Why Welsh Indies Are Turning to MotionHub

Last week we had the chance to show MotionHub to the Pact Welsh Future 30 group on Zoom. It was great to see how far MotionHub has come and to show off its full potential.

We didn’t go in with a sales pitch. We went in to show how MotionHub works on a real production day: scheduling a shoot, tracking a budget against actuals, logging rushes and keeping everyone on the same page. What came out of it was an honest conversation about change, technology and money.

Change is hard for indies – and that’s understandable

Independent production companies are brilliant at making things work. Many have built their own systems over years: a spreadsheet for the budget, a shared drive for paperwork, a WhatsApp group for the crew and a wall planner for the schedule. It isn’t perfect, but it’s familiar, and it gets the show made.

So when someone suggests a new platform, the first reaction is often caution. We heard that clearly in the room:

• “We don’t have time to learn something new.” When you’re mid-production, there’s no slack in the week for training.
• “What if it goes wrong?” Moving a live budget or schedule into new software feels risky.
• “Will my team actually use it?” A tool only works if freelancers and crew buy in.
• “Is this built for us, or for the big studios?” Plenty of production tech feels designed for companies ten times the size.

There’s also a quieter fear around technology itself – especially with AI in the headlines. People worry about losing control of their data, being locked into a system, or feeling out of their depth. We think those concerns deserve straight answers, not hand-waving. That’s why we spent as much time on questions as on the demo.

Squeezed budgets are changing the conversation

What’s different now is money. Budgets across the industry are tighter than they’ve been in years. Commissioners are asking for more for less, margins are thin, and every hour of a producer’s or production manager’s time has to count.

In that climate, the old patchwork of spreadsheets and email threads starts to cost real money: double-handling, missed clashes in the schedule, overspends spotted too late, and hours lost chasing the latest version of a document.

That’s where MotionHub has gone from “nice to have” to a must. It brings scheduling, tasks, media, scripts and production budgets together in one place, so small teams can:

• See costs in real time, tracking actuals and purchase orders against the budget as they happen.
• Avoid clashes by checking crew and contributor availability before booking.
• Find footage fast, with searchable rushes and transcripts instead of digging through drives.
• Cut admin, so the team spends more time on the creative work and less on chasing paperwork.

For an indie, that isn’t about adopting technology for its own sake. It’s about protecting margin and making the budget go further.

Demand is rising

We’re seeing that shift in the numbers. Since the start of the year, demand for MotionHub has grown noticeably, with more independent producers getting in touch for demos, trials and onboarding – many of them in Wales.

The conversations have changed, too. A year ago, the question was often “Why would we need this?” Now it’s “How quickly can we get set up?” Producers who were wary of new tech are coming to us because they need to do more with the same team and the same (or smaller) budget.

The Future 30 session reflected that. Several companies stayed behind to talk through their next production, and we’ve since followed up with a number of them about getting started.

Change at your own pace

We know switching systems is a big decision for an indie. That’s why we make it easy to start small – one production, one team, one part of the workflow – and build from there, with our team on hand to help.

A huge thank you to Pact and the Welsh Future 30 group for having us, and for such an open and honest conversation.

If you’re an independent producer feeling the squeeze, we’d love to show you what MotionHub can do.

👉 Book a demo and see how it could work for your next production.