Verdant × Tate
Filming a Cornish brewery’s collaboration with one of the world’s biggest galleries: two beers that were only ever made once each, and an exhibition that hadn’t opened yet.
A Continuing Relationship, Built Around A New Exhibition
Verdant Brewing Co. came to us to film the next chapter of their ongoing relationship with Tate: a collaboration tied to a major new Frida Kahlo exhibition opening at Tate Modern in London in July.
As part of the partnership, Verdant’s team had created two Mexican-inspired beers exclusively for the collaboration. The brief was to capture the process behind them, the people on both sides who made it happen, and the relationship between a Cornish brewery and a national gallery that made the whole thing possible.
Two Beers, Two Windows, No Second Takes
Each of the two beers was only ever canned or kegged once: a single production run, on a single day, with no do-overs. That meant the shoot couldn’t be scheduled around us; we had to build our filming days entirely around Verdant’s brewing calendar, ready to capture the canning and kegging, and the interviews around it, exactly when they happened.
A Story We Couldn’t Finish Early
Layered on top of that was a second dependency. Part of the footage we needed only existed once the exhibition itself opened in London, which meant the film couldn’t be finished until Tate Modern’s doors opened in July, weeks after both beers had already been made. Keeping the whole project organised, brewing days, interviews and the eventual London opening, meant planning the shoot in phases rather than as one visit.
Two Trips To Verdant, Three Weeks Apart
End Of May: The First Batch
We filmed the canning of the first beer alongside interviews with Verdant’s own team, including Creative Director Jim Wright and Head of Sales Billy, getting the thinking behind the collaboration on camera while it was still fresh.
Mid-June: The Second Batch And A Visit From Tate
Three weeks later we were back for the second beer’s canning and kegging, this time alongside a visit from Tate itself. George and two colleagues travelled down from London for a tour of Verdant’s brewery and Tap Room, which we filmed alongside further interviews and dedicated product photography and video of the finished beers.
Billy, On Camera For The Collaboration
Billy was one of the voices we sat down with during the May shoot, talking through what the collaboration meant from Verdant’s side.
A Short, Social-First Cut Of The Release
Verdant × Tate: Social Teaser
A short-form cut built to travel fast around the release. Watch on YouTube.
A Relationship That Already Existed
Verdant was actually our third project with Tate. We’d previously produced Queer Cornwall: Marlow Moss, Gluck & Ithell Colquhoun In Lamorna, a documentary exploring queer artists connected to Lamorna, and separately filmed behind the scenes on a shoot around the area’s ancient stone circles with the popular online outfit Stone Club. That existing relationship made the Verdant collaboration an easier conversation to have on both sides.
Verdant Takes Over The Tate Modern Corner Bar
In July we travelled up to London for the exhibition’s opening, where Verdant had taken over as guest brewery at Tate Modern’s Corner Bar, both collaboration beers poured across the gallery for the night.
A Brand Film, Built From Every Stage
Alongside the main brand collaboration film, we also produced a short social-first teaser to accompany the release, plus product and behind-the-scenes photography from the brewery, the canning line and the Tap Room tour.
Busy days, tight windows and two dependencies that couldn’t be rushed, but between the Cornwall shoot days and the London opening, we came away with everything the story needed.
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