Meet ewanme: The Remote Work Pioneer Powered by a Global Collective

Long before the covid-19 pandemic, post-production expert Ewan Macleod saw an opportunity to do things a little differently. 

After starting his career at MPC, Ewan honed his craft across borders including a stint at New York-based animation VFX house Click 3X and London’s Prodigious UK where he headed up the Publicis Network in-house post facility,  as well consulting for the likes of Heineken and PepsiCo.

During this time, he also established Golden Square Post Production and Disqo where he worked alongside highly skilled VFX artists as executive producer, while also sourcing new talent.  

As the landscape evolved and a new world of content emerged, Ewan spotted a gap in the market back in 2015. “I wanted to break away from the rigid systems of established models and find a solution for introducing high-end talent to answer the growing need for more and better content,” he says. “Equally, from a cost point of view, the traditional facility price structure wasn't flexible enough to work in this changing landscape.”

It was at this time that the freelance talent pool was exploding. “Not only was the technology now portable and affordable to have at home,” Ewan states, “but there was a generation of top VFX artists and colourists etc, who had done their time at the 'coal face’ of a facility house and were looking for a new work / life balance.”

This desire for change led Ewan to pioneer a remote working model which he named ewanme, enabling agencies and brands to create high-quality video content cost effectively ‘in-house’, and placing ewanme at the forefront of a new and agile post landscape. 

“We believe video is a powerful tool that can help businesses communicate their message more effectively. That's why we're constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in post-production.”

Working collaboratively alongside clients to offer bespoke solutions to every brief, today, ewanme has an impressive legacy behind it, including the likes of AKQA, Rolls-Royce, VCCP Girl&Bear and AMV.

Recognising that post-production can be a time-consuming and complex process involving many skill sets that make it financially impractical to take on full-time staff, ewanme offers its clients the opportunity to work with specialists as and when needed. 

Tapping into its global collective of freelancers - and without the overheads or associated costs of the traditional model - ewanme offers a more agile, innovative post solution. From flame artists to editors, motion graphic designers to VFX and colour correction specialists, they are able to look after “all the tricky bits,” as Ewan puts it. “We handle the parts where

experience and creative skill are paramount; otherwise problems arise, extra costs are incurred and time is wasted.”

Being specialists in remote work, ewanme embraces technology to bring together talent from all over the world. “Different parts of the world have different skill sets and strengths,” Ewan highlights. “You’ve got amazing Cinema 4D artists in Germany (home of C4D by Maxon), for example. We are obsessed with finding creative solutions and I think that problem is solved through exploring the world for the best talent for the job.”

Most recently, the team has expanded into Japan, headed by executive producer Mick Nakamura. “Our model is transferable globally,” and we are also in discussions with key players in other countries to help us create a truly worldwide ‘remote working family’ of freelance talent for our clients anywhere.”

As explained, the nature of remote work lends itself to increased flexibility and cost savings by eliminating the need for office space or full-time staff. “With no geographical boundaries, ewanme's team can tap into a global pool of talent to produce truly unique and innovative video content which allows for greater creativity and collaboration between our ‘collective' and clients,” Ewan says.

“By eliminating the need for costly in-house set ups, we're making it more affordable than ever for businesses to produce high-quality video content. And because our team is carefully

picked for every project - as well as highly experienced and enthusiastic about everything video - we're able to provide a level of creativity and quality that is unmatched in the industry.”

This stripped back model may be nimble, but it certainly doesn’t compromise when it comes to talent and experience. 

“The landscape has changed so much and there is a real gap between top-end post houses and the fledgling in-house agency capability that doesn’t tend to attract high-end talent,” Ewan explains. “Our model allows us to provide the best talent to all. And if we don’t feel like we have the right talent for a particular project on board, then we source them.”

“Under the ewanme umbrella, we work alongside the artists and represent them. Essentially, we are a virtual post-house.”

But that’s not the only way that ewanme has brought down its costs. 

“Our freelancers are on day rates which works out well for both the talent and our clients.  One such example of this is in the amount of versioning work we do. With day rates, no matter how many versions are needed or whatever extra projects a client needs done, the rate is the same, making it a very cost-effective solution for all involved. It also means that the client only has a financial cost when the talent is working, rather than paying for a full-time part of the team.”

Reflecting over the flexibility and benefits of this model, Ewan believes that “it is transferable internationally and at scale. I don't think the model exists anywhere else at the moment, and I would like to make a name for ewanme as the place to connect with exceptional freelance talent globally and a place to share brilliant creative solutions.”