ABOUT

UKTV’s How We Work initiative was created to launch and embed a new set of behaviours and mindsets that would help the business thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape. The brief was to bring these principles to life through a film that would inspire teams, spark pride, and visually represent the values shaping UKTV’s future.
These five behaviours—Be Bold, Move Fast; Think Differently; Test and Learn; Develop and Grow; and High Challenge, High Support—form a central part of UKTV’s strategy to be digital-first and audience-led. The animation needed to act as both an explainer and a cultural touchpoint—introducing these behaviours in a way that felt emotive, engaging, and memorable.
Rather than creating a traditional corporate video, the team chose animation as a way to build immersive 3D worlds, each representing a different mindset. These environments featured both conceptual metaphors and recognisable office details, celebrating not just how we work—but where we work. The result is a beautifully crafted film that feels at once aspirational and personal, setting the tone for a new chapter at UKTV.

How We Work was created as a digital-first animated film, designed primarily for internal communication and long-term cultural engagement. It was launched across UKTV’s intranet, newsletters, and internal events, and is now used in onboarding sessions, team workshops, and leadership presentations to help embed the behaviours across the business.
The film also sits on UKTV’s online hub, ensuring it remains easily accessible to teams across departments. While created for internal use, the film’s craft and storytelling also made it suitable for external-facing applications—and it will now be used as part of UKTV’s employer brand, helping to attract new recruits and support new job vacancies.
Built entirely in Cinema 4D and rendered in Octane, the film exists entirely in the digital space, making it scalable, sustainable, and easy to share across platforms and audiences.

The concept for How We Work was to take a set of internal behaviours and bring them to life in a way that felt inspirational, human, and beautifully crafted—something that would genuinely engage employees, spark conversation, and become a lasting symbol of UKTV’s culture.
The objective was to introduce five key behaviours—Be Bold, Move Fast; Think Differently; Test and Learn; Develop and Grow; and High Challenge, High Support—as part of a company-wide reset, aligned with UKTV’s digital-first, audience-led strategy. Rather than create a dry explainer video, the creative team aimed to elevate the message through storytelling and design, using 3D animation to give each behaviour a world of its own.
Working with a modest internal budget, the project focused on craft, clarity, and emotional resonance. Each animated world was filled with iconic UKTV office details and familiar objects, turning abstract values into something visual, playful, and instantly recognisable. The film celebrates not just how we work, but where we work—creating a sense of pride and nostalgia that resonated deeply with teams.
Though primarily an internal tool, the film’s tone and execution made it just as relevant externally. It now plays a key role in onboarding, cultural alignment, and even talent recruitment, showcasing the values and creativity that define UKTV as an employer and a brand.

The film was brought to life using 3D animation, with each of the five behaviours represented through its own unique, immersive world. Inspired by the clarity and charm of isometric design, the team pushed the style further—developing a more distinctive and ownable visual language that felt uniquely UKTV.
Each environment was crafted to reflect the essence of the behaviour it represented. From the bold momentum of Be Bold, Move Fast to the thoughtful layering of Think Differently, every scene used visual metaphors to make abstract ideas tangible and engaging.
Styling combined geometric clarity with warmth and personality, blending metaphorical elements with contextual office details—from branded mugs to meeting room layouts and quirky breakout spaces. These touches weren’t just for decoration; they were subtle nods to UKTV’s real-world culture, helping colleagues connect emotionally with the message.
Built entirely in Cinema 4D and rendered using Octane, the animation was designed to feel both delightful and premium. Lighting, texture, and motion were carefully considered to create a seamless journey that flowed from world to world with purpose and rhythm.
The process included extensive reference gathering from UKTV’s offices, collaborative reviews with internal teams, and iterative development to ensure clarity and craft at every step. What began as a simple explainer grew into a visually rich brand statement, reflecting UKTV’s ambition to lead with creativity, quality, and intention.
Delivered as a digital-first asset, the film was made for maximum flexibility—used across internal platforms, presentations, onboarding, and now as part of UKTV’s employer brand and recruitment efforts.

How We Work was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from teams across UKTV. What began as a simple explainer quickly became a flagship piece of internal storytelling, praised for both its impact and visual craft.
Internally, the film was used to launch the new behaviours across the company—shown at all-staff events, leadership presentations, and team workshops. It has become a central asset, helping embed the behaviours in onboarding, performance reviews, and everyday team conversations.
The animation sparked engagement with employees sharing positive feedback and calling out the delight in seeing familiar spaces reimagined in 3D. It successfully turned company values into something people could see, feel, and relate to.
It was also recognised as a statement of creative intent—a reflection of UKTV’s commitment to quality, even in internal communications. As a result, the film has now been integrated into recruitment campaigns, showcasing UKTV’s values and creativity to potential new hires.
Most importantly, the animation delivered on the brief: it helped teams understand, connect with, and take pride in how UKTV works, sparking a renewed sense of purpose as the business continues to evolve.

To accompany the main film, we created a behind-the-scenes video that offered a transparent look at how How We Work was made—turning the creative process itself into a live demonstration of the behaviours it aimed to promote.
The making-of video revealed the collaborative, curious, and craft-led approach behind the project, showing how we experimented, refined, and pushed our thinking to deliver something exceptional. From early sketches and 3D builds to texture tests and motion studies, the video showcases the same mindsets we were embedding across the business—Think Differently, Test and Learn, and Develop and Grow.
This secondary piece not only added depth to the campaign but became a powerful tool in its own right—used in internal workshops and presentations as a tangible example of UKTV’s values in action. It reinforced the message that How We Work isn’t just something we say—it’s something we do.

Director / Editor: Peter Allinson
3D Animators: Jade Fitzgerald, Trev Harvey, Alex Boyce
Motion Designer: Callum Parish
Producer: Sophie Bryant
Sound Designer: Hugh Dwan
Project team: Soraya Cooke, Jonathan Hood, Kerry Goode, Claire Astley