Stage One
Stage One is a London-based creative production studio providing storyboards, animatics, and illustrations for global advertising agencies and consumer brands, combining hand-drawn craft with AI visualization workflows.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Stage One does
Stage One is a London-based creative production studio that provides storyboards, animatics, finished illustrations, 3D services, editing, and pre-visualization for the advertising and market research industries worldwide. The studio serves global consumer brands and advertising agencies, delivering visual content used to test advertising concepts before committing to full-scale production. The client base spans food and beverage (Tesco, Guinness, Red Bull, Starbucks, Stella Artois), beauty and personal care (Nivea, Rexona, Axe/Lynx), household (Persil, Dettol, Airwick), automotive (Lexus, Volkswagen), financial services (NatWest, Lloyds, UBS), and technology (AWS, Facebook/Meta, Tinder) sectors.
The studio combines hand-drawn artistic craftsmanship with AI-driven visualization workflows. Core technical components include an AI animatic build that produces shot-by-shot animatics with photorealistic visuals, sound, and motion; AI artwork generation for rapid concept visualization; and traditional hand-drawn artwork produced without AI generation. A structured five-day production pipeline (Brief & Align, Concept Development, AI Animatic Build, Refine & Approve, Deliver & Test) moves projects from initial brief to testing-ready film. Production operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, supported by a globally distributed team of artists recruited from the United States, Spain, Slovakia, and Australia.
Stage One operates a project-based revenue model with one-time fees per deliverable. Pricing varies by film length (15, 30, 45, or 60 seconds), artistic style (Traditional, Hybrid, or Generative AI), and delivery speed tier (Standard at 10 business days, Rush at 6-9 days, Express at 2-5 days, plus Holiday and Weekend rates). The go-to-market approach is sales-led, with direct phone and email outreach through four named team members, complemented by a production estimate calculator on the company website. Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed and requires submission of a project brief.
Stage One firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stage One
- Website
- https://stageonestoryboards.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stage One is a London-based creative production studio providing storyboards, animatics, and illustrations for global advertising agencies and consumer brands, combining hand-drawn craft with AI visualization workflows.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stage One industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Advertising Production Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Previsualization (Previs) & Storyboarding for Animation (MPADACAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Scripted Feature Film Production (Live-Action) (MPADABAA)
Keywords
Where Stage One is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stage One business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Project-Based Creative Services: Custom storyboard, animatic, and illustration projects priced based on film length (15/30/45/60 seconds) and style (Traditional, Hybrid, Generative AI). Delivery speed tiers include Standard (10 business days), Rush (6-9 business days), Express (2-5 business days), and Holiday/Weekend rates. Revenue is project-based with one-time fees per deliverable.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard delivery in 10 business days |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Rush delivery in 6-9 business days |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Express delivery in 2-5 business days |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Stage One product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stage One is a creative production studio that produces storyboards, animatics, and finished illustration for advertising agencies and global brands. The studio combines traditional hand-drawn artwork with AI-driven visualization to deliver testing-ready animatics within 5 days from brief, serving clients across advertising and market research industries worldwide.
Product overview
Stage One is a creative production studio providing a portfolio of visual storytelling services for the advertising and research industry worldwide. The core offerings comprise storyboards (both traditional hand-drawn and AI-generated), animatics (motion-based storyboard sequences), finished illustration, 3D services, editing, and pre-vis. The company positions itself as fusing "timeless hand-drawn craft with next-generation AI visualisation," offering two distinct artwork pathways — Traditional Artwork (purely hand-crafted) and AI Artwork (algorithm-generated) — alongside animatics that can incorporate AI-generated visuals with sound and motion. Services are delivered through a structured five-day workflow from brief to testing-ready film, with options for standard, rush, and express delivery speeds.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Storyboards Hand-drawn or AI-generated storyboard frames that visualize advertising concepts shot-by-shot for client approval and creative development. Sold to advertising agencies and global brands for campaign pre-production.
- Animatics Motion-based storyboard sequences that bring static frames to life with timing, sound, and transitions, enabling faster creative decisions and storytelling assessment. Delivered to advertising agencies and brands for testing-ready film production.
- Traditional Artwork Meticulously hand-drawn illustrations shaped by artistic expertise and human touch, without the use of AI generation. Includes categories such as people, food and drink, beauty, technical, animals, kids, lookalikes, and cars. Sold to advertising agencies and brands seeking authentic hand-crafted visuals.
- AI Artwork AI-generated visualisations using advanced algorithms to quickly explore creative ideas, offering speed, flexibility, and rapid iteration for advertising storyboards. Sold to advertising agencies and brands seeking fast visualization and creative exploration.
- 3D Services Three-dimensional visualisation services included in the company's portfolio of visual storytelling offerings for advertising and research. Sold to advertising agencies and brands needing 3D pre-visualization.
- Editing Professional editing services for final film delivery in all required formats and versions, part of the end-to-end production workflow. Sold to advertising agencies and brands needing final delivery-ready films.
- Pre-vis
Quantifiable outcome
- From brief to testing-ready film in 5 days
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Stage One
Customer profileNamed customers62 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stage One technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature4 records
Stage One partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stage One competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stage One social profiles
Digital presenceStage One financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stage One leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Stage One funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stage One M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stage One
What does Stage One do?
Stage One is a creative production studio that produces storyboards, animatics, and finished illustration for advertising agencies and global brands. The studio combines traditional hand-drawn artwork with AI-driven visualization to deliver testing-ready animatics within 5 days from brief, serving clients across advertising and market research industries worldwide.
Is Stage One a public or private company?
Stage One is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Stage One founded?
Stage One was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stage One based?
Stage One is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Stage One make money?
One revenue line is on record: project-Based Creative Services.
Does Stage One have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stage One.
What industry is Stage One in?
Stage One's product category is Advertising Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADACAL, Previsualization (Previs) & Storyboarding for Animation, with a secondary code of MPADABAA, Scripted Feature Film Production (Live-Action). Its NAICS code is 51211 and its SIC code is 7812.