Pixelwise Creative Media

For two decades, Pixelwise Creative Media has been making things watchable. The Canberra-based production company works with some of Australia’s most recognisable organisations, turning corporate briefs, government communications, and dry statistical data into engaging video and animation that tells a compelling story. 

Canberra born-and-bred Nick Johnson studied film and spent the early years of the business deep in television production. He co-founded Pixelwise in 2005 with a business partner with credentials such as being the former audio director for Channel 7. The two had been trading work back and forth informally until they formalised Pixelwise into a company. 

The business is strictly commercial, (so no weddings or private events), serving marketing agencies, professional services firms, and government at every level. 

Twenty-one years on, it operates from a full two-storey studio at Lightwave Production Studios in Mitchell. At the peak of its television years, Pixelwise was producing roughly a thousand commercials a year. 

But times, of course, have changed. That number is now only four, with most business now focused on digital production, and Nick will tell you the business is better for it. 

“We actually quite like [the change],” he explained. “TV is very high stress, tight deadlines, it’s a volume game. Whereas corporate and government media, you’ve got a little more time to actually sink your teeth into it and really give the work that body.”

When the Brief Is the Creative

Around 2016, as Netflix tightened its grip on Australian audiences, Nick deliberately chose to reorient the business toward corporate and government work. It was a considered move toward the kind of projects where Pixelwise could do more than produce volume.

The client list today runs from the Australian Institute of Sport and the Department of Defence to the Brumbies, Geocon, National Archives, and Canberra Hospital. The work spans video production, animation, graphic design, e-learning and training material, and government communications. 

For professional services firms whose briefs are somewhat analytical and data driven, Pixelwise rises to the challenge: it makes the dry stuff watchable. “Sometimes we sit there staring at each other for a few minutes around the table before somebody goes, ‘What if we…’ and then it goes from there,” he added. “That’s where the magic happens.”

“I like telling stories. Even getting some bland statistical data from the department of whatever — I like the challenge of trying to turn that into a narrative that will actually resonate with someone.”

~ Nick Johnson

Stories in the Data

Nick is direct about what separates a production company from someone who has just bought a camera. “There’s nothing legally that would stop somebody from going into JB Hi-Fi and buying a two-thousand-dollar DSLR and calling themselves a video producer,” he noted. But not all video producers are created equal.

For example: a classic mistake in real estate videography, according to Nick, is technically impressive edits that tell you almost nothing about the property  because they exist to showcase the videographer’s skill – rather than the purpose of the video. 

The same principle applies to any business producing social content without a clear objective. Assuming an audience will watch just because the video exists, Nick warns, is not a safe assumption.

Good corporate video, in Nick’s view, should serve the message – rather than the maker.

A Team That Manages Projects as Well as It Shoots Them

One of the things Nick talks about with pride is Pixelwise’s skill in successful project management. After many years in the industry, including time working in the fast-paced world of television production where multiple commercials might need to be delivered within 24 to 48 hours, Pixelwise has developed a clear and proven approach to keeping clients informed, involved, and invested in the final product, and delivering on time.

If you are looking for a creative media partner in Canberra who will take your story seriously, keep you in the picture throughout the process, and produce work that moves the needle for your audience, a Nick from Pixelwise Creative Media is worth chatting to. Highly recommended!