Camera Crate

However, while the arrival of a baby daughter proved the prompt for the experienced filmmaker’s Big Yellow premiere, it was the additional services he found on offer at his local store that ensured his stay was more than a fleeting cameo.

Explaining his decision to find a new set for the operations behind CameraCrate.com – an online enterprise specialising in the sale of reconditioned Super 8, 8mm and 16mm cine cameras – in April 2021, Ben said: “Thanks to the pandemic I had spent almost an entire year fixing and selling our stock from home. Fortunately, the lockdowns didn’t affect us massively because it was my wife and I running the business and it was easy for us to continue to do that because we had everything with us.

“Then we had a baby at the end of the year, and it got to the point where there was actually not any space left in the house,” added the 34-year-old, whose own passion for film first turned to profit while capturing footage of live extreme sport events.

"Cameras need to be stored in a temperature-controlled environment to stop mould getting into lenses and damaging the electronics, so Big Yellow’s office space was a perfect environment, providing me with the space, in one room, where I could both keep stock and work on repairs"

With a new 200 sq ft hub for the business identified and sales soaring, the budding feature film director has since discovered his choice of location for CameraCrate comes with a raft of unexpected extras. Top of the bill, according to Ben, is finding himself with a superb supporting cast.

“I receive a huge amount of parcels each week and before the move that meant having around 10 couriers a day knocking on our door,” he said, commending the role played by Big Yellow staff in receiving and dispatching goods. “It was non-stop and there is a mental stress associated with knowing you have to be in to take a delivery and keep track of who is coming to collect what and when. 

“It is amazing to know that I can actually pop over to see my grandparents or spend some time with my child at the park and then come into the office and find my parcels are there waiting for me, and orders have been picked up without any stress.”

Having ready access to his lovingly restored Super 8s, which have become sought after collectors’ items for cinephiles and those looking to add a vintage aesthetic to their filming, has also allowed the proud father to focus on another great passion.

“Big Yellow has given me the opportunity and flexibility to strike a good work-life balance,” concluded Ben, whose past credits behind the camera include being selected for a Creative England scheme funded by the British Film Institute, producing marketing materials for a number of charities and filming for a television advert starring Only Fools and Horses’ Boycie (John Challis). 

“Rather than feel that my business is always just upstairs, now when I am at home I can switch off and be a husband and dad.

“The fact that the store offers extended hours access means I can begin work early and be back playing with my daughter by 2pm. Similarly, if she’s had a bad night because she’s teething, I can stay at home to help out and then head to the office later.”

For more information, visit www.cameracrate.com/