14 years ago, when Gangnam Style ruled the airwaves and Snapchat’s rabbit-ear filters were the vibe, Fred & Eric made its grand entrance into the world. Unlike most 14-year-olds, we’re skipping the lie-ins and teenage angst, instead, we’ve made you a shiny new showreel.
We had the absolute pleasure of teaming up with Lilian Darmono & Lee Cooper to craft a special showreel opener! Inspired by Japanese aesthetics and brought to life with a playful, limited colour palette, the piece seamlessly transitions through a unique world - landing right in the heart of F&E and our work.
An additional shout out to Lee for creating a a bespoke soundtrack to our reel. Get ready for the quirky ear worm you never knew you needed!
Looking Back
From our humble beginnings of sketching our first logo onto a napkin, to 14 years of creativity, collaborations, and hard graft, we’re so proud of what Fred & Eric is today. Not only have we had the privilege of working with incredible clients turning bold ideas into beautifully crafted visuals, we’ve had a lot of fun along the way.
There have been countless unforgettable moments, but a few stand out as true highlights. So Maggie, Sarah & Jamie at team F&E sat down to reminisce about the stories, surprises, and lessons from the past 14 years. Here are some of our all-time favourite projects and achievements.
What's been your favourite project?
Maggie: 4Seven Promo is my favourite job - I just love the way it looks and the process of how it was made fulfils all of my creative aspirations: Hand-making the real models, sourcing props, getting away from the computer and collaborating with a large team to make it all happen.
Finally I love the process of shooting in real life and embracing all of the imperfections as part of the process.
Sarah: It’s very hard to narrow it down to one favourite as we’ve been lucky enough to work on so many great projects over the years. Personally I really enjoyed working on the NSPCC project ‘Uncomfortable Conversations’. The challenge of conveying such a delicate message without any dialogue at all was a first for us, and prompted us to really consider all the nuances of the production.
Every element of the design and animation was carefully thought through, and once combined with the musical score created a piece of work that highlighted the unique power of animation to tell a compelling story, without the need for words.
What's the biggest lesson you've learned running a creative business?
Maggie: Being open to critique of your work and learning not to take it personally! Most of the time work does get better as it develops. (And when it doesn’t, supportive colleagues help create perspective about whether an idea is worth fighting for, or if it’s better to move on)!
Jamie: Trust yourself and the team you build around you and don’t be afraid to take risks. The projects that feel the scariest or the most out-there often turn into the ones you’re most proud of. Build a strong support network and celebrate the small wins along the way.
What advice would you give to your younger selves starting out?
Maggie: If your passion is creativity, don’t let school convince you that choosing a creative career path isn’t a worthy option! Practical creativity and creative thinking are endlessly valuable and underestimated as academic skills.
Jamie: Don’t worry about having it all figured out, no one does! Focus on doing work you love, surround yourself with kind and talented people, and don’t take yourself too seriously. Mistakes will happen (probably lots of them), but each one teaches you something valuable. Oh, and always bring snacks to long meetings.
Sarah: Be nice to people. A huge part of our work is based in relationships, with clients, peers and work mates, and people really do remember the good ones!
Looking ahead, the future of Fred & Eric
Fourteen years down, many more to go. We’re excited for all the creative adventures that lie ahead; new projects, new ideas, and maybe even some surprises along the way.
We can’t wait to see where the next chapter takes us and are endlessly grateful to everyone who’s been part of our journey so far. Here’s to the next 14 years!
