What Great Guns does

Great Guns is a privately held, UK-headquartered global film and commercial production company founded in 1995 (per firmographic data; 1998 per internal company history) and operating across the USA, UK, EMEA, and Asia. The company maintains a curated roster of award-winning directors and produces campaigns for global brands (Google, BMW, Apple, Nike, Samsung, Coca-Cola, and others) and musical artists across advertising, music video, feature film, photography, and experiential work. Core revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees on commercial production, music video commissions, and feature/long-form director engagements, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The company operates regional offices in London (HQ), Los Angeles, Prague, Mumbai, Tokyo, and Bangkok, and runs a sub-brand called Ballistic focused on emerging and under-represented creative talent.

The business is differentiated primarily by its director talent roster rather than proprietary technology. Notable roster directors include Michael Bay, Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator Badlands), Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry, Nobody, Heads of State), and Roar Uthaug (Tomb Raider, Troll), with documentary prestige signaled by an Oscar-selected short film (Ben Brand's 97%) and a 2025 BIFA Best Debut Director win (Cal McMau for WASTEMAN). Distribution is sales-led through regional representatives and direct agency/brand relationships. AI capability is featured but not foundational: directors such as Rogue Cell (Ahmet Tigrel and Daryl Ogun) and Borja Mucientes work at the intersection of live-action and AI, with awards at AI-focused festivals (Metamorph, UK Short, New Media, Korean AI Film Festival), but no proprietary AI models, training pipelines, or platform products are disclosed. The company also operates Great Guns Social, a London gastro-pub used as a hospitality-driven client engagement venue.

Name

Great Guns

Legal name

Great Guns

Website

https://greatguns.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Great Guns is a privately held, UK-headquartered global film and commercial production company with 25+ years of history, representing an award-winning roster of directors that produces advertising campaigns, music videos, and feature films for the world's largest brands and artists across USA, UK, EMEA, and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commercial Production: Great Guns produces commercial campaigns for global brands, including TV commercials, digital content, and branded films. Revenue is generated through production fees charged to brands and agencies.
2. Music Video Production: Production of music videos for musical artists. Revenue generated through artist/label commissions and agency partnerships.
3. Feature Film / Long-form Production: Development and production of feature films and long-form content. Directors on the roster have directed major studio features (e.g., Dan Trachtenberg's 10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey; Ilya Naishuller's Hardcore Henry, Nobody; Roar Uthaug's Tomb Raider, Troll).
4. Photography and Experiential: Creative production across photography, fashion, art, and experiential campaigns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Great Guns is a global film and commercial production company that creates advertising campaigns for brands and music videos for artists. The company produces live-action content, including AI-driven and live-action/AI hybrid formats, through a roster of directors and offers a dedicated sub-brand (Ballistic) for emerging talent.

Product overview

Great Guns is a global film and commercial production hub with over 25 years in the business, operating as a single unified production company with regional presence across USA, UK, EMEA, and Asia. The company produces campaigns for major brands and musical artists across advertising, film, photography, music, fashion, art and experiential. Great Guns maintains a roster of award-winning directors and operates Ballistic as a sub-brand focused on emerging talent development. The company does not offer a technology platform or modular software products—its offering is service-based creative production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ballistic: An agile, multi-disciplined creative community, producing work for leading brands and artists across all platforms. As a future-facing production company, Ballistic focuses on developing and mentoring emerging and under-represented talent.

Products and services

• Commercial Production End-to-end production of advertising campaigns and brand films, serving brands and advertising agencies across global markets.
• Music Video Production Production of music videos and visual content for musical artists and record labels, leveraging a global roster of directors.
• Ballistic (Emerging Director Roster) Sub-brand focused on nurturing and representing emerging directing talent, providing clients access to a fresh pipeline of creative directors for commercial and music video work.
• AI-Driven Production Production service incorporating AI-driven content creation techniques, including live-action/AI hybrid formats, for brand campaigns and music content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Prey (directed by Dan Trachtenberg) became Hulu's most watched movie or TV show ever
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers51 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BallisticcoreOthersBallistic is part of the global Great Guns network. It is described as an agile, multi-disciplined creative community producing work for leading brands and artists across all platforms. As a future-facing production company, Ballistic focuses on developing and mentoring emerging and under-represented talent. This appears to be a wholly-owned subsidiary or affiliated entity within the Great Guns network.
• Creative Mentor NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Guns was part of the first APA-run Creative Mentor Network course, which discussed the causes of underrepresentation of minority groups in the creative industries. The course paired up producers with mentees from underrepresented backgrounds.
• Change The LensminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Guns has pledged to Change the Lens, to ensure the representation of Black filmmakers within the commercial and music video industry is more reflective of the greater population.
• STREETLIGHTSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Guns uses the STREETLIGHTS program wherever possible to give young, underrepresented talent their first jobs in the film industry.
• Free The WorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Guns is a proud, long-standing sponsor and supporter of the Free the Work movement, which aims to increase representation of underrepresented creators in the entertainment industry.
• Bid BlackminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Guns sponsors the Bid Black initiative, a platform on a mission to normalize the presence of Black filmmakers in creative roles in the advertising industry.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Prettybird: Director-led production and content company with a roster spanning commercials, music videos, and branded content, plus a UK/US presence. Comparable in offering mix and target brand-client base.
• Somesuch: London-headquartered production company producing commercials, music videos, and short films for global brands and artists. Comparable in UK/global structure, creative-driven roster model, and award positioning.
• Caviar: Global production company producing commercials, music videos, and feature content with offices in LA, London, Brussels, and Buenos Aires. Direct competitor for cross-region brand campaigns and music-video commissions.
• Anonymous Content: US-based production company and talent management firm representing directors who cross between commercials, music videos, and feature films (e.g., Cary Joji Fukunaga). Directly comparable hybrid commercial/long-form model.
• Park Pictures: Commercial and music-video production company with offices in the US and UK and a roster that crosses into feature and documentary work. Comparable in curated roster model and brand-client relationships.
• Radical Media: Global production company with a curated director roster producing commercials, music videos, feature documentaries, and branded content for major brands. Comparable in scope, geography, and creative-producer hybrid offering.
• MJZ: A-list commercial production company with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London, representing top-tier directors including Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola. Comparable in roster quality, global footprint, and brand-client prestige.
• Smuggler: Director-led commercial and music-video production company with offices in the US, UK, and beyond; known for high-profile Super Bowl and global brand campaigns. Competes head-to-head with Great Guns for the same brand and agency clients.
• RSA Films: Ridley Scott's global commercial and music-video production house with a roster of A-list directors spanning features and advertising. Closest structural analog to Great Guns in scale, director representation model, and brand-client base.
• Hungry Man: Commercial production company known for high-profile Super Bowl and global brand campaigns with a roster of award-winning comedy and drama directors. Direct competitor for top-tier advertising and music-video work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/greatgunstv
• Facebookfacebook.com/WeAreGreatGuns

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Guns