Waymakers Collective is an Adventure & Environmental film collective, focused on narrative-lead documentary work and commercial film campaigns centred on stories with real meaning – focusing in on our connections with outdoor sport, landscape, and wildlife. Based in the UK, we are rooted in our love for telling those stories that aren’t told enough, and we use media as a form of social and environmental advocacy. By exploring these connections our individual and collective health has to the environment and to wildlife, and the way our outdoor spaces are changing using film, we hope to create positive change.
Waymakers is a collective; we are a network of creatives and we build the perfect crew that is best suited to the project we’re taking on. We operate in extreme and uncomfortable environments – icy mountain ridges, beneath the waves, with experience shooting all over the world from the Andes mountains to the glaciers of Iceland. Though we have creatives and strategiests across the whole of the UK, we are chiefly based in the Scottish Highlands. Hiring local is also of huge importance to us and is something we try to do as much as practical whilst still hiring the right people for the project. We do this to minimise environmental impact as much as we can, whilst providing opportunities to those who have an intimate connection to the area we’re operating in.
Creative Ideation
We’ve got a million ideas of stories that need to be told – short and long-form stories that are based within and advocating for the natural world and social issues. We know that film is one of the most influential and powerful tools to create waves of change and so our focus is in seeking out those changemakers – who work on all scales – and working with them to tell their story.
Film & Campaign Production
Whether it’s a brief direct from brand or agency, or we’re jumping in with one of our own concepts, we work intimately and with minimum faff from pre-production and storyboarding all the way through to post-production and beyond. We’ll bring together the more talented crew for that project and make those hard-to-imagine shoots feel a little bit more tangible.
Distribution Strategy & Impact
With a roster of award-winning films, experience running film tours, events, screenings and creating strategy to run alongside a film or campaign release, we enjoy the numbers almost as much as we enjoy being hands on with the camera. We know that making the film is just a part of the process and we want to get as many eyes on as possible, and create momentum with our work.
Here are just some of the folk involved in Waymakers.
Rachel Sarah Ross
Founder & Director
As founder of Waymakers you’ll find Rach at the heart of most projects, but in no way precious about stepping aside for a more suitable Director. She is an award-winning filmmaker and has managed & produced a variety of commercial campaigns and documentaries. Having worked just about every role from shoot Producer to Editor, Rach has a breadth of experience & her main joy is in directing films that shows connection between human & landscape.
Eilidh Munro
Shooting Director Producer
Eilidh is a BAFTA Scotland winning self-shooting documentary director who specialises in observational creative documentaries. Her films have been screened across the world in film festivals and broadcast, and have been used to influence policy and decision making both in the UK and internationally. She has a particular interest in stories about the environment and social injustice but works with clients across a range sectors, from broadcast to brands and charities.
Roxanna Barry
Director & Editor
Rox is freelance photographer and filmmaker, specialising in showcasing diversity and championing sustainability in the outdoors and adventure sports. As a mixed-race, queer person, shining a light on what outdoor communities can look like, beyond what is typically portrayed, is very important to Rox and they have produced & directed a number of short films highlighting stories in the adventure space.
Ryan Balharry
Cinematographer
Ryan is an adventure photographer & cinematographer specialising in shooting in challenging conditions in remote locations. From the remote cliff of St Kilda to El Capitan in Yosemite. Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, Ryan enjoyed climbing, sea kayaking, mountain biking, and much more. He has a love of the outdoors and being with people who share a common passion.
Hamish Frost
Photographer
Hamish is an adventure and mountain sports photographer based in Scotland. He thrives in cold, wet and challenging conditions, capturing images of athletes pushing their limits in mountain environments. Adopting a fast and light approach to his photography, Hamish takes pride in his ability to move around the mountains quickly, keeping pace with his subjects whilst documenting the stories behind their endeavours.
Hannah Bailey
Filmmaker & Producer
Hannah Bailey is a passionate award-winning producer, photographer and communications consultant in the Social Impact Entertainment space. Over the past 15 years, her projects across comms and content focus on sports ability to drive social and behavioural change for the good of people and the planet.
The collective continues – from producers, editors & speciality cinematographers to artists & mountain safety, our production crews are built from talented folk in the UK & beyond. We are a network of freelancers & small businesses come together to create beautiful film with real meaning and tangible impact.
