ABERDEEN video and animation production company SIgnal is celebrating the end of a busy year. In 2022, Signal will have completed 105 productions for new and existing clients and achieved a 25% increase in revenue compared to this time last year. These varied projects took their film crews to places all over Scotland, on and offshore, as well as several European locations.
“No two jobs are the same…” said Jamie Baikie, Signal Managing Director. “This year we filmed on a fishing boat inside the world’s first floating windfarm and spent a week on one of the UK’s largest offshore platforms, we’ve filmed robots being tested in France, scientists in Norway, a dog on a bus in Edinburgh and engineers in London. We’ve interviewed academics, nurses, politicians and Grammy winners!”
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Baikie is optimistic about the coming year, “We’re feeling positive: the effects of the pandemic have subsided, and the economic downturn that has affected many sectors has not so far affected us”. This is in part due to the current emphasis on reinforcing the UK’s domestic energy supply, as well as pre-existing commitments to decommissioning and transitioning to renewable energy solutions.
“Our location in Aberdeen puts us at the heart of the UK energy sector and, unusually for video producers, our team are trained and certified to work offshore”.
But Signal has been careful not to be too reliant on one sector and has completed a number of high-profile projects in 2022 for clients as diverse as The R&A, VisitAberdeenshire, First Bus, Barratt Homes, Robert Gordon University, and P&J Live.
Signal has also made a sizeable investment into equipment “It’s important to stay at the cutting edge. This year we completely renewed all our cameras, including a very expensive new DJI 4K drone to enhance our capabilities with aerial filming” said Baikie, “and we have just taken on a new staff member”.
Signal’s new team member is Heather Davies, an Aberdonian recently returned after five years working for theatre companies in London. “I’m delighted to come back to my hometown, and to join the talented team at signal. This will be a return to my first love, film making, and I’m excited for what the next year holds”.
Following the challenges presented by the Covid pandemic, which resulted in a dramatic impact on normal operations. “After covid we worked incredibly hard to get our turnover back to its pre-pandemic level. Not only did we achieve that in 2022, we also significantly reduced our cost of sales and boosted our balance sheet by 41%. 2022 has become our strongest year since we began trading in 2011. We could not have done this without our dedicated staff and more innovative approaches to work.” says Jamie Baikie. The Signal team are optimistic about the future, “After such a volatile couple of years, we are delighted that the outlook is looking healthy for 2023 and beyond.”
