THE NORTHERN STORYBOARD PHONE: 07795 112009 EMAIL: hello@northernstoryboard.com

Two experienced creatives. One storytelling mission. Hundreds of satisfied clients.

Name: The Northern Storyboard
Address: Clive Street, North Shields, ENG, NE29, GB
Telephone: 07795 112009

We tell stories of people and places through commercial photography, interview-led documentary and event highlights videos, and beautifully written and presented humanist ceremonies.

Whether we're capturing your brand on camera, documenting your event, or crafting words for life's biggest milestones, we tell real stories. Our clients are global, national, and local. Based just outside Newcastle upon Tyne, we are a small, scalable creative team and we work throughout the North East and across the UK.

COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES

CELEBRANT CEREMONIES

Rachael Meyer, humanist celebrant, Newcastle upon Tyne

A crossover of skills

Simon and Rachael Meyer are a husband and wife team - seasoned storytellers for over 30 years, every which way you look at it. Simon's background is in high end advertising and architectural photography, filming, forensic imaging and surveillance work for two major police forces. Rachael's background is in PR, event management, professional writing and visual communications for global B2B businesses and national charities. She's also a humanist celebrant, sharing warm and engaging stories of life and love in wedding and funeral ceremonies. For business clients wanting to promote their message and for individuals wanting to share personal stories, the combination of their creative skills and people skills is like gold dust, and sits extremely well under one storytelling umbrella.

Both Rachael and Simon are good at talking to people from all walks of life and in any situation. With wide ranging creative skills and professional experiences, they don't just rock up with a shoot sheet or a notebook. They work holistically to tell a story - whether it's through pictures, films or words. Rachael is a professional photographer and video editor as well as a writer and narrator. She can schmooze with celebs at an awards evening, and present heartfelt ceremonies on the best and worst days of life. She can help clients write scripts for documentary and training videos, and will interview high profile or vulnerable people with emotional intelligence, and the edit and the message in mind. Rachael and Simon can both coach interviewees on what to say and how to say it, confidently arrange teams and individuals for photo shoots, film and edit audio visual slideshows for memorials and celebrations of life, and create interview-led short films that document and share the stories of people's communities and lives.

They have worked with TV presenters and CEOs of global corporations, lawyers, police commissioners, teachers and Crown Court Judges. They've interviewed TV presenters, families of murder victims, loved-up couples, amputees, people driving diversity and inclusion, winners of awards for bravery, a range of health professionals, owners of shopping centres, artists, event planners, PR teams, council employees, and thousands of members of the community who have a story to tell.

"You've absolutely nailed it. There are some strong editorial portraits in there, but what I love most are the natural moments you've captured during the interview. They feel relaxed, genuine and full of personality, which is exactly what I was hoping for when we first discussed the brief.

You've managed to capture Helen in a way that feels confident, approachable and authentic, which isn't always easy to achieve.

Thank you for all the work you've put into this. From the turnaround to the quality of the photography, it's been a pleasure working with you. I had a good feeling when we spoke, but you've genuinely delivered something better than I'd hoped for".

Michal - Inside Housing Magazine, London -, talking about a photo shoot at The Home Group, Newcastle.

COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS

"I've worked with Simon and Rachael at The Northern Storyboard for some 20 years. Talent, value, incredible storytelling expertise, reliability, creativity and quick turnaround all add up to 5 stars. In fact, 5 stars isn't enough. That's why our easy working relationship has endured for so long.

I can highly recommend all of their services - and I have used every single one - internal comms, commercial photography and video production, conference and exhibition logistics, global event management and, on a personal level, my wife and I have used Rachael's wedding and funeral celebrant services!"

Kevin Lawless, Global Marketing Manager at Motorola, O2, Benchmark Holdings, Wireless Economics.

"Thank you for being our celebrant - the ceremony was everything we could have wanted and more, we had so many people saying what a brilliant and unique ceremony it was and they’d never been to anything like it! We had such a fab day and the ceremony set the standard for the celebrations!" – Martha and Bertie, Halton Grove, Corbridge

"Thank you so much for the beautiful ceremony and for the filming of it - it was the most wonderful way to say goodbye to my mum and I couldn't have done it without you both." – Tanja, talking about a celebration of life ceremony in Northumberland.

What's your story?

BUSINESSES/ORGANISATIONS: EMAIL TO CHECK AVAILABILITY OR FOR A QUOTE

COUPLES/FAMILIES: CALL RACHAEL ON 07795 112009 OR EMAIL FOR A FRIENDLY NO-OBLIGATION CHAT ABOUT YOUR CEREMONY

Whether you're:

a business looking for creative photos and/or story-led video content?
a commercial operation needing a PR shoot, video editing or corporate portraits?
an event organiser wanting photos/video highlights of a conference, exhibition or awards show?
a community organisation or charity wanting to document heritage or culture?
a public service wanting to recruit or build awareness of a campaign?
a couple wanting to share your story in a wedding ceremony?
a family wanting to share the story of a loved one at a funeral or memorial ceremony?

You're all in the right place! Let us help you tell your story through photos, videos or ceremony.

This is our story

In 2008, we joined forces in Harrogate, set up a PR, Events and Photography company, and Rachael trained and qualified as a photographer and video producer. Together, we collected a series of longstanding international and UK based clients, and grew a team of creatives who operated as a full scale agency - providing everything from conference content and filming in Athens, Morocco, America, Norway and Germany to exhibition photography and school brochure design, images and written material.... We provided website design and content and PR services. We provided international exhibition logistics, internal and external comms, global event management, awards show and event highlights videos; training and recruitment videos, promo videos, the production of emotional and inspirational awards films and wedding photography. It was a lot.

Suddenly, the internet increased the demand for video content. Realising that we didn't like the stresses and expense of a big agency, as team members naturally moved on, we dropped writing, event management and wedding photography; said goodbye to our large studio and office, downsized into a dedicated home studio, and concentrated on commercial photography and videos that told a story.

Enjoying the human element, and missing the writing, in 2018, Rachael also became a Humanists UK accredited celebrant and now has over 300 story-led wedding and funeral ceremonies under her belt.

In 2024, we moved to the North East, and are now working solo and together, under the banner of The Northern Storyboard. We both now work around the UK on high profile commercial photography and video content for businesses, charities and public service organisations. We also work locally within our new community, on regeneration, cultural, and small business promo video projects. On some projects, such as large conferences and exhibitions, or if we need a little extra help with animation, we also work with long-standing and trusted colleagues Steve, Bav and Marek, who you will spot in the Northern Storyboard character line up!

Rachael works throughout the North East on wedding and funeral ceremonies, is a mentor for new trainees and a regional celebrant coordinator for Humanists UK

Work with us

Want to explore how we can work together? Please call Rachael on 17795 112009 or email hello@northernstoryboard.com