiple visits to Pizza Pilgrims during their opening week (resulting in almost a week-long pizza feast). Don’t miss the interview with the team behind the pizzeria, available HERE.
Leeds city centre is a glow with the most exciting Christmas celebration in years! Leeds BID brings a Spectacular Christmas Projection to the Queens Hotel, featuring British actress Celia Imrie voicing the whole animation. We even had Celia herself in the C81 office to record the beautiful voiceover.
Briggate shines with new light decorations – we captured the magic on a windy night last week. Dive into Leeds’ Christmas spirit and an interview with James Glancy, the mastermind behind the Briggate lights HERE.
Leeds International Festival of Ideas 2024
It’s still 10 months to go until LIFI24, and we’re already in full swing preparing for the festival. With this project we only really have one or two weeks off and have been moulding, thinking, debating the full plan and themes. We are excited to reveal the dates in early January.
As we gear up for the upcoming festival, let’s take a moment to reflect on some impressive stats from this year’s LIFI: 100% of visitors agreed that LIFI offers excellent value for money, with an impressive 99% expressing that the program is unique and varied. As well as 85% visited Leeds specifically for the festival, and a remarkable 80% expressed pride in having a festival like LIFI in Leeds.
While the next festival is in the making, you can watch the LIFITV that we had the joy to produce and film.
Flat Iron
Flat Iron officially opened its doors on November 30th, and we were tasked with helping them launch in Leeds.
Throughout the entire of last week, we had the pleasure of hosting media, stakeholders from the city, hospitality friends, and some sporting greats at the restaurant for exclusive ‘first looks’ and delightful lunches. The energy has been fantastic, and it’s been a joy to see our guests enjoying the restaurant.
Adding to the excitement, the pre-launch celebratory steak giveaway caused a stir with a queue starting at 15:30 and the restaurant having to open an hour earlier. Flat Iron gave away over 250 Wagyu steaks and the place was a buzz.
We also put the new equipment to the test and filmed some beautiful-looking shots for WTL, which you can watch HERE.
Thackray Museum of Medicine
Thackray’s online gift shop oversaw a big update ahead of the Christmas season, and we’ve been working behind the scenes to bring customers the best experience possible – updating the website, and creating content and profiles for each product, helping drive traffic.
We’ve spent an action-packed content day at the museum mid-month. We captured shots of the latest products for the shop, had a blast filming TikToks embracing trends and dancing, and wrapped up the day by hosting an exclusive press preview of the museum’s upcoming Christmas event. This immersive Christmas trail with Thackray’s elves and an audience with Father Christmas is a unique activity for the whole family, and we recommend exploring it! Check the details HERE.
Ma-Hé
Another highlight of the month was a content day at Ma-Hé – known for its exceptional Coastal Indian cuisine and impressive bar menu. Working closely with their marketing manager, Raza, and the welcoming kitchen and bar staff, we captured images of their latest main dishes, the lunch menu, diverse cocktails, and exciting mocktails for their digital content. Take a peek at a couple of the shots below.
Canon C70
So the saying goes: “It’s not about the gear, but what you do with it.” This is particularly true in the realm of content creation. This is completely accurate. Both the idea and the vision are more important. However, extra tools are required for specific tasks. For an upcoming project, this is a camera that Netflix has approval and therefore was needed for said task.
After weeks of researching we decided on the C70, a Canon cinema camera. The main reasons for this are that our current lenses are either RF mount or EF mount and we needed something that could be set on a gimbal easily. Rather basic needs indeed.
We are road-testing the camera into December and can’t wait to share the results and further notes on this beautiful piece of kit. But so far great battery life, love the fact its SD cards (and dual SD Card) and works well with both RF and EF and the Super 35 sensor is dreamy and seems to work in low light. More news soon…..
What coffee are we drinking?
This month we decided to step up from our regular subscription and do what we enjoy doing at Chapter 81 – support an indie. We got this fantastic winter blend from Miles & Co.
‘Snow Stone’, a winter special from Darkwoods coffee, is a blend of two natural coffees, Brazilia and Ethiopia, and a little bit of Columbia, that evokes the flavours of the season. It gives hints of chestnut, dried fruits (we suspect cherry) and dark chocolate. What is more, the name of the blend is inspired by one of the Stanza Stones, a series of poems carved into the rocks in the Pennine Hills. Could our next team activity involve a quest for this poetic stone?
Celebrating our colleague's milestone
One of our team members, Lisa, celebrated her anniversary of moving to the UK in November.
As she got into Northern life and explored the area, we asked her to spill the beans on her top 5 places to visit.
Starting with the coast, Whitby and Blackpool caught her attention. Whitby, a charming fisherman village with colourful houses, left a lasting impression, and she can’t wait to go back. Even though she missed the Blackpool ballroom, the promenade and piers with arcades stood out. Despite distinct vibes, both places were memorable, even in the winter chill.
Moving inland, she highlighted the scenic charm of Lake District, where she went with our photographer Jo Ritchie for a Sunday Times photo shoot. Don’t miss the stunning surroundings of Almscliffe Crag just north of Leeds, especially during the golden hour. According to Lisa, it’s a peaceful and beautiful sight.
To wrap up her list, the most visited place had to be Harrogate, where she spent four months and still goes back often to see friends. A cosy small town, it’s a nice escape on weekends for some peace and a tasty brunch spot, like Hoxton North.
C81 Radio
The playlist from our team (C81 Radio) is back as usual but with a special festive edition – 2 Christmas songs from each of us. It’s a cracker of mixed emotions. ENJOY.
Click HERE to fall into our autumn mood.
