Stuck In A Box Studios - The End of an Era...

it really was. Stuck In a Box Studios, the company/brand I set up for myself when I left college, has lasted seven years.

The name, and modus operandi, literally came out of having nothing to start my film-making career and aspirations with other than my parent's box room. It became about doing something, anything, with whatever you had however you could.

That attitude has stood the test of time, it has took me all over the world, it has seen me with a Feature Film credit to my name, it has seen me meet hundred's of talented people across many genres, and ultimately lead to my job at the BBC.

The Legacy and message of Siab Studios, is one I have and always will recommend to anyone in any walk of life. I made a studio whilst stuck in my box. I did pretty good.

So why the retirement?

Well, because Stuck In A Box was always meant to get me somewhere. It was only recently that I realised that I am somewhere. I am exactly where I want to be professionally, creatively and personally. I'd been powering on for so long with my head down to get to that place, I didn't realise I had already been there for quite a while.

Going forward, it made sense to recognise that I don't need to use a brand, that emphasises making something out of what you have (usually not much) now that I am where I want to be. The plan was to launch a new "brand" this year (Warhorse Media) emphasising that actually I am now a professional Film-maker, and have been for several years. But again, this was missing the point.

Then a friend told me, stop creating more logos and brands for yourself;
"Be your own Brand. People want to work with you not your company name."


It was so obvious, but I hadn't seen it that way. Being terribly British and sensitive to that sort of thing, I was worried that coming out as "just Colin Warhurst" maybe seen as terribly arrogant. But it isn't, and I was only holding myself back by being so, well, prudish? Don't get me wrong, I'd rather play safe than be arrogant, and occasionally I have teetered over that dark abyss and believed my own hype. However, those lessons have been learned, and they don't ruin all the good work I have done over the years. It was time to "come out" of the Camera Closet.

The Stuck In A Box Studios ethic is one I am proud of and will always, always, recommend to people starting out in what it is they want to do. It exists in all shapes and sizes across the globe, I'm by no means the first to encapsulate the idea of Just Do It, Do Well Nothing, Every Journey Starts With The First Step and so on... I hope someone reading this now, who is where I was seven years ago, may recognise that same idea within them. It can and it does work; just.... start!

For me now though? I work for the most recognisable Broadcasting company in the world by day, and by night I have consistently been making films for over 7 years. I have made a Feature film, entirely independently, I even managed to get a few thousand people to watch it. I can count among my friends some of the most talented film-makers, writers, directors, actors, and all round creative people that I've ever known. I wake up of a day, and I know I can make good work with good people and enjoy my life.

I think it is fair enough to say that I am no longer Stuck In A Box. I am Colin Warhurst...

...Film-Maker.