Best Video Production Companies in Auckland (2026)

Introduction

Auckland is where most of New Zealand’s commercial production happens, and the nine companies below are the ones we would shortlist for a TVC, a brand film or a run of campaign content in 2026. They were chosen for their director rosters, recent work for New Zealand and Australian brands, and recognition at AXIS, AWARD, Cannes and CICLOPE.

The market is small and closely tied to Australia. Several of the strongest names run offices in Sydney and Melbourne as well as Auckland, so a director signed in one city often shoots in the other. The roster map keeps moving: Supernormal signed the Australian duo VERSUS for New Zealand in July 2026, Flying Fish brought in Alva Casey to lead its content and stills rosters in January, and Good Oil’s David Robinson-Smith was named CICLOPE Director of the Year. Agency consolidation matters here too, since Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 retired the DDB and FCB brands, and FCB had been behind local work such as NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s road safety campaigns.

Every company here has an active Auckland office or studio in 2026. Animation studios and in-house content arms have their own pages, so this list sticks to commercial and branded production companies. It runs in no fixed order of merit.

The best video production companies in Auckland

1. The Sweetshop

Founder-led · Ponsonby · thesweetshop.tv

The Sweetshop started in Auckland in 2001, founded by filmmakers Paul Prince, Melanie Bridge and Sharlene George. Bridge is CEO, and the company describes itself as one of the few fully female, director-led production companies in the world. It now runs offices in Los Angeles, London, Bangkok, Sydney and Melbourne alongside its Ponsonby base, and its sister company The Gardening.club works on AI and VFX.

Recent New Zealand credits include road safety work for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (among them “Don’t Let The Drugs Drive” in 2025), Tom Gould’s 120th anniversary film for Canterbury of New Zealand, and work for Air New Zealand. The roster runs to more than 30 directors, so ask early which of them are based in Auckland.

2. Flying Fish

Production company and studio · Auckland · flyingfish.co.nz

Flying Fish has been making commercials in Auckland for more than 28 years and calls itself a one-stop shop. It has an in-house post facility (mandyVFX), a 200 square metre three-wall cyc studio, a content division called Fish&Clips and a stills arm, Fanclub. Managing director James Moore also serves as executive producer, and Alva Casey joined in January 2026 to lead the Fish&Clips and Fanclub rosters.

Its 2026 work includes McDonald’s New Zealand’s 50th birthday campaign, featuring Birdie, Grimace and the Hamburglar, and a SMEG collectables campaign for New World, both with McCann New Zealand. Earlier work includes Air New Zealand safety videos built around Māori culture and values.

3. Good Oil

Trans-Tasman production company · Kingsland · goodoilfilms.com

Good Oil runs offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. It opened in Kingsland in 2018, taking over the former Robber’s Dog building and signing that company’s Auckland management team, and George Mackenzie now leads the office as managing director, with Andrew McLean as executive producer. It was AXIS Production Company of the Year in 2024.

The roster is well decorated. David Robinson-Smith won CICLOPE Director of the Year and the Grand Prix in Direction in 2026, and Connor Pritchard was AWARD Emerging Director in 2025. New Zealand work includes Whittaker’s “Favourite Walk”, AA Insurance “Born Ready” and Kaló Greek Yoghurt “Poseidon’s Fork”.

4. FINCH

Trans-Tasman production company · Ponsonby · finchcompany.com

FINCH describes itself as the largest production company in Australia and New Zealand, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and on Hargreaves Street in Ponsonby. Rob Galluzzo is CEO and Corey Esse managing director, and the Auckland office is run by its own executive producers. The director list includes Dougal Wilson, Michael Gracey and New Zealand’s Zia Mandviwalla.

Beyond commercials, FINCH facilitates shoots for international companies including MJZ, Somesuch, Hungry Man and Anorak Films, and runs a documentary sister company, Songbird Studios, plus a post ensemble, Atticus. That breadth suits large productions that need local service and a global director.

5. Supernormal

Independent · Auckland · supernormal.nz

Supernormal is an independent production studio co-founded by Oliver Stutz and Sean Ross, with Matt McKenzie as managing director. It has had a busy 2026, signing director A.J. Greenwood in May and the Australian duo VERSUS for New Zealand representation in July.

Recent work includes Lexus New Zealand’s “RZ” film, an extended “Forbidden Pharmacy” series with McCann NZ, a donation campaign for Barnardos Aotearoa and a 16mm film series for the Lorde-backed music platform Lume, made with Daylight. It also works on longer-form projects, including the Sundance short “THUNDERLIPS”.

6. Curious

Production and service company · Auckland · curiousfilm.com

Curious is an Auckland-based production and service company with offices in Sydney and Los Angeles. It represents a small group of directors, including Taika Waititi, Florian Habicht and Zoë Bell, and offers a full-service production facility for commercial and feature work.

Its directors’ work has been recognised at Cannes Lions, D&AD, the Clios and the One Show, as well as at Cannes Film Festival, Sundance and Venice. Curious is a member of SPADA and the New Zealand advertising producers’ association, and it suits briefs that sit between advertising and film.

7. Exit Films

Independent · Grafton · exitfilms.com

Exit was founded in 1995 and works as an independent collective of directors, with offices in Surry Hills, Sydney and on Boston Road in Grafton. It is one of the most awarded commercial and music video producers in Australia, and its earlier New Zealand work includes Pedigree “A Hard Man” with Colenso BBDO, a Cannes Silver winner.

Recent signings include writer and director Florence Noble in 2025, added to strengthen its comedy offering, and director Noah Marshall at the end of 2024. Most of the roster is Australian, so check which directors are available to shoot in New Zealand.

8. Reel Factory

Production company · Rosedale, North Shore · reelfactory.tv

Reel Factory is a North Shore production company working across commercials, TV shows, documentaries, live broadcast and content. Its roster is large and mostly local, with directors including Jackie van Beek, Josh Frizzell, Vince McMillan and the Truesdell Brothers, and it grew through 2025 with Alex Sutherland and Luke Shanahan joining.

Work includes Bargain Chemist’s brand platform built around small emergencies and a second-hand ambulance, Genesis “Good Riddance” directed by van Beek, MAS “Even Experts Need Experts” and Oceania “Feel Free”. It also produced the dark comedy short “Lollipop Man” in 2025.

9. Eyes & Ears

Production company · Freemans Bay · eyesandears.co.nz

Eyes & Ears is a Freemans Bay production house that takes commercials, film and television from script to screen under one roof. The director roster is compact: Calvin Sang, Sophie Black, Johnny Barker and Lee Parker-Stapleton.

Clients include McDonald’s (“Love Island”), Air New Zealand, Coca-Cola, Revolut, AUT, Hato Hone St John and the Natural Hazards Commission, for whom Sang directed “Don’t Wait for the WOAH”. It is a practical choice for mid-sized campaigns where one team handles the whole job.

What to look for in an Auckland video production company

Start with the director, then the company. Most Auckland production companies represent a roster, and the treatment and the director’s reel will tell you more about the finished film than the company’s showreel. Ask whether the director you want is based in New Zealand or would fly in from Sydney or Melbourne, since that affects schedule, budget and how much time they spend in pre-production.

Check the trans-Tasman set-up. Companies such as FINCH, Good Oil and Exit run Australian offices, which helps when a campaign needs to shoot or air in both markets. A local independent with an in-house studio and post, such as Flying Fish, can keep more of the job under one roof and is often quicker on smaller content packages.

Ask about cultural capability where the work needs it. Te reo Māori, tikanga and Māori and Pasifika talent appear in a growing share of New Zealand campaigns, and production companies vary in how they consult and who they bring onto the crew. Ask for examples, and ask who will advise.

Finally, agree how rushes, cuts and feedback will move between production, agency and client. A shoot can produce terabytes of footage, and a single 30-second spot may go through a dozen review rounds across three organisations. Settle where files will live and how comments are tracked before the first edit is shared.

How Fabric helps video production teams

Fabric gives a production company one workspace for footage, edits, client feedback and project knowledge, with AI search across all of it. The setup for commercial production teams keeps each job’s treatment, call sheets, rushes and cuts together.

Footage sits in Fabric’s cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space, and heavy video files open without a full download. There is more on that in how to edit video without filling your SSD. Uploaded interviews and voice-overs are transcribed and become searchable, and search results jump straight to the timestamp, which helps when an editor is looking for one line in hours of material.

For review, share a cut with the agency and client as commenters. Shared links work without sign-up, and with media review commenters leave timestamped comments on video and audio, draw on the video frame to show what needs changing, and draw on stills and storyboard images. The team marks each comment completed as it is dealt with, so a round of notes works like a checklist. The guide to getting client feedback on a video walks through it. Finished films can be published as a view-only page for delivery, with password protection on sensitive work.

On Team plans, Fabric can keep a page for each client up to date from meetings, Slack and the workspace, covering decisions, deliverables and open items. A producer picking up a returning client gets the history without digging through email.

Password protection is included on Pro and Team plans, and per-client pages on Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best video production company in Auckland?

It depends on the brief and the director you want. On recent recognition, Good Oil was AXIS Production Company of the Year in 2024 and its director David Robinson-Smith won CICLOPE Director of the Year in 2026, while Supernormal and Flying Fish have had busy 2026 rosters and credits.

What happened to Robber’s Dog?

Robber’s Dog closed. When Good Oil opened its Auckland office in 2018, it signed the Robber’s Dog Auckland management team and took over the company’s building in Kingsland, where Good Oil’s Auckland office is today.

Do Auckland production companies work on Australian campaigns?

Many do. FINCH, Good Oil and Exit Films run offices in Sydney (and FINCH and Good Oil in Melbourne as well), and The Sweetshop has offices in both cities, so directors and producers regularly work across both markets.

What is a service production company?

A service company handles the local side of a shoot for an overseas production company or agency: crew, locations, permits, casting and logistics. In New Zealand, Big Pictures is one example: in 2026 it serviced a Zepbound spot for FCB Health New York, filmed in Queenstown. FINCH and Curious also offer production services alongside their own rosters.

Where can I find an Auckland animation studio?

Animation and motion design studios are covered on a separate page. See the best animation studios in Auckland for studios that make animated commercials, explainers and series.

Related lists

Video production in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Toronto · Sydney

More in Auckland: Creative agencies · Advertising agencies · Content studios · Animation studios · Photography studios · Social media agencies

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for commercial production · Fabric for video editors · Best video review software for creative teams