Yet here we are. Dan, our Managing Director, and Matt, our Head of Production, have been working side by side since the early days of From The Hip Video, when the entire business was two blokes, a car boot full of camera kit.
To mark the milestone, and because Valentine's Day felt like the right moment, they sat down together on camera and talked about everything. How they met. How they work. The disasters, the pranks, the silent arguments conducted entirely through eyebrow raises, and the trust that holds it all together.
The result is "When Matt Met Dan", a film that says more about who we are as a video production company than any showreel or credentials deck ever could. You can watch the full video here, and below we've pulled out the moments and lessons that stood out.
How It Started: weddings, long days and a car boot full of kit
Sorry for the quality, but this was basically shot on an antique...
Dan and Matt were introduced by a mutual friend around 2005. Matt was freelancing at the time, and Dan needed a reliable second camera operator for the wedding films that were the backbone of the business back then. The stakes were high. Wedding films were everything From The Hip was built on, and the quality had to be spot on.
I must have believed in whatever you said to me, because you went and shot a wedding. And as I said, the stakes were high. So I must have thought you were up to the job. And Matt smashed it.
Matt kept coming back. Two-camera wedding shoots meant 12 to 15-hour days together, often under pressure, and that's where the working relationship was forged. When you spend that much time filming alongside someone, you either learn to work together or you don't last. They lasted.
What started as freelance cover became something more permanent. Dan had a conversation with his wife about the fact that every time the business was busy, Matt was off on another job. Availability was becoming a problem. So he asked Matt to come on board full time. Matt became From The Hip's very first employee.
From weddings to corporate video production
About fifteen years ago, From The Hip made the shift from wedding videography to corporate and commercial video production. The transition was natural. The skills that made their wedding films stand out, attention to detail, reliability under pressure, an instinct for storytelling, translated directly into the corporate world.
Early corporate shoots were an education in themselves. Dan and Matt describe their first big job, a multi-day shoot in a rented warehouse in Richmond, as a turning point. The controlled studio environment suited them. The client relationships they were building felt different from the one-off nature of weddings, more collaborative, more ongoing.
We were two guys that were effectively winging a lot of it back then. These days we have so many processes and checklists. We're unrecognisable from that company we were.
Today, From The Hip operates from a purpose-built studio in Farnham, Surrey, complete with a specialised kitchen facility for the product demonstration and how-to videos that have become a core part of the business. The client list includes brands like Kenwood, Tefal, and De'Longhi, many of whom have worked with the team for years.
Left brain and the right brain - the perfect match
A few years ago, Dan and Matt attended a management training course together. As part of the programme, they took a test to determine which side of the brain was dominant in a business setting. The results were about as extreme as the trainer had ever seen.
Matt came back almost entirely left-brained. Methodical, process-driven, organised, detail-focused. Dan came back almost entirely right-brained. Creative, people-oriented, visual, instinctive. The trainer pointed out that he rarely saw right-brained people on management courses at all!
It became very apparent to us that day that for years we've been functioning in perfect tandem without even knowing it.
It explained a lot. On a shoot day, the division is instinctive. Matt runs the schedule, manages the shot list, makes sure every technical detail is locked down. Dan reads the room, manages the client, handles the talent and spots creative opportunities.
For clients, this dynamic means many shoots benefit from two complementary perspectives. The production is meticulously planned and efficiently run, but there's also someone tuned into the human side of the day, making sure everyone's comfortable, engaged and enjoying the process. It's a combination that has a direct impact on the quality of the final product.
A love language built on set: communication without words
One of the most entertaining parts of the interview is their description of how they communicate on set. It started at weddings, where they developed a kind of ventriloquism to discuss shots without guests noticing. Over the years, it evolved into something far more subtle.
Today, they can communicate through looks, gestures and the occasional grunt. Matt has a specific expression that means "I wouldn't do it like that, and I'm letting you know that I wouldn't do it like that." Dan has a system of gestures that communicate his lunch requirements with increasing urgency as midday approaches.
It sounds funny, and it is, but it's also a genuine professional advantage. On a busy set with clients present, the ability to redirect, flag a concern or suggest an alternative without breaking the flow of the day is invaluable. It's the kind of shorthand that only develops after years of working closely together, and it's something that clients consistently notice and appreciate.
Why preparation builds trust, and trust builds better videos
If there's a single thread running through the entire conversation, it's trust. Trust between Dan and Matt. Trust within the wider team. Trust between From The Hip and its clients.
At the heart of that trust is preparation. Matt's approach to pre-production is thorough to the point where, in Dan's words, there's no such thing as over-planning. Shot lists, schedules, kit checks, contingency plans. Every detail is accounted for before the cameras roll.
Matt prepares and the team prepare to the stage where when clients come onto the set, it's a laugh. It's relaxed. We've been to a lot of different sets and when the preparation hasn't been done, it just turns physically into stress. We don't operate like that.
The payoff is significant. A well-prepared shoot day isn't just more efficient, it's more creative. When nobody is scrambling to solve problems that could have been avoided, there's space to think, to spot opportunities, and to try things that weren't in the original plan. Some of the best shots in From The Hip's portfolio have come from exactly those moments.
Matt describes a recent shoot for a barbecue brand where Dan spotted an opportunity for some additional close-up shots. Matt initially pushed back because it wasn't in the schedule. Dan went ahead anyway. In the edit, those shots elevated the entire film. Matt's response? "It pains me to say, they were really good."
That willingness to deviate from the plan, when the preparation has created enough breathing room, is what separates a competent production from a genuinely great one.
When things go wrong: twenty years of problem-solving
No amount of preparation makes a shoot completely bulletproof. Models get stuck on broken-down motorbikes. Ash clouds ground flights across Europe. Sometimes you drive all the way from Paris to Calais before realising you've left every camera you own in the middle of the hotel conference room.
The Paris camera incident has become something of a legend at From The Hip. In 2010, Dan and Matt drove to Paris for a conference shoot. On the way home, they were so pleased with how neatly they'd packed the car that they stopped at duty free and filled the extra space with wine. The client called shortly afterwards to let them know they'd left a flight case containing all their equipment behind. The space in the car hadn't been good packing. It was missing cameras.
It's a funny story, but it speaks to something important. In twenty years of video production, things will go wrong. What matters is how you respond. Dan and Matt have built a culture at From The Hip where the default reaction to a problem is to find a solution, not assign blame. When a model couldn't make a shoot because of a motorbike breakdown, Dan stepped in and starred in the food preparation shots himself. The video was delivered on time, and the client never knew there had been an issue.
It's just solutions. The alternative is rehiring a location, rehiring the food stylist, and everything has a price attached. So we just make it work. There's always a way around it.
That kind of resourcefulness comes from experience. After thousands of shoots together, very little fazes them. More importantly, they've built a team around them that operates the same way. Problems are can happen, solutions are the norm, and nobody panics.
What twenty years of partnership means for our clients
There's a reason we're sharing this story publicly. The relationship between Dan and Matt isn't just a nice anecdote about company history. It directly shapes the experience that every client has when they work with From The Hip.
When you commission a video with us, you're working with a team that has been refining its process for two decades. The pre-production will be thorough. The shoot day will be well organised and enjoyable. If something unexpected happens, it will be handled calmly and creatively. The final product will reflect a level of care and attention that only comes from people who genuinely love what they do and trust each other completely.
Many of our longest-standing clients have told us that the shoot day itself is one of the highlights of working with us. That isn't an accident. It's the result of meticulous planning, clear communication, and a team culture built on twenty years of trust.
The biggest thing is that our clients enjoy a shoot day with us. And it's all down to preparation.
Still together after all these years
When asked if they're actually friends, Dan said yes. Matt said "are we?" Dan clarified: "Monday to Friday."
The on-set chat is constant, but underneath it is something genuine. Matt describes Dan as someone who always looks for solutions rather than blame, an "all round nice guy" whose work ethic and dedication to his family are "really quite something." Dan says he couldn't run the business without Matt's methodical approach to production. Neither delivered these compliments without looking slightly uncomfortable, which somehow made them land harder.
Looking ahead, the plan is straightforward. Keep pushing the quality. Keep investing in the team. Keep building on the client relationships that have made From The Hip what it is. Maybe start seeing each other socially a bit more now Dan's admitted to them being "fwiends"
Keep pushing quality, keep trying to grow, and just believing in each other.
Twenty years on, the fundamentals haven't changed. Thorough preparation. Honest communication. A genuine commitment to making every project, and every shoot day, as good as it can possibly be. The occasional argument about Dan's sandals.
Watch the full film above, or get in touch if you'd like to talk about your next video project. We promise it'll be well planned, delivered on time, and you might even enjoy it.