Manchester-based video production company Eight Engines has been named Production Company of the Year at the Prolific North Champions Awards 2026, marking a landmark moment for a business that has grown into one of the region’s most exciting production studios.
The award was announced at The Point, Emirates Old Trafford, where hundreds of leading figures from across the North’s creative, digital, tech and media sectors gathered to celebrate the best of the industry.
The prize recognises production companies and studios delivering the most visually striking and effective content across marketing, TV and film, with judges considering creativity, effectiveness, evidence of growth and wider impact.
For Eight Engines, the recognition reflects years of creative ambition, investment in its team and a growing reputation for producing high-quality content for clients across aviation, hospitality, technology, entertainment, retail, gaming, transport, charity and the arts.
Their customer roster now includes companies including EasyJet, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Sony Pictures, Timpson, Google and Facebook (Meta).
Jack Leigh, Creative Director at Eight Engines, said he was proud but quick to credit the wider northern creative community, “I’m unbelievably lucky to work with the best team in the world, in the greatest city on earth.
It’s lovely to get recognition for all the work we’ve put into Eight Engines, but the North is full to burst with amazing agencies, production companies and creative people. Ultimately, it’s just a privilege to be a small part of that community.”
Eight Engines was founded with an ambition to blend the craft and technical excellence of big-budget film and television production with a culture that is supportive, creative and genuinely enjoyable to be part of.
The team’s roots are in broadcast, with credits across some of the UK’s most recognisable film and TV productions. That pedigree informs every project the studio takes on, whether a brand campaign, a documentary, a theatre production or a social media series.
Central to that is a permanent core team, including directors, camera operators, assistants, editors and producers, many of whom joined as juniors and have developed with the business over the past five years. In a sector often built around short-term freelance structures, Eight Engines has deliberately chosen to build stability, both for its clients and for the people doing the work.
Over the past two years, the business has grown significantly, taking on larger and more ambitious projects, expanding its direct client relationships and developing its role as a creative partner.
Jack reflected on the journey that led to the award, “The company is technically 10 years old, but four years ago I bought out a former business partner and suddenly found myself trying to figure out what the company actually was, what I wanted it to become, and whether I was capable of leading it there.
“Since then, everything has changed. We’ve built an in-house team so talented people can do brilliant work with a bit of stability in a ridiculously unstable industry. We’ve pushed for bigger, braver, more creative projects. And we’ve built the systems behind the scenes that help us squeeze every bit of value out of every second of a project.
“The one constant has been the team pulling together and solving problems. The work matters, of course. But the people are what make Eight Engines special.”
The Prolific North Champions Awards celebrate the organisations, teams and individuals putting the North on the map in the creative and digital sectors.
For Eight Engines, the Production Company of the Year title gives external recognition to a period of change that has seen the Manchester studio strengthen its team, deepen its client relationships and build a creative culture that has become central to its success.
