Case Study: The Outrun

“Working with Image Approvals was an absolute pleasure. From our initial call to final delivery, there was never a moment where we didn’t feel like we were in extremely capable hands. Their app for approving or killing photos is incredibly straightforward. Not one of our six actors ever reached out to ask for clarity on how to use it. As an ex-stills photographer herself (and a darn good one!), Aimee knows what it takes to deliver top quality stills to your distribution partners. This was our first time working with Image Approvals, but it won’t be the last!”

— Michael Sparaga, Producer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of multiple projects managed for Brock Media

The Outrun is a 2024 British drama film produced by Brock Media, a London-based production company. It stars Saoirse Ronan and was released in UK cinemas in September 2024. ImageApprovals managed the full stills approvals workflow for the production — from ingest and curation through to cast approvals and final delivery to post-production.

This was one of several projects we have worked on in collaboration with Brock Media.

Key Project Wins

• From a total of over 6,000 stills, we curated a refined selection of just under 2,000 images, ensuring only the strongest material was presented for cast approvals — streamlining the process without cutting the range of coverage.
• All talent approvals were completed within 14 working days of us receiving the files, helping the production stay on schedule without needing to chase or delay.
• Final images were organised into clearly labelled Approved and Killed folders, covering both RAW and JPG formats, and delivered with a complete set of reports to provide a clear audit trail.

Nominations and Awards

The Outrun has received significant industry recognition, including:

1. BAFTA Awards — Nominated for Outstanding British Film of the Year and Best Leading Actress.
2. London Critics Circle Film Awards — Saoirse Ronan, Winner of Best British/Irish Performer of the Year.
3. British Independent Film Awards — Nominated for 9 awards including Best British Independent Film, Best Lead Performance and Best Cinematography.

Their Pain

Time Limits

With a tight window for approvals and over 6,000 images, the production team knew the cast would not want to review every one. They needed a fast, efficient process that could surface the best material quickly without burdening talent or their representatives.

Multiple Formats

Alongside RAW files, the production also had JPG images that needed to be organised in a clear, easy-to-navigate structure — ready for both cast and post-production teams.

Our Solution

Auditing

We carried out a full audit of all submitted stills, cross-checking files from each photographer to ensure everything was present, correctly formatted, and ready for approval — avoiding issues further down the line.

Curation

Before the images went out for talent approval, we provided a first pass of curation to remove duplicates, out-of-focus, unnecessary, unflattering or otherwise unusable shots. As a result, we reduced the initial image count from 6,000 to just under 2,000 stills.

Marking Selects

Once the cast completed their approvals, producers were able to mark their Selects to give a final working set to deliver to distributors.

Delivery

We sorted everything into digestible folder structures and delivered to the client in Killed, Approved and Approved Selects folders, along with a copy of the full kill reports for reference.

Timeline

Date	Milestone
6 September 2024	Original images received
8 September 2024	All images organised and online, ready for cast to approve
19 September 2024	Cast approvals complete and producer Selects marked
25 September 2024	All images organised and delivered to post-production team

The entire process — from receipt of files to final delivery — was completed in under three weeks. The ImageApprovals platform makes this kind of turnaround possible by giving each cast member a clear, private login and a curated set of images to review — no email chains, no spreadsheets.

Long-Term Collaboration

The Outrun is one of several productions we have worked on with Brock Media. Each project has allowed us to build a deeper understanding of their workflow and delivery requirements, making every subsequent collaboration more efficient.

If your production has a cast with stills approval rights, we can handle the organisation, curation, and approvals workflow from end to end. Contact us for a no-obligation quote or learn more about how ImageApprovals works.