Filmmaker Will Warr has steadily built a reputation for authenticity, from documenting the Prince and Princess of Wales in rare private moments to Creative Director at Detail Films and Co-Founding Topjaw, the food and travel platform bringing cinematic storytelling to everyday life.
When filmmaker Will Warr is asked about the most surreal shoot of his career, he momentarily hesitates. ‘It’s been an honour and a privilege to work with the Prince and Princess of Wales on their films over the last few years,’ he says carefully. ‘They’re both incredibly creative, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done together.’
Royal approval
It’s a typically understated response from someone who has methodically grown one of the most distinctive visual brands on the internet. London-based filmmaker Warr has become a trusted collaborator of the Prince and Princess of Wales, producing half-a-dozen films for them over the past few years. His projects have included behind-the-scenes footage at their homes near Windsor Castle and Anmer Hall, as well as charity visits and major royal milestones such as the Coronation and the couple’s tenth wedding anniversary.
Warr’s latest and most poignant work captured Kate Middleton’s announcement that she has completed her chemotherapy treatment. Intimate scenes of the family’s three children playing together in Norfolk weave through the film. Reflecting on the project, Warr’s own recent fatherhood has inspired him to focus on more personal moments.
As co-founder and creative director of Topjaw, the wildly popular food and travel platform that has evolved from more muddled YouTube beginnings to worldwide respect, Warr has developed a cinematic style that captures the intimacy of a place through the people who cook, create and share. Watching his films makes you want to pack a camera, grab a friend and start shooting.
Over the last decade, Warr and his presenting partner Jesse Burgess have filmed in hundreds of restaurants across the globe from London to Lisbon to Tokyo and New York. Together they blend documentary realism with a refined, handheld aesthetic. It feels spontaneous but always professional. The result is a body of work that’s both effortlessly watchable and artful. A masterclass in how to make digital storytelling feel human.
The origins of Warr’s interest in cameras began long before Topjaw was conceived. He recalls, ’As a child, I was always surrounded by creativity. My mum was a keen amateur photographer and would be forever capturing those intimate, quiet moments of family life. Looking back, there are probably 30 or 40 tapes of birthdays and Christmases, so I think that’s where it started.’
Creative beginnings
Those early exposures to stills photography transferred into an obsession with moving images. ‘I’ve always been wildly passionate about capturing moments,’ he says. ‘I was at school filming, in the holidays, making little skate and Jackass-style movies with friends, anything that let me make things look beautiful.’ It was as much about understanding how light and movement could bring a subject to live than it was about storytelling.
He studied industrial design at Loughborough University over film but used the course’s visual and conceptual rigour to structure his approach. ‘It taught me how to take on a brief, dissect what a client wants, and work out how much creativity you can bring to it. Those are the same principles I use now when balancing brand needs with creative freedom.’
Before YouTube tutorials were everywhere, like many self-taught filmmakers of his generation, Warr learned by getting on and doing it. ‘I was forever on Flickr, following photographers I loved, studying their lighting breakdowns and trying to recreate them.’ Squeezing in between university projects, he ran a music blog, shooting live sessions with bands and festival footage on weekends. ‘There was always a side hustle. I’ve never been able to help myself. I’ve always had a passion project on the go,’ he says smiling.
Building Topjaw
Warr moved to London after graduating and began freelancing. He remembers, ’I shared a studio with a few other creatives, which was the best thing I could have done. Being surrounded by people who were building brands or making things happen, it rubs off on you.’
In one of those shared studios he met Burgess. ‘Jesse was presenting at the time, and we both had this buzz to do more. We became best mates, and Topjaw started as a passion project. No plan, no client, no investment. Just us hanging out and making the kind of content we wanted to make.’
Warr and peas
Food quickly became the focus. It made sense. Warr says. ‘Every city in the world has a food culture, and every restaurant has a story. It’s a subject you can shoot beautifully, and it connects people instantly.’
Year by year, Topjaw has amassed a vast following, now just shy of 1M followers on Instagram @topjaw. It’s a loyal community who plan their trips around its recommendations. The tone is refreshingly real. Warr explains, ’I never want it to feel over-produced. We shoot from the hip, literally. I let moments play out naturally and try not to make anything a bigger deal than it needs to be. Whether we’re in a Michelin-star kitchen or a street stall, the energy has to stay relaxed.’
That authenticity has helped reel in a cast of celebrity guests, among them Idris Elba, Florence Pugh, Charli XCX, and Hollywood royalty, Stanley Tucci. ‘The goal is always to humanise the shoot. We treat everyone the same, whether it’s an A-lister or a sous-chef in Peckham. We keep the tone casual, make them feel comfortable, and pretty soon they forget the camera’s even there.’
Inside the process
A Topjaw shoot may look simple but there is graft. ‘We’re usually just three people, Jesse, me and our assistant,’ Warr says. ‘For years it was just the two of us, but as the films have become more complex, having a third person makes a huge difference.’
A RED Raptor, RED Komodo and Sony FX3 forms the core of their kit, with Warr often carrying the latter for behind-the-scenes or family content. He says, ‘That camera changed everything for me. It’s compact, beautiful in low light, and with my vintage Canon FD lenses it gives the footage this organic, cinematic texture.’ The team may travel light but they think big.
A Leica Q3 is dropped into his bag for stills and Warr swears an allegiance to the Peak Design travel tripod. ‘That’s my dream combo. I use it daily whether it’s behind the scenes, family weekends, or a friend’s birthday. I don’t think I’ll ever change that setup.’
The results may be polished but the atmosphere on set is deliberately relaxed and amiable. ’When we arrive at a restaurant, we always start with a chat with the chef or owner to understand their story. Then we shoot for a couple of hours, gathering B-roll, interviews and those little in-between moments that make the piece feel alive.’
During the shoot Will is often visualising the edit before it’s shaped back at the studio. ’You have to be thinking ahead, what will tie it together, what sound bites we’ll need. We’ve filmed in over 2,000 restaurants now, so we know what works.’
Creative freedom and authenticity
Most of Topjaw’s content is self-funded and non-branded, around 70–80%. What this independence allows, is for the team to experiment. He says, ’We can come up with an idea on Monday, shoot it Wednesday, and have it edited by Friday.’ That pace keeps it exciting. He adds, ‘If something doesn’t land, we just move on and try something new.’
Detail Films is his commercial production company where projects for agencies and brands come with multiple layers of approval – contrast to how he works with Topjaw. ‘The branded work is rewarding in a different way, he says. ‘But the knowledge we gain from Topjaw, how people watch, how they respond, feeds straight into it. Clients now ask us not just how to make a film beautiful but how to make it perform.’
He adds, ’The internet is flooded with people chasing the same trends. The most valuable thing we have is our authenticity, our relationship, our personalities, the unscripted chaos that happens when you just let things unfold.’ The philosophy on Warr’s filmmaking is simple: keep it real and it will remain watchable.
This approach connects not just audiences but also collaborators. ‘When we go on a city guide shoot, we never know where the day will lead,’ he says. ‘You might meet a chef in one restaurant who joins you for the rest of the day. Those unexpected detours are where the magic happens.’
Mentorship and advice
Though he’s regularly asked for tutorials or workshops, Warr admits time is the main barrier. ‘I’d love to do more educational stuff,’ he says. ‘It still blows my mind that people DM me for advice. Fifteen years ago, I was the one chasing Flickr tutorials and failing miserably.’
Instead, he’s building a collaborative studio space where young filmmakers can learn by proximity. ‘When I first moved to London, sharing a studio was the biggest leg-up I could’ve had. Now at Detail and Topjaw we share space with a few freelance filmmakers. It’s a great environment for swapping ideas, techniques, even gear tips. You learn so much faster that way.’
His advice for those starting out in the profession is succinct. ’Don’t wait for permission. Start small and start now. Find something that feels authentic to you. Don’t copy what everyone else is doing. Follow your curiosity. For us it was food and drink, but it can be anything. Just keep making. Authenticity takes time, but once you find it, everything starts to click.’
After a decade of spontaneous city guides, red-carpet encounters and handheld magic, Topjaw shows no sign of slowing. Warr says, ’We’ve really found our groove. We know what we love making, and we’re proud of the way we tell stories. There’s always room to go deeper, to explore culture, people and food in a more meaningful way. But at the heart of it, it’ll always be just two mates travelling the world, making films about the best places to eat and drink.’
It’s that same authenticity that explains why Warr’s work resonates so widely and why he is trusted to capture a peaceful afternoon in Norfolk with the future King and Queen. Whether filming royalty or restaurateurs, Warr approaches every subject with the same eye for a human story, empathy and light.
