Members Feature - Up The Game
Up The Game are a production company and creative agency based at Oru’s East Dulwich site. Whilst their work spans across short and long form film, events, experiential and educational content, music is at the heart of everything they do. A passion that exudes from Josh and Katie, as we sit and dive deeper into their journey bringing them to Oru Space.
If you were to take a look at their impressive list of credits, you might not believe that Up The Game was only set up in 2017. With artist documentaries of Liam Gallagher, Foals and Celeste under their belt, it is clear that their skill and expertise most definitely matches the love for what they do.
When Up The Game’s co-founders’ previous employer went under, they were faced with an opportunity. Countless projects in the works and freelancers on board, connecting communities and offering opportunities - they “just couldn’t bear to see them go to waste.” So, they reached out to the clients and asked if they would want to continue if they operated under their own business. The response was unanimous - “go for it.” Taking on the same freelancers, and increasing their rates to try and offset the losses, Up the Game were determined to keep these projects, careers and passions alive.
Fast forward 6 years later, and the risk has most definitely paid off. With a 5-person team, a list of partners including the likes of Spotify, Amazon, Levis and Patreon - and, of course, their own plant-filled office in Oru - the trajectory of Up The Game continues to look brighter than ever.
Up The Game’s journey to Oru is one facilitated by Katie, the companies first full-time employee, who was entrusted by Josh to find a location for them to call home. Having attended some of Oru’s wellness classes, Katie was drawn to Oru’s warm, rustic interiors, on a mission to find a space away from the sterile white walls of a traditional office. “It suits us being somewhere that’s creative”, says Katie. “As well as members, so many of the staff I’ve spoken to have creative pursuits alongside Oru, and it’s exciting being around people like that. Everyone is lovely.” Then comes the benefits of a diverse workspace - “It’s nice to be able to speak to people who aren’t in our wold - it’s so easy to get bogged down in a project and not interact with anyone else.”
Josh admits that for him, his 8 minute commute continues to be a huge perk. Commuting to central London seems to be a thing of the past, of pre-covid times where WFH and coworking spaces were few and far between, and for smaller teams where large offices aren’t needed. “But joking aside, the general feeling of the building is what I love the most” tells Josh. When you walk in the door in the morning, you’re always met with a buzz in the cafe. For a company like us, where it’s often just us two heading into the office, it’s great to be around people, and to have our mood and energy lifted. It’s the kind of place that wants you to stay at work a little longer.”
Both enthuse about Oru’s interiors, the vintage furniture, rustic walls and plant-filled rooms creating somewhere that to them feels vibrant and exciting. A place where creativity can be nurtured, where people and projects can flourish.
Helping people grow is certainly something that the team strive for through their work. Whether it’s supporting creatives at the start of their careers, working regularly with freelancers who they have been able to offer opportunities to and witnessed progress in the industry, or helping create educational industry content, Up The Game are very quickly becoming a hub to facilitate growth. “Alongside the artist and performance aspect, we love the nuts and bolts of music.” As well as experiential events connecting fans to artists - such as hosting tea parties with Kasey Musgraves and karaoke with Little Mix, they’ve also helped Spotify create their masterclass series, an educational tool to teach young musician how to make the most of the platform and boost their profiles.
“Longevity is a key factor in all the decisions we make” tells Katie. Whether that’s helping new creatives access opportunities or supporting careers, or choosing to work on projects that people will enjoy and gain value from long-term, it’s clear that the team strive to work with purpose, on projects that leave a positive impact. “We hope that the people we work with we’ll see again in 5 years, and to have been a helpful part of their journey.”
I ask the pair what their favourite project they’ve worked on thus far, and Josh’s eyes immediately light up. He tells me of their first long form film as a company, a documentary of the band Foals, recalling how he quit his other job and two days later moved across the world to Australia, ready to follow the band as they toured across the world. “I wrote my Uni dissertation in the back of a van touring with a band from my home town - I never imaged I’d one day be touring with Foals.”
Little were the crew to know that this would be the band’s last big tour before covid, and how much the landscape of live music would change. “For me personally, and on behalf of the business, we were so proud to have been able to capture that moment in time and that period of the band’s existence. We built a great relationship with everyone on the tour, and were able to create something that felt intimate and personal, that they can look back on in years to come.”
Katie similarly describes feelings of connection underpinning her work highlights thus far.
“I love handling intimate situations” says Katie. Whether that’s going behind the scenes, getting a peek into people’s homes, connecting fans with the artist - she describes the role as “giving front row access to artists in a totally different light.” Her first project with Up The Game was a documentary on Liam Gallagher, which reached no.4 in box office on the day of opening. “Seeing fans getting to meet Liam and how happy they were was really special.”
A unique element to their work is their ability to capture the people around the artists. Katie recalls Celeste’s band and team, and how nice it was to be able to showcase their work and give credit for the amazing job they do. “All in all”, Josh tells me, “it might be a live music session for one artist, but there’s so many people around them that it affects. It’s something really special to be able to witness the whole A-Z picture and how that translates to the fans.”
As my chat with Katie and Josh comes to a close, I am reminded of the translation of Oru, meaning ‘for one’ in Tamil. “At the end of the day, we all take a little piece away of the final project,” Josh says. “The sentimental side of us hangs on to footage we know we’ll never need again, all the memories we’ve captured.” Up The Game are a perfect example of how purpose and connection-led work generate a sense of fulfilment like no other.
“It’s important that we take a step back and see how special this is. To keep the essence of loving what we do.”