The community and Dropbox are the keys to the real growth of Myth Studio. Every business has its “Is this real?” moment that occurs before it takes a leap into a bigger phase. Like the moment when a side hustle becomes a full-time effort… when the solo entrepreneur realizes it’s time to hire their first employee… when the big-name client finally calls…
A Memorable Turning Point
For the Myth Studio team based in the UK, this happened in 2022 when an agency they had worked with in the past “suddenly” contacted them, according to Jimmy Gordon, Business Partnerships Manager at Myth. The agency wanted Myth to create an animated explainer video for one of their huge clients. (We cannot mention the company’s name, but let’s just say they are “Kings of Beer”.)
The Exciting Challenge
Although it was an exciting challenge for the young company — Myth was founded in 2020 by founder James Finlay and Head of Animation Juno Kamister and now has nine full-time employees — the request came with a “very tight timeline”: the client wanted the video to accompany their submission for the Lion Award, also known as the Oscars of advertising.
We gathered together and took a look at the resources and trustworthy hands we knew could work together. We quickly brought in some freelancers into a shared Dropbox folder that we knew could complete what we had started and keep production going over the weekend. This allowed us to make the most of the limited time we had to deliver the work.
“It was a daunting challenge, but an exciting challenge at the same time,” Gordon recalls. “We love pushing the boundaries of what we can do, and we knew we couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this.”
Expansion and Growth
After that, Myth began working with large, well-known clients. “We progressed very quickly,” says Gordon, raising his palm from his chest to slightly above his shaved head. “It was a big turning point for us.”
The remarkable growth of Myth encourages the use of flippant phrases like “overnight success.” But in reality, it is a reflection of something fundamental at Myth: “Using technology, whether in animation or ensuring that we are working excellently as a company and working as efficiently as possible,” says Gordon.
Priorities and Processes
How do we get the work done? How strong is our security? How do we get organized and stay organized? Startups often overlook these questions until a problem occurs. That’s why Gordon made testing Myth’s processes part of his job as a Business Manager. He is always looking at their technology stack and searching for the best solutions available.
“I recognize that it’s a time-consuming process, especially for small companies that don’t have a lot of time,” he says. “But it really is worth finding the time to look at your systems and processes because they are the foundation for growth.”
For Gordon, this means finding solutions that support the company as they start working with larger clients and partners outside of mythstudio.co.uk. Last year, Myth moved to Dropbox Enterprise from Google Drive so they could have more flexibility and security. Now they can control folder permissions and implement two-factor authentication on shared folders, which reassures Gordon. (Although his colleagues tease him for his hobby of using two-factor authentication for everything).
It also means considering cost efficiency. Myth recently switched to Dropbox Replay from Frame.io because the Enterprise plans were much more expensive and provided less access for the entire team.
“Now we can have the whole team on Replay, so they can upload assets without having to go through Frankie or me to upload them,” he explains. “It’s one less thing we need to worry about. When you have Slack, and then you have Dropbox, and then you have other external programs you use, it’s nice not to have to go to another platform to upload your video content.”
“It was
“Its price is a quarter of the cost, it had more features, and it was already integrated with the things we were using,” says Gordon. “There was no doubt about it.”
Using Technology to Make Things Easier for Everyone
With the processes running smoothly in the background, Myth can focus on what they do best: turning their clients’ stories into legends.
As the head of production, Evans oversees all projects that come into Myth, tracking them as they move from pre-production to post-production and guiding colleagues and clients along the way. Transitioning from internal to external communication, “all the tools we use need to be professional outwardly, but they should be familiar enough and easy enough for the team to use,” she says.
While the quality of Myth’s work speaks for itself, they have learned that the way the work is presented can be even more impactful. This is one of the points that support Replay; Evans uses the direct review function to gather feedback from her team and Myth’s clients.
“Instead of sharing my screen and talking through a film, which can sometimes lag and be a bit annoying… James [the founder of Myth and creative director] and anyone who needs to join, we jump in and watch the film at the same time,” she explains. “It removes the awkward problem of lag because if some frames drop, then the animation doesn’t hold the original quality.”
Bringing People Along
Myth couldn’t take on many of its new projects without the help of freelancers. Depending on demand, their team of nine can swell to 17 or 18 people, “that’s why the collaborative tools we use are so important,” Gordon says.
Many of these freelancers are good friends based in their hometown and around the world. (In fact, Gordon became the third employee at Myth after several late-night conversations with his friend and Myth’s founder about work.)
“Being multi-national means we can get the best people,” says Evans. “You need to have a strong community of people you can say, ‘Hey, we have a project. Do you want to join?’ If people say, ‘Yes, we love working with you,’ that’s the biggest compliment you can get as a team.”
As the global team grows and contracts, it has become crucial to have a single source of truth about how work is done. Instead of a team member or freelancer sending emails to Evans or Gordon via Slack or hoping to catch them in the Myth studio in London, they can access screen recordings made using Capture.
“I love knowing that I have those resources and intricate references on different parts of the systems, because it’s quick and easy. If Frankie or I have to sit with someone and join a video call and walk through things, that’s our time,” says Gordon. “It’s nice to know we can just say, ‘Hey, here’s a video of me doing exactly what I would do in the call with you. You can rewind it, pause it, and go at your own pace with it.”
Staying True to What Made Them Unique
Now Myth works with some of the most famous names in consumer goods, but they aren’t completely satisfied. The team is constantly exploring new ways and media to express their viewpoint, from incorporating AI into the pitching process to making their own award-winning films one day (fingers crossed).
But as Myth continues to grow, the team doesn’t want to lose sight of what made them special when they were smaller. It’s the only piece of advice Evans would share with anyone facing a similar juncture in their work.
“Your love
For your work, your passion for it, your habits, and all the magic you bring to the project, you can’t give them up just because your clients are getting bigger and more demanding. It’s very easy when someone who intimidates you with their fame approaches you to take on their entire persona. You must remember that you are speaking to another community of people who also care.”
Source: https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/customer-stories/myth-studio-animation
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