Beyond Content kitted out their Ford Transit Custom with a mobile workspace solution that doesn’t stop paying for itself.
Beyond Content
A video production company who create content for new, social and traditional media outlets, they work with clients across automotive, travel and tech. And they own a lot of kit.
In 2022, they fitted out their new van to transport equipment, and give them an on-location studio. Somewhere to charge batteries, run data and do some editing on the fly.
They came to Whitebox to make it happen.
In among the high-spec Sortimo SR5 van racking, we added a workbench with space for a screen, a load of onboard power from Victron, and a pair of batteries that charge off the engine.
Then we added the stuff that makes it practical and the stuff that makes it comfortable. Heating and cooling. Insulation and lighting.
Designed around what they needed the space to do.
In return, they got…
Expensive camera equipment stored securely, avoiding breakages that could cost an entire shoot
Loading and unloading made much quicker, with no chance of anything being left behind
Video editing, battery charging and hot and cold drinks available all day, wherever the shoot takes place
The opportunity to make an episode of Inside Whitebox (you’ll find it at the bottom of the page)
A mobile workspace that doesn’t stop paying for itself
Got an idea of what you need your mobile workspace to do?
This kit doesn’t come cheap
With Jaguar Land Rover as their client, Beyond Content were never without a company vehicle.
Owner, Steve Leavesley, wasn’t unhappy with the scheme. Those Range Rovers were “super comfy,” and they had space for plenty of of kit. Although, sometimes, not enough.
It often meant running two cars. It always meant being selective about what gear they took. Unfortunately, that meant they didn’t always have everything they needed, “and you can’t just pop to your local Jessops and pick up a spare.”
The kit they use doesn’t come cheap. Yet, they don’t hire it, because “we need what we need, when we need it.” Besides, the nature of their clients means shoots sometimes get cancelled at the last minute. And that would cost them a lot of money, if they had hired the kit.
“You may as well have not bothered to get out of bed that morning.”
Owning their own equipment wasn’t always a foolproof solution.
As comfy as the Range Rover might be, it’s not built to transport their gear.
“I've had it happen where people open it up and a backpack or a case has fallen out,” Steve said. That makes for an expensive mistake. In fact, break just one of those lenses and “you may as well have not bothered to get out of bed that morning.”
Getting around safely was only half the equation. A successful shoot depends on getting enough footage. That means keeping batteries charged, as well as being able to review and edit on the go. Neither of those were possible in the Range Rover.
It felt like it was being built for us
At a time when vans were “literally like hen’s teeth,” he got himself a Ford Transit Custom Sport and hatched a plan to get it kitted out.
“I’d seen Mark’s stuff online and he seemed like our type of person,” he said.
“Fussy bugger” Steve’s type of person is someone that “gets everything done right and planned properly.” And someone he can collaborate with.
With a clear idea of what gear needed to fit - and how easy it should be to move everything in and out of the van - Mark’s designs went back and forth until they found a solution that met their needs, rather than making compromises to fit the system.
“We were getting a system like the Sortimo SR5 and we were completely able to plan and tailor it how we wanted,” Steve said.
“It felt like it was being built for us.”
It was.
Even as the racking went in (with Steve and his team in the workshop), they tweaked and improved the design.
Nothing was left to chance. No compromises were made.
When the scheme stopped in 2022, Steve chose his own vehicle for the first time in more than 10 years.
The spec
Sortimo SR5 van racking with clip in and clip out L-BOXXes. Drop front shelves. Sortimo SubPro floor.
Custom workbench within the racking, leaving space for a wall-mounted screen.
Two 3,000VA Victron Phoenix inverters and two 200Ah lithium batteries, charged by a Victron smart charge system.
L.E.D. lights, a cooler fan, Legend thermal linings for the roof and the walls. Plus they popped a fridge and a kettle in there.
“We were getting a system like the Sortimo SR5 and we were completely able to plan and tailor it how we wanted.”
Already thinking about your own spec?
It doesn’t stop paying for itself
Being able to clip things securely into the van gives the Sortimo solution an immediate advantage.
“It means that I'm not worried about a wave of expensive kit washing over me when I open the doors,” Steve said. In fact, “it doesn't stop paying for itself, because it only takes one break and you're severely underwater.”
That’s just the start of it.
Two 3,000VA Victron inverters offer all the power they need, whatever the location.
A pair of 200Ah Victron battery chargers (that top themselves up when the engine’s running) aid the “victimless crime” of a last minute charge en route to the job.
Being able to charge batteries all day means that power is never the reason a shoot is stopped. This means that they’re super-organised and super-efficient.
And their customers see it the same way.
“The client assumes we have everything they could ever need,” Steve said. Including hot and cold drinks, essential for long shoots in remote locations.
“It doesn’t stop paying for itself, because it only takes one break and you’re severely underwater.”
Where they had been forced to select specific kit for each shoot, they now have a place for everything and plenty of space for spares.
“Before, it would have been a choice between one thing and another. Now, with the organisation and the space, I can take that other stuff,” he said. “We might not need it. But then we might need it.” And if they do, Steve will know exactly where to find it.
After the install, he had custom inserts made for his Sortimo L-BOXXes. Not only adding another level of security for this precious cargo, the inserts mean he can quickly see when anything isn’t in its place.
A place for everything and everything in its place
The benefits begin way before they arrive on set.
It gives them what Steve calls an “easy nervous” - a quick check to make sure they’ve got everything, before they “bang it in.”
And with a Magliner cart that fits snugly in the back (very much by design), it’s a lot easier to bang it in, and take it out again.
“We’re two thirds quicker,” he said. “We arrive on set, wheel out the cart, unclip the boxes and stick them on the trolley.” Where it used to take three or four trips to unload and reload the kit, now it only takes one.
With Sortimo’s Workmo benches back at the kit store, everything is always secure, whether at home or on the move.
Overall, this means they’re saving at least two trips, four times each day.
They’re out of the kit store quicker and on set in no time. Better still, they can easily load the van and quickly check there’s nothing missing at the end of the shoot, when “all you want to do is get in the van and go home.”
“At the end of a long shoot, all you want to do is get in the van and go home.”
“More than that,” Steve added, “it’s really easy for us to empty the van, which means there's never any, ‘Oh, I'm tired, let’s just leave this stuff in there.’ No. It comes with us.”
That means there’s no chance someone might “pop the lock and take the lot.”
And that means his racking never stops paying for itself.