Build Your Production Company Into a Self-Sustaining Studio
This opportunity is for SMASH Pro users only.
What's on offer
1-year programme to build your production company into a self-sustaining studio.
It's 2026: out of the very few indie films getting made, only about 2% are getting sold. Commissioners aren't commissioning as much, and funders have less money and more submissions than ever before. Meanwhile, we watch a new generation of content creators building 7-figure multimedia studios from their bedrooms.
There are massive opportunities out there for creative freedom and financial sustainability. Producers just need a new operating model to realise them.
Creative HQ is that operating model: a new media studio operating system that helps producers build companies which develop, produce, distribute and sell their own work, on their own terms, with their own slate, audience, development fund and routes to market.
If you're thinking bigger than the project-to-project hustle, wondering how you build a company that could produce your next 20 projects, this is for you.
This is aimed at SMASHPro users, producers and entrepreneurial creators who want to run their company like a studio, not a service-provider prod co.
What they are looking for
Creative HQ isn't for producers chasing one film. It's for entrepreneurial creators building a company across multiple verticals, and we turn down around 80% of who applies to make sure of it. That's as much a mindset shift as a practical one, which is exactly why some producers resist it. The year works because of accountability. We meet our community of producers every week and use the power of community to accelerate your progress.
Who can apply
Creative entrepreneurs, producers, writers and directors from all backgrounds ready to commit to a full 1 year to building their company as a studio.
Find out more about Creative HQ and the 1-year programme
Creative HQ is running a free webinar on Thursday 27 August at 1pm where we will break down how the operating system works. This is the easiest way to see what the year actually involves before you apply. Details below.
UNCOVER YOUR CREATIVE IDENTITY
On-demand masterclasses and weekly clinics help you discover the strength in your unique brand identity: the central question buried in all of the stories you tell, which acts like a homing beacon for your audience.GROW YOUR AUDIENCE
Our online audience training and challenges help producers build an owned audience that scales their media sales.BUILD YOUR OWN DEVELOPMENT FUND
Downloadable finance tools and guidance help producers build the income streams and sales systems that can feed development year-round.EXPAND YOUR FINANCIER NETWORK
Through weekly industry clinics and in-person Meet The Financier events, we help our producers expand their professional networks to include financiers and commissioners from companies such as BBC Films, Film4, Doc Society, Guardian Documentaries, Rioter Studios, Creativity Capital, Climate Spring and more.BUILD A SALES AND DISTRIBUTION ENGINE
When you know your audience well enough to email them personally, sales and distribution become a completely different prospect. Our producers learn to combine traditional sales and distribution with new methods such as syndicated TVOD to ensure every project on their slate makes a profit.
How to Apply
Apply directly to Creative HQ
Join the webinar on Thursday 27 August at 1pm to see the programme in detail. Link here.
Submit your application by 31 August. Link here.
If accepted, membership runs for a minimum of one year, many members carry on into year two and three.
Fee & duration
SMASHPro membership with 10% discount included: £603 + VAT / year (CreativeHQ Producer tier)
Minimum one-year commitment
Application deadline: 31 August
About creative HQ
Creative HQ is a new media studio operating system, built for today's entertainment media landscape. It helps film, TV and creative media producers build self-sustaining studios that develop, produce, distribute and sell their own work reliably, without depending on traditional gatekeepers. When you know your audience well enough to email them personally, sales and distribution become a completely different prospect, and that's the studio Creative HQ helps you build.
About My SMASH Media
SMASH is the pitch builder and pitch protector for creators. It helps you build a professional, shareable pitch deck that can be discovered by industry decision-makers. SMASH is free for creators. Upgrade to SMASHPro for SMASHCupid support & advanced tools to make your pitch perfect.