In the fast-paced world of film production, tight deadlines are often the name of the game. However, when tasked in early October with creating an important Royal Mail Christmas film with a particularly narrow timeframe, our dedicated Film & Animation team pushed the boundaries of efficiency.

Each year in the months leading up to Christmas, Royal Mail faces its busiest and most challenging time. In order to physically deliver the volumes required to meet Christmas demands across the nation, the 24-hour operation must work at full capacity.

Following months of industrial action and battles with the unions, Royal Mail (in agreement with the unions) launched the ‘We are Christmas’ campaign to reinvigorate the workforce and incentivise Christmas performances. The focus of the campaign was to stir pride and passion, focusing on the unique ability and responsibility of Royal Mail to deliver Christmas for the country. A large number of the assets for this campaign were to be created by Linney, including the hero campaign film.  

With a large and complex operational network to be showcased and celebrated, the script and creative work had to be developed at pace and satisfy an array of operational and political demands. With the brief specifying ‘it needs to look different from anything we have done before’ the proposal had to be accepted by both Royal Mail themselves and the unions. Linney F&A team met chief stakeholders from both sides at the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday 10 October.  

What followed was a mere six days of pre-production. The to-do-list was extensive: casting for more than 30 cast members, securing six diverse shooting locations, acquiring and clearing permissions for Royal Mail premises, navigating child licensing logistics, acquiring props and costumes, and crafting a comprehensive crew schedule complete with detailed risk assessments and call sheets.  

The film won an award at The Brand Film Awards for best use of internal film.