About Us – Extended | Freshly Ground Creative

Content is king.

We specialise in producing premium video content
seamlessly merged with marketing strategy.

HAVE A CHAT

SEE THE WORK

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Driven by ideas, we’re pretty much a bunch of dreamers. Maybe a wee bit obsessive at times, we’re never far from a good old think. Starting out in film production, then moving into copywriting, design and creative direction, we eventually became a content and marketing partner for growing brands. Obsessed with improvement and always on the hunt for that final 5%, we’re not your usual wham bam thank you ma’am creative house. We understand business first hand and will not stop until the fire is truly ablaze. We find that when you’re trying to spin a solid yarn, nothing stirs the creative juices better than a fresh brew, so give us a bell, we’ll put the billy on.

There’s always a backstory.

Earmarked a dreamer, our founding director went to film school after university, more or less to put off having to get a job. An early knack for story telling quickly developed into a passion for the creative. Graphic Design school followed, then Motion Graphic Design school, all in the pursuit of not having to work nine to five. Over time, passion morphed into obsession. Miscellaneous jobs came and went, but with a deep entrepreneurial streak they never lasted. From the frustration of monotony and with an affinity for rule bending, Freshly Ground was born. Set up initially to provide an outlet for personal creative projects, it didn’t take long for things to get out of hand. One thing led to another, more people got involved and the projects started to grow. Contract creative gigs turned into content strategy partnerships until eventually a couple of start ups apparated. Lessons were learnt, friends were made, and the rest as they say, is history. Freshly Ground now acts as a creative content partner for businesses looking to grow, create change and communicate effectively.

Bit of a mission, aye?

Our mission, other than to create the perfect cup of coffee, is to produce cutting edge creative content, seamlessly merging art and commerce, with an outcome that emotes, inspires action and influences decisions.

We are artists and entrepreneurs at heart and CREATION IS OUR PASSION. We love to collaborate and thrive in the pressure cooker of creative challenges. We are driven by the idea and it’s our mission to help organisations find solutions to problems, creating inspiring work that moves people, challenges them and gets them thinking.

“We’re pretty keen on knocking things out of the park, or at least swinging for the fences… We like to make sure our clients walk away feeling like they’ve got some real bang for their hard earned bucks… ideally, so they don’t walk away at all.”

Coffee & creativity, a perfect match.

FLAT WHITE what time is it?

95%

SHORT BLACK light a fire under it, Jim!

95%

LATTE whats a flat white?

55%

CAPPUCCINO good for mum - just a wee sprinkle of cinnamon thanks

65%

FLUFFY it's for the kids

100%

CUSTOM BLENDS, OUTSTANDING RESULTS

We’ve worked with some pretty awesome brands & organisations. We know what works and have the expertise to pull it off.

"Absolutely nailed it! The difference seems to be in the amount of time spent examining our business. A phenomenal result! They really do understand marketing and story, so much so that we've kept them on!"
− David Maxwell, CEO Eighth Wonder Travel

We’re Eighth Wonder Travel’s content partner.

GOOD COFFEE + GOOD PEOPLE = GOOD WORK

We’re a group of passionate creatives. Writers, designers, film makers, entrepreneurs & coffee lovers.

James Simpson
Strategy Consultant & Creative Director
James came from an adventure sports background before a Marketing degree at Otago University soaked up four years of his early twenties. He couples a GradDip in motion design with multiple qualifications in graphic design and film production, to produce visually stunning work that emotes and activates the audience. He has worked in everything from scripting and ideation, through cinematography, to design, copywriting, editing and motion graphics. Broad experience ranging from the founding of companies, to delivering content strategy for start ups, brands and tourism organisations. He understands the business side of things and has an uncanny talent for spinning a yarn. An 'active relaxer' James is also founder and Creative Director of Adventurewear company Opus Fresh, founder of The Craft Haus, Content Director for Eighth Wonder Travel, and has a healthy (read unhealthy) relationship with adventure sport, coffee & craft brews.
David Maxwell
Key account manager
Dave has extensive experience in start ups and small business. He is co founder of luxury travel company Eighth Wonder Travel where he is the key account manager and client facing director. It was while getting started with Eighth Wonder and engaging the services of Freshly Ground that he saw the potential power of digital and the need for quality content in business growth and brand strength. He is results driven and client focussed, plays a solid round of golf and has a passion for travel and tourism.
Simeon Duncombe
Director, VFX Wizard
Simeon is a super talented director with a fantastic mind for concept creation. Coming from a background in VFX & contracted as an animation supervisor for post production giant WETA digital. Simeon & James have worked together as a producer director team on a number of projects. Often referred to as a wizard, Simeon is always going well above and beyond with post trickery to ensure the final project is as good as it can possibly get. He enjoys authentic sashimi and getting buried in Japanese powder snow.

Graham Smout
Content Producer
Graham has been in the film & television industry for a while now, working as a 2nd AC, focus puller and camera operator. He has also been director of photography on multiple short films and music videos. Graham spent winter 2013 working with James as the key cinematographer, to produce a 16 episode series airing on the TVNZ Breakfast show. He is a driven, passionate film maker with a great eye for photography & composition. A smile is never far away and he loves to keep the mood light while getting the job done.
Andy Campion
Director
Andy is a talented film maker & a bit of a film fanatic, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of most films box office performance & their key creative teams. Being a major fan of action & comedy, he has written, produced & directed a number of short films & music videos including a 20 minute long mini feature “Hot Rob” where he built a 1:8 scale miniature of the Wellington harbor docks & then blew it up with live pyrotechnics. He is currently cutting his teeth directing part of the Power Ranger series. He brings infectious enthusiasm & uncompromising drive to any shoot.
Nick Larken
Content Producer
Nicko is an outdoors enthusiast & a passionate, highly skilled cinematographer. He has an extensive background shooting surfing films & is the one half of the board sport oriented Stikman Films. Like all the collaborators, his skills don’t just lie behind the camera, he also edits up a storm and has a fantastic demeanor & instant rapport with talent, putting them at ease and getting great performances out of them.
Scott Orr
Content Producer
Scotty has a wide variety of experience in the film industry, allowing him the ability to efficiently execute jobs from start to finish. He has a good sense of shooting style, and an innate ability to edit for timing and flow. He is a breeze to work with and gets the shots he needs without overshooting or overworking the talent. A passionate mountain biker you'll probably find him weaving down the Mt Vic trails at pace most non shoot days.
Caleb Carr
Director/VFX
Caleb began his career before his teens, re-enacting scenes from The Fellowship Of The Ring, using his dads home video camera and employing classic in-camera trickery to get the scaling in size effect playing Gandalf himself while his little sister was forced to play a Frodo. It is somewhat fitting now, that he is contracted by WETA digital & is currently in VFX on the Hobbit. Caleb is an extremely bright problem solver with a great eye for composition, camera movement and animation.