Client: The Woodland Trust
Sky Seeding
A short documentary we made with the Woodland Trust, following their first ever drone seeding trials.
Over the course of a week in Cornwall and Devon, the team dropped more than 75,000 native tree seeds — oak, birch, hazel, cherry — onto hard-to-reach land, testing if aerial tree planting could be a viable tool in UK rainforest restoration.
This is part of a wider push to triple the amount of temperate rainforest in the South West by 2050. It’s a huge challenge — and projects like this are where innovation meets necessity.
We were brought in to tell the story from the inside. Not just the tech or the big picture goals — but the trial-and-error process, the uncertainty, and the people on the ground making it happen.
Our Role
We handled everything from creative direction through to delivery:
- Planned and managed production, including working around weather windows, changing dates, and remote upland sites
- Developed the story structure and narrative voice, working closely with Woodland Trust and Plant One CIC
- Directed and shot the film in collaboration with Ted Simpson, an award-winning DoP and director (Scout Studio)
- Took the film through post with Ted and the Scout Studio team — including edit, grade, sound and final mastering
The project was funded through the Woodland Trust’s Rainforest Recovery Project, supported by DEFRA’s Species Survival Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Challenge
This wasn’t a polished “mission accomplished” story. It was about a trial — an experiment — and showing the process in all its messy, technical, human complexity.
We were filming a moving target: seed availability changed. Dates moved. Rain came and went. At one point, half the seeds jammed in the drone’s hopper because they were 10x larger than the tech was designed for. But that’s what made it interesting. That’s what made it real.
We wanted to show the ambition behind the idea — and the people driving it — without simplifying the story. Just honest, cinematic storytelling with care and craft.
The Result
- The film launched in April 2025 and is being shown at Woodland Trust events and exhibitions across the UK
- It’s become part of their “Rainforest Recovery” tour, sitting alongside VR films and other media
- It’s already sparking interest for future trials and next-gen conservation work
Ed and Ted created a micro-documentary for us showcasing an innovative project in Cornwall, they were highly professional, fitted in seamlessly with a highly complex and fast paced day of activity and logistics, while building instant rapport with the multiple people involved in the day. In the end they produced a brilliant product for us delivering exactly to the brief, telling the story of the project with creative flare, style and depth. I’d highly recommenced them to anyone looking to create high quality, watchable content, with a company that has a journalistic and high level of attention to detail and adaptable approach to covering a story. Also great fun to work with in general from the creative planning stages through to filming. — Sam Manning – Project Manager at The Woodland Trust
Why It Matters
We need new ways of restoring the natural world. The old ones aren’t moving fast enough. And this — imperfect, ambitious, hopeful — is one way forward.
For us, this was exactly the kind of film we love to make: a story grounded in people, place and purpose. Something real. Something that might just help shift the dial.