Watch heart-warming video of how Northampton people are getting through the lockdown

A couple who own a local video production company have turned their focus to spreading happiness by creating an uplifting video of what local people are doing during the lockdown.

Frankie and Rich Baldwin, whose company Rich View has been hugely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, felt useless when all their work projects were cancelled.

In a bid to keep themselves occupied and spread some joy, the pair from Great Houghton decided to find a project that would put a smile on people’s faces during uncertain times.

Frankie said: “We were one of the first industries to go at the end of March.

“We had one day when almost every hour we would get a phone call to say another project is gone. We had nothing to do and we all had to stop working.

“My mum is a nurse, my dad is helping in care and my sister is a head teacher, but we have just stopped working. We felt useless.

“It felt like there must be something we can do.

“We thought, we have these skills, we can’t make any money, but what can we do?”

The 37-year-old sent out a message on the company’s social media channels to ask local people how they are all staying connected during the lockdown and what they are doing.

The post had an overwhelming response and the couple received around 40 clips that they then edited together to make a heart-warming short film.

Frankie added: “When we make films the best ones we make are the ones that make people smile. So we thought let’s just do what we know.

“We always tell clients to keep their message simple and that’s what we did.

“We wanted to get loads of people in there with loads of smiling faces.

“In reality we are more together than we have ever been.”

Since the video was shared yesterday afternoon (April 15), more than 5,000 people have viewed it and Frankie says the response has been amazing.

“We put it together and shared it out and everyone just loved it,” continued Frankie.

“I had one woman who works for the NHS contact me to say she watched it on her lunch break and it made her happy.

“It’s nice to see happiness and local people are recognising people and places.

“We’re over the moon that a tiny thing we have done has helped. We’re not key workers so we can’t do anything else.”

While the lockdown continues, Frankie and Rich are hoping to create some more videos.

One idea Frankie has is to create a film filled with fun examples of how far two metres is, to help people implement the correct social distancing rules.

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