Meet The Member - Azim of Willow Red Media
We caught up with the team at Willow Red Media to discover the story behind this creative local business. Bringing over 15 years of broadcast experience, they help businesses and brands tell their stories through professional video production, live streaming and podcasts.
We are happy to have you as a member of both the We Are Harpenden and We Are St Albans communities! Could you tell us a little about your journey. What did you do before launching Willow Red Media, and what inspired you to build a broadcast-standard production company after more than 15 years working in the industry?
Thanks for having me! I actually did a degree in Psychology and actually after I graduated I decided that I didn’t want to pursue that career path. I eventually landed a job at a shopping TV channel doing graphics, and eventually became a live tv director and I fell in love with it. Over the years I did a couple of related roles, but my friends and I always talked about starting a production company. After a stint managing a studio in Cambridge and learning how to shoot and direct, I went freelance, where I learned a lot more about working with a lot of the bigger broadcasters, as well as shooting with big brands. Eventually I took a job directing for Sky Sports Racing, after which I went freelance again. By that point I was immersed in Sport and was doing work with Tottenham Hotspur as well as directing on all of the England Cricket Test Matches. With all of this experience under my belt, and having built up the network I have, I realised that I could bring together a team to produce live and recorded content of a broadcast level – so I decided to go for it. And since then through the business I have had many opportunities to work on a lot of cool things.
Your broadcast career includes credits on major productions such as the Paris 2024 Olympics, Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, The Ashes, and Roland Garros, as well as work with broadcasters including Sky Sports, BBC, TNT Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery. Looking back, what have been some of the most memorable productions you’ve been involved with, and what have they taught you about delivering content to the highest standard?
That’s a great question. In this day and age, most people can pick up a phone and film content, as well as live stream at the touch of the button. But the problem is that not all of it is born equal, whether that’s in the quality or in the way it’s produced, because not everyone has that sort of experience. Working in broadcast as long as I have, at a high level, means that you have certain standards that you have to adhere to and, as a director, that you are accountable for. I will say that working on the Olympics was something that I never thought I would get to be a part of, I was lucky enough to be with a lovely team, we had a really good laugh whilst doing it, but the Olympics is such a big event that there are a lot of moving parts and there’s a lot of coordination needed between different teams, so whilst I do like to have fun when we’re working, you still have keep a certain level of quality, and a certain level of professionalism – and doing that multiple times over hundred over hours of working in broadcast ingranes those high standards into you – if you make a mistake potentially thousands of people will see it! But equally, working in those enviornments which can be quite high stress, mistakes do happen, and part of the battle is how you handle those moments.
Willow Red Media specialises in professional video production, live streaming and podcast production. What do you find most rewarding about helping businesses, organisations and brands tell their stories through engaging content?
One thing I that I really enjoy is working as part of team – as cliched as that may sound! So when we get clients in, I like to be able to work with them to achieving their goals. Doing the media side of things can be stressful for people, events are stressful, meeting deadlines etc. I like being able to put people at ease, and there’s a level of satisfaction I get on delivering great content which I know is helping clients with their businesses.
Podcasting has become one of the fastest-growing ways for businesses to connect with their audience. Why do you think more businesses should be considering a podcast, and what can it achieve that other forms of marketing sometimes can’t?
Podcasting is a great way to connect with you audience because they get more of an insight into what you are like as a person. One thing I often say, in this age of AI and automation, is that people want more human connection. Short form content is also such a dominant way of consuming media nowadays, which doesn’t allow you time to connect with people. Podcasts offer just that, you have time to get to know your hosts, it’s more personal, as well as sometimes learning and gaining insight from people – or just being entertained. Podcasts not only give you a platform to gain more exposure, and grow a more dedicated and loyal audience, they can also act to showcase you as an expert in your field and area of business, and with that you have quick access to a whole lot of short form content for yourself.
From planning and recording through to editing and distribution, producing a podcast can seem overwhelming to many businesses. How does Willow Red Media make the whole process straightforward and enjoyable for clients, even if they’ve never stepped behind a microphone before?
I try to frame a podcast as a conversation – and an enjoyable one at that. We always have a chat with people before hand to put them at ease, as not everyone is used to being in front of camera or on a microphone. A lot of companies and spaces will just record the footage, hand it over then say see you later. Because of our experience, we know how important it is for people to be as relaxed as they can be when they go to record. I always aim to give guidance and tips to make the recording the best it can possibly be, and that comes with a lot of my experience working in broadcast. The idea is to let the clients focus on what they want to say, and we focus on making the podcast sound and look great, both before, during and after recording, offering reassurance the whole way through.
Having worked at the very highest level of broadcast television, you’ve seen first-hand what makes content truly engaging. What values and principles do you bring from the broadcast world into every Willow Red Media project, whether it’s a podcast, livestream or branded film?
Two things that stand out about us – firstly our approachability and ability to stay calm, helping to put our client at ease regardless of the kind of production we’re on. This is something that is taken for granted, chaos breeds chaos, which has a knock on effect to the whole production. Secondly, it’s our standards. We run things as we would in a broadcast environment, adhering to quite high standards both behind the scenes, when we’re live and when we’re recording. From sticking to timings to acting in a professional way during recordings to tidying up after ourselves, we pride ourselves on this standard of working. I’ve been in the industry long enough and worked with enough companies to know that this, unfortunately, isn’t always the case. You can make everyone (clients and crew) feel relaxed, have fun and be professional all at the same time – and this is something that I’m quite passionate about bringing to any project we work no matter the scale.
Every business has a story to tell, but not everyone knows how to tell it effectively. How do you work with clients to uncover those stories and turn them into content that genuinely connects with their audience?
I absolutely love getting to know our clients for this very reason. Relationships are important to me, and I think building a good one with a client is not only good for everyone involved, but helps us to develop a better understanding of the client, what they need and what their story is. Everyone is different, and sometimes people have 1000 different ideas they want. So taking the time to understand what the client and their business is about, what purpose the content serves, and who their target audience is, allows us to help decide what direction to go in with their content. Even when we have tight turn arounds, I always like to keep the client looped in and check in regularly to make sure we’re telling the story in a way that they want. Of course sometimes they want us to take the lead, and we do, but I still like to get to know them.
Technology is evolving rapidly, particularly in the world of video, podcasting and live streaming. How do you embrace new tools and innovations while ensuring quality, creativity and storytelling always remain at the heart of your work?
You’re right, technology is ever evolving and in the video production world it is something that we have to try to work with. In a world where there’s an every increasing dependence on AI, I think that it’s easy to forget that it is a tool, the same with automation. For example, utilising AI has helped speed up the post production process, we’re able to clean up audio recordings more easily and effectively than we have in the past, enhancing footage and producing project management documents, setting up presets to fire off multiple audio and video assets during livestream - these are all things that weren’t that easy to do 10 years ago. But the key thing is that these are tools, and we don’t forget that. Tools can be used to build, or they can be misused. There’s a lot of over reliance on things like AI to just “do it for you”, but I don’t think that’s right. We still decide how we shoot our livestreams and videos, we decide what to cut out of podcasts, we choose how we want a video to look and what the narrative is for that video. Storytelling is more important than ever in this day and age, and that’s something that we don’t want to lose, but I think that’s why good storytelling is at the heart of a lot of great content.
Looking ahead, are there any exciting projects, new services or ambitions for Willow Red Media that you’re particularly looking forward to over the coming months?
We actually recently have a new client who are a charity, and will be working with them to stream their events. I can’t get too into it, but I can say that this first event we’re doing is raising awareness about women and girls in deprived countries around the world.
When you’re not behind the camera, producing a podcast or directing a livestream, where are your favourite places in Harpenden and St Albans to grab a coffee, unwind, or spend time with family and friends?
Megan’s is a place we often go for brunch in St Albans and a favourite of mine is the Mad Squirrel.
Finally, please tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I have a fox red labrador called Willow who inspired the name Willow Red Media!