Q: Can you introduce yourself? What is your role at Mainspring Agency? What inspired you to get into video production?
A: I'm Ben Hemmings, and I'm the Founder and Executive Director of Mainspring Agency, an Ottawa video production company producing video content for brands and organizations worldwide. My journey to get to this point began when I was a kid, watching David Attenborough documentaries. While the other kids wanted ot be astronauts and firemen, I always wanted to be stuck in a field with a camera, travelling, and telling stories about the world. I began producing videos and filming documentaries in my mid-twenties after working in Law and Finance. I love the creative challenge, connecting with people and hearing their stories.
Q: What specialized services does Mainspring Agency offer that clients may not even realize they need—but can make a big difference in results?
A: At Mainspring, we really focus on creating emotive, authentic videos that drive results. Nowadays, anyone can film a video on their phone, and there are a lot of production companies that can create beautiful images. However, we pride ourselves on (a) helping our clients figure out exactly what matters to their audience, and (b) developing the correct strategy to communicate with those people. The campaign and the strategy are ALWAYS the most important aspect of any project. Beyond that, our multidisciplinary team are coaches, helping non-actors feel comfortable under the lights, while expertly crafting interview questions to get the most authentic content possible.
Q: When clients come to Mainspring after working with other agencies, what do they usually say was missing before?
A: Authenticity is the main reason people work with us—this spans from our style of filming, to our interview techniques, and to our clients' journey with us. We prioritize positive collaboration, open and clear communication, and making everybody comfortable on set, whether that's being given the space to be vulnerable, or keeping spirits up with positive energy and good food on long shoot days! We get so much feedback from our clients about the environment we create, the impact of our videos, and how meaningful our finished videos feel. So, to connect that back to the question—I guess these are the things that may be missing from other video agencies' offerings!
Q: Are there projects you have worked on that have been particularly exciting from a creative standpoint, and can you describe one in detail?
A: We love chunky projects—Ones that really challenge us creatively and push us outside our comfort zones. Serialized video projects, longform documentaries, any projects with comedy—I personally love working on these types of projects. The first one that comes to mind is the 8-part series we created for a Canadian tourism organization. We found 8 of the most compelling personal stories across Ontario of people overcoming hurdles, all related to tourism in some way. The result was the "Connections Series", an authentic look at the people who make up the tourism industry and the impacts they have on their communities despite the challenges they face.
Q: Can you describe a project or campaign that you would consider a success? What specific strategies made it successful?
A: Our clients, One Tree Planted, are a global nonprofit focused on global reforestation. We began working with them in 2018 when their revenue was only $300k. Over five years of collaboration with Mainspring, they scaled to $50m, leveraging the power of our videos to inform, inspire, and influence their donors. They leveraged our videos very successfully, raising millions of dollars using our photos and videos as their main marketing assets. One of their donors, in particular, gave a first-time donation of $1m and said the reason they went with One Tree Planted was because of a specific video we had produced for them. That donation alone meant that the video alone provided a 30x return on investment, not to mention all the other accounts that production influenced over the years it was used. You can read the case study here and watch the testimonial we filmed with their Director of Philanthropy.
Q: What technical or creative challenges often come up—and how does your team solve them differently than most?
A: One technical challenge that comes up often is managing our workflow when we have multiple concurrent projects. At Mainspring, we're obsessed with processes and have proprietary, battle-tested systems in place to ensure that everything is organized, structured, and planned out, and our video projects are getting planned, filmed, and delivered on time every time.
Creatively, so many of the people we film are not used to being in front of a camera and get nervous before the shoot. We make sure that everyone feels valued, listened to, and understands how the footage is going to be used to reduce the pressure on them. I always say, "We need to make the talent feel like co-directors." When people feel like they're collaborators and not subjects, the nerves disappear very quickly.
Q: What trend in video production do you think is overhyped—and what trend do you think is underestimated?
A: Super controversial hot take coming up, but honestly, THE MOST overhyped thing in video production is 'cinematography' or creating a beautiful image. Between affordable cinema-quality camera tech and YouTube tutorials, it's very easy for anyone to go from novice to a decent cinematographer in a year. Creating beautiful images is easier and cheaper than ever—But creating compelling video content that connects with audiences is more difficult than ever. How do you stand out in a crowded space when people are uploading videos all day, every day? It's a cliché that "Content is King", but it really is true. Our opinion is that authentic storytelling is the most important and most underestimated thing in video production. Good storytelling will never go out of fashion.
A new client just said to us a few months ago during our project launch call: "There are a lot of companies that can create beautiful images—perfect lighting, clean setups—but what drew me to you guys was the humanity in the way you tell stories.” It’s not just about making things look good; it’s about capturing the real lives, the real work, and the real impact behind the scenes. Focus on storytelling, and your clients will find you.
Q: What are a few 'rookie mistakes' you see new clients make when preparing for a video project?
A: The same mistakes we made when we were starting out—not planning enough. If you just run up with a camera and hit record, your videos are going to be average at best. The more time you put into pre-production, the better the content, the more time you'll save in post-production, the more focused your shoots will be, the better the results for the client. Results are ultimately what make clients come back. Spend the time to do extensive pre-production, understand your client's audience, develop a creative approach to speak to that audience, develop moodboards and storyboards, and conduct pre-interviews if required. Airtight logistics are vital to ensure you get what you need on the day of filming, know what you're going to do in the edit, and know which songs you're going to use. The more you know ahead of the shoot, the better your videos will be.
Q: What advice would you give young people looking to enter the video production industry? What skill sets will be most valuable in the next 5 years?
A: Soft skills are the most important part of any service business and will be forever. With AI and the development of camera tech, technical skills are going to continue to be less and less important. Knowing how to communicate with clients and with talent is the most critical part of video production. Knowing how to get people to see your vision and how to make people comfortable. Beyond that—develop your instinct for what is a good story and creative approach—humanity is central to visual storytelling, and an AI will never be able to get the best responses out of a person during an interview—but you can if you're a good collaborator and ask the right questions.
Q: If someone is interested in working with Mainspring Agency, what should they do?
A: Reach out if you want to work with us! Fill in our contact form or drop an email to hello@mainspringagency.com to get the ball rolling. If you're an Agency or potential client, we'd love to have an intro call to get to know you. For creators—We have a creative network that spans the globe, so we'd be happy to look over your portfolio! We're always open to interns and occasionally hire full-timers when the time is right! We're only an email away.
