A Cardiff-based startup has launched an on-demand marketplace aiming to eliminate what its founder called the “friction, lengthy questionnaires, and weeks-long delays” typical of hiring freelance videographers and photographers.
Founder Rahim Bah conceived the idea for FrameGo after struggling to find a videographer on short notice for an Edinburgh investor pitch, ultimately spending £1,000 (approximately $1,300/AU$1,900) to fly a creator from Cardiff, UK.
“I thought to myself, why is it easier to book a taxi than it is to book a videographer or photographer, right?” he said.
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Bah explained that an internal FrameGo survey of around 300 UK businesses revealed that 85% wanted “on-demand” booking options, while freelance creators cited prohibitive self-marketing costs as their biggest hurdle.
“I realized there’s a gap between videographers/photographers and businesses, so FrameGo became that bridge,” he said.
According to Bah, the platform is essentially an “Uber for storytellers,” allowing clients to search for local creators by niche, review portfolios, and book for either a set date or immediately.
For immediate requests, Bah said creatives have five minutes to accept before the request disappears. “We used to do 60 seconds, but 60 is way too short,” he said.
To prevent “burnout and scheduling clashes,” Bah said the app automatically makes storytellers invisible for 45 minutes during active shoots, followed by a mandatory 60-to-90-minute travel buffer.
On tackling what Bah called gig-economy “unreliability,” the founder said clients face 100% cancellation charges within 24–72 hours of a scheduled shoot.
If a videographer cancels, according to the founder, FrameGo dispatches an equivalent substitute, deducting any rate disparity from the original creator’s future bookings.
“If they [clients] are struggling to get someone, we have storytellers that are lined up for bookings like that in each and every big city,” said Bah.
While on-demand convenience particularly appeals to smaller businesses needing visual media assets quickly, the challenge remains whether spontaneous, app-based dispatching can consistently deliver the detailed pre-production and bespoke aesthetic that high-end visual production demands.
“We believe that quality is the most important, especially for content creators or businesses,” said Bah, adding that the platform aims to promote the right creatives to serve clients.
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