the storyteller

i like my video campaigns and projects, like i
like my coffee ...

FYI … a magic is a double ristretto shot with 3/4 filled milk.

It’s smaller, stronger, less bitter version of a latte, and it’s delicious.

“I help people, businesses and brands create campaigns that get noticed, and you know what? I bloody love doing it. I’m a curious cat and I thrive on getting to know the people behind the brands. I then give them a platform so that others get to see what I see. It’s ace!”

“Everyone’s got a story to tell, they just haven’t been asked the right questions by the right person … yet.”

The best campaigns don't follow formulas - they follow instincts and solve problems creatively along the way. This is why I prefer to spend as much time in the creative phase as I do in the production.

When the simple boat falls through, I find a yacht. When an athlete freezes on camera, I create a conversation not an interview. When the geese threaten to derail a shoot, we turn it into part of the story.

My approach combines three essential elements:

  1. CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING I refuse to believe we can't find solutions when challenges arise. AIM BIG, and I love the challenge of figuring out how to get the damn thing done.

  2. AUTHENTIC STORY-TELLING I create environments where real moments happen naturally. In front of the camera, you’re talking to me, not a lens, allowing your genuine personality to shine through.

  3. TECHNICAL EXPERTISE WITH CREATIVE DIRECTION From pre-production planning to daily rushes during events to final delivery, I handle the technical details while keeping the creative vision front and centre.

EXPERIENCE

For many years, I was traveling the globe capturing stories in the world of sport. I hosted a multi-media platform for women in triathlon. My goal was to give them the platform that they damn well deserved, but weren’t being given. How did that happen? I was once told by a triathlon magazine editor that “women on the cover, don’t sell magazines.”

I said “fck you, I’ll do it myself.” I didn’t REALLY say that TO him, but I thought it, and I thought it HARD.

So I did. I launched my own platform and had a team of people helping me bring stories of women in triathlon to life through written content, imagery, videos and podcasting. And for well over a decade WE changed the landscape for women in triathlon. The impact was huge, but the battle was exhausting in the end, and eventually I closed that chapter, and moved into production for others. Those others tend to be women led small businesses, I think because I seem to gravitate towards awesome women doing incredible things, but I am always open to any awesome human doing the incredible things.

Little did I know that I wasn’t just a “point and shoot videographer,” I was a Creative Director. For a while there, I didn’t realise that my skill set, my creative circus of a brain and what they call “soft skills” apparently were valuable to anyone else because I’d only ever used these for my own platform … well kids, turns out they are valuable to others, and I love pulling on those skillsets to work with others to tell their stories.

Dynamic underwater perspective of a triathlete diving through a wave at the start of an ocean swim segment, captured by Stef Hanson.
Stef Hanson wearing headphones, attentively listening to client delivering content during a professional recording session.
Self-portrait of Stef Hanson seated on coastal rocks at sunrise, showcasing her eye for composition and natural lighting.
Behind-the-scenes moment from the Reimagine Purpose campaign revealing Stef Hanson's creative process and production approach.
Alternative perspective from The Good Reasons Co campaign highlighting Stef Hanson's versatile photography and storytelling skills.

“When I'm not behind the camera or plotting the next creative campaign, you'll find me making coffee, cycling, stand up paddle boarding, running, walking the dog, coaching my lil mate’s footy, NOT cooking, buying a new hat, youtubing how to do makeup for my lil mate’s dance competition and getting up to all sorts of mischief with my family.”

STEF HANSON