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The Gangs of London producer is no stranger to international shoots, handling tax credits and relying on Sargent-Disc to deal with everything in post-production, from cost reports to supplier payments
Award-winning production company Pulse Films celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025. Founded in 2005 with the mission “to create moments of culture through innovative storytelling”, the company has seen remarkable growth. Initially focused on commercials, music videos and non-fiction documentaries, Pulse Films has since expanded successfully into scripted television and feature films, solidifying its position as a leading creative force.
Pulse Films is part of VICE Studios, the award-winning production division of VICE Media. Bringing together a network of premium production companies, VICE Studios includes Pulse Films and VICE Studios Canada, along with its global licensing arm, VICE Distribution.
Over two decades, and despite the turbulent effects of the pandemic, Pulse Films has built a global reach, with outposts in LA and New York. With a portfolio spanning development, production, financing and distribution, its content reaches audiences worldwide across multiple platforms. Collaborators have ranged from brand giants like Apple and Nike to major artists such as Beyoncé, Nick Cave and Lewis Capaldi.
“It’s the fact that we’re an integrated studio that makes Pulse Films such an exciting place to work,” says Bianca Gavin, Head of Scripted TV and Film, who came on board in 2020 to grow the company’s scripted pipeline. “We’re fundamentally globally minded. We produce across four different divisions, our ‘pillars’ – commercials, music videos, non-fiction and scripted. As we’ve developed, we’ve created strong talent relationships across those pillars.”
A series of acclaimed features, including Andrea Arnold’s Jury Prize-winner American Honey (2016) and Bassam Tariq’s BAFTA-nominated Mogul Mowgli (2020), helped underpin Pulse Films’ scripted move. “We had those real auteur-driven indie films in our back-catalogue. We kept that DNA to use in our scripted TV output, which has grown massively since Gangs of London took off.”
Sargent-Disc and Pulse
Sargent-Disc has supplied Post-Production Accounting for Gangs of London, Bad Apples and Atomic. “Super-efficient, communicative, highly knowledgeable, Sargent-Disc has provided excellent continuity,” says Gavin. “The main benefit is how seamlessly they step in, ensuring continuity when the Production Account, Financial Controller and rest of the team complete their handover.
They create a flexible bridge that makes the handover problem-free for everyone. They really own the cost report and balance sheet, taking care of everything – petty cash, credit cards, balance sheets, supplier payments. Usual requirements, but with added expertise to handle individual production quirks as they arise – which is hugely valuable.”
When the wildly successful Sky Atlantic series debuted five years ago, it became the broadcaster’s second-biggest original drama launch ever. It also set the stage for an approach that has since defined Pulse Films – bringing film auteurs to the forefront of TV drama. Praised by critics as Shakespearean and visionary, the series’ portrayal of the criminal underworld redefined the genre.
“It’s that distinctive style of elevated action and world-building in a homegrown production that’s so rare,” says Gavin. “With all its moving parts, it’s a beast of a show, which takes a lot of collaboration and planning.”
Series three arrives on Sky Atlantic this month. Two further scripted releases are also on the 2025 horizon: Swedish director Jonatan Etzler’s satirical thriller Bad Apples for Paramount Pictures label Republic Pictures, starring Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan, and adrenaline-charged Sky Original Atomic, helmed by director Shariff Korver.
Adapted by Rebus writer Gregory Burke, it’s inspired by William Langewiesche’s non-fiction book Atomic Bazaar and stars Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif as two unlikely friends swept up in a cartel’s plot to transport uranium across North Africa.
“Atomic is a bold story,” says Gavin. “It was an ambitious shoot in Morocco, all in one block, which was an epic undertaking.”
Navigating the Moroccan tax credit put the production’s finance systems and international infrastructure to the test, but the hard work has really paid off on screen. “Having that ambitious approach is what keeps it interesting for so many of us,” says Gavin. “We’re always looking for stories that are relevant. We want to challenge ourselves, push to the limit – that’s what audiences want as well.”
