Melbourne-based video production facility 77 Productions has been acquired by Ant Darvill and Gina Hanrahan in a successful management buyout.
The company was originally a post-production house called 77 Post, which was purchased by a larger media agency called Smith Brothers Media. The agency worked to integrate 77 Post into their agency and extend the breadth of service to include production, not just post-production.
The pair were both working for Smith Brothers Media – Darvill as the general manager, and Hanrahan as head of production. In 2023, the pair launched a management buyout and successfully acquired 77 Productions in an asset sale.
“We share the same vision for the company as an agency, and for the type of experience we want to provide both clients and staff,” Darvill told Mediaweek, speaking about why the pair made the move.
“From a cultural perspective, we’re really looking to create a place where people can relax and feel authentic, and do their best work so that we can attract Melbourne’s best creative talent.”
Continuing work to expand the company’s offering, Darvill explained that there were some “broader ideas around what we can do” to expand the breadth of service of the company.
“We’ve also acquired a small production company called Audio Place, which has been folded into 77 Productions. Gina has also got plans around other services and design aspects that we can start including in the future.”
When asked how the customer experience would be impacted – if at all – Darvill points to updates being made behind the scenes that will leave the team with more time to focus on the consumer-facing parts of the business.
“From a customer experience side, we’re really improving our systems – yes, they are largely internal systems, but we’re developing them in a way that provides more up-to-date information about where their production is in the process. We’re automating elements of that unashamedly, because then we can put that time into more customer relations work, and really making sure that the feedback and review points are all very personable, and well communicated,” Darvill said.
Hanrahan adds, “In relation to the automation side of things, it’ll give us enough room to be more creative, and that’s what you want – you want to put more time into being creative. It can work either way, whether the clients are part of the creative process or we lead that process.”
The 77 Productions team at Half Moon Bay the day the takeover was announced
Reflecting on the future of the business and some of the projects the 77 Production team already have in the pipeline, Hanrahan said “I’ve been working in the business for 20 years – I’ve been behind the camera, in front of the camera, editing, directing, producing, and leading production teams. It’s so nice now to be in partnership with Ant, and be able to share this experience and co-create the next steps and direction for 77. But the thing that really excited me about growing a team is having a beautiful place to create together.
“There are a lot of production companies out there who specialise in video and animation in Melbourne and Australia-wide. We would like to explore the possibilities of creative technology such as 3DA and augmented reality. We are currently creating a children’s book with augmented reality dinosaurs.
“I thrive when working with individuals and brands that are craving the birth of something new—whether it’s a creative endeavour, an educational pursuit, or an innovative solution to an outdated problem. That truly excites me!”
As with many creative industries, it’s been a bumpy few years recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The video production industry in particular has seen a notable transformation – while live-action shoots experienced a decline, there was a surge in animation content creation.
“We’ve seen a surge in video-related technologies in the last four years, such as the use of a language model to condense a script or an image creation service being used to develop a mood board and storyboard,” the pair concluded, speaking about the current state of the industry.
“More advanced examples might include using AI to generate sophisticated Affect Effects templates from a text prompt. In the right hands, these advancements can fuel creativity and increase project velocity making the value proposition for video production increasingly compelling.”