Candle & Bell

01/09/2025

This year we have been working away on a feature film called The Date, by Alex Barrett. We are currently working away on the sound design and mix and thought we would give you a sneak peak into the work that is going on.
Many thanks to the brilliant Philip Quinton and Charis Coke for their excellent and meticulous work on this.

We're excited about bringing the film to audiences in 2026. 😊🧡

21/08/2025

In 2023 Candle & Bell began work on an ambitious documentary project: to take 100 portraits of residents living in the town of Blyth along with a series of video stories.

The purpose was to capture on film and photography this unique town at a time of change. The new railway, new creative spaces in the town centre, expansion of training services in the port of Blyth and so on.

Maria and Sel MacLean spent 6 months meeting people from all walks of life across Blyth.

The initial plan had been to set up in Keel Row shopping centre and take pictures on a pop up photo booth of people who walked by. It would have been uniform, everyone photographed and filmed in the same way. However, after talking to residents and seeing the diversity within the community, we felt it made more sense to take portraits of people in the places that matter to them where there's a genuine connection between person and place. We believed this approach would offer a more representative and authentic picture of the town at this moment in time: engaging directly with people, listening to what's important to them, and exploring the spaces they feel best reflect their identity and their place within Blyth.

Beyond the scope of the commission, the experience of photographing the communities had a profound impact on us. The passion and love that everybody showed about their communities, the camaraderie and the desire for Blyth to thrive was something really special. In this sense, this project was unlike any we've taken on before. It wasn't about technical precision or a controlled creative process. Instead, it was driven by the people we met and the communities that shape the identity of Blyth.

The portraits and videos are now on display in the brand new Market Pavilion in the centre of Blyth. We are having a launch event tomorrow but you can come to see the exhibition throughout the coming weeks and months.

Many thanks to Wendy at Northumberland County council for commissioning us to work on this project. Most of all thank you to the people of Blyth who shared their thoughts and aspirations with us.

Here is a trailer of the project and a taste of what you will see in the exhibition.

18/08/2025

Comedy time 🧡

13/08/2025

Look who's back 🥳🥳

Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT! returns for series two.

Candle and Bell start recording the second series of their hit BBC Radio 4 show, Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT!, the first re-commission of a radio series in the North East by an independent production company.

Maria Caruana Galizia, producer of the show and MD of Gateshead based Candle and Bell said;
"I'm delighted to be working with Tom and Lauren once again, producing the second series of this show in the North East. It's such a treat to work with local talent and local voices. We can't wait to bring you the second instalment of the misadventures of this loveable couple."

Read the full story here👉https://candleandbell.com/blog/tomandlaurenreturn

10/08/2025

We came 5th at this year's Pride Lawn Bowling Tournament!!
Solid effort all round. Still unclear on the rules though...

21/07/2025

We’d like to share with you the results of a recent corporate video produced by Maria and the team for client, Kutavar. It’s amazing how much you get under the skin of an organisation when you’re working with their brand and creatively telling a story to capture the essence of their service or product.

The video was shot at a client premises in Hertfordshire as a testimonial with a fantastic team. We loved filming with the guys at Westholme Fabrications and are very pleased with the results.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkBr8jt2khM

If you'd like to find out more about our corporate video capability, do get in touch 👉https://candleandbell.com/services-candle-and-bell
We work with big brands and little brands and everything in between 😀

Westholme Fabrications Ltd make machine fabrications for the oil, gas, renewables and power transmission industry. We spoke to Ray, to discuss his experience...

17/07/2025

A trip to the theatre last night to see "When We Were Young" by at

Excellent performances that had us laughing one moment and crying the next.

15/07/2025

Sometimes the camera man just has to sit on the ground to get the perfect shot 😂

28/06/2025

June... Audio production, video production and TV production with many happy meetings and events in between. And our 12th birthday of course...

🎙

19/06/2025

Big thanks to North East Screen for the invite to the gala screening of 28 Years Later. Absolutely great film and an amazing breakthrough performance from Newcastle's own Alfie Williams!