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Guides
How premium content gets planned, budgeted, shot and shipped. Written for the people who sign off on it.
These guides answer the questions marketing leads and founders ask before they commission serious production work: what drives the budget, how to brief a crew, which formats earn their keep, and what good looks like in each category.
What a brand film costs, and why
What actually moves the cost of a brand film: script, crew, talent, locations, post and usage rights, and how to spend where it shows on screen.
GuideContent production pricing: what you are paying for
How content production is priced, what drives the cost of video, photo and social content, and how to buy more usable assets from every shoot day.
GuideIn-house team or content production company?
In-house content team or production company? Compare cost, control, speed, craft and scale, and see when a hybrid model gives premium brands the best of both.
GuideHow to choose a video production company
How to choose a video production company: what to look for in a showreel, the questions to ask, how to compare proposals and the warning signs to avoid.
GuideRetainer or project: how to buy content production
Content retainer vs project: how each model works, what each costs you in time and control, and how to decide which suits your brand's content needs.
GuideHow to measure what your video content returns
How to measure video content ROI stage by stage: which metrics matter, how to attribute sales to video, and how to count the real cost of each asset.
GuideUsage rights, releases and who owns the footage
Video usage rights and talent releases in plain language: buyouts, media, territory, duration, music licensing, location releases and who owns the footage.
What does a content production company do?
What these companies handle, how the process works and how to choose one.
GuideThe content production process, stage by stage
The content production process explained stage by stage: brief, pre-production, shoot, edit, review and delivery, with a realistic timeline for each.
GuideHow to write a video brief that gets great work
How to write a video production brief that gets great work: the sections to include, what good looks like, common mistakes and a one-page checklist.
GuideThe pre-production checklist
A complete video pre-production checklist for brand shoots: creative, people, locations, logistics, rights and approvals, and when each should be locked.
GuideHow to build a shot list
How to make a shot list that works on set: what each entry needs, how to order shots by set-up, and how to plan for every format from one brand shoot.
GuideHow one shoot day becomes a month of content
How batch content production works: planning a single shoot day so it delivers a month of video, photo and social content without it all looking the same.
GuidePlanning a content calendar around production
How to build a content production calendar that starts with the shoot: working back from key dates, setting a monthly rhythm and balancing the content mix.
Short-form video for luxury brands
Short-form video for luxury brands without cheapening the brand: formats, pacing, hooks, vertical framing and how to produce a month of Reels from one shoot.
GuideTypes of product video, and when to use each
The main types of product videos, from hero films and packshots to demos, lifestyle and ad variations, with where each works and how to shoot them together.
GuideUGC or studio production?
UGC or professional video? How premium brands decide, what each does well, where each fails, and how to plan both from one production calendar.
GuideHow to produce ad creative for testing
An ad creative testing framework for premium brands: what to test, how to plan the shoot for variations, and how to turn results into the next brief.
GuideVideo aspect ratios for every platform
Which video aspect ratio to use on each social platform and on your website, and how to shoot once so every frame works: 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 and 16:9.
GuideBrand film or commercial?
Brand film vs commercial explained: how they differ in purpose, length, story, placement and measurement, and how to choose, or plan both from one shoot.
GuideFounder-led content, produced properly
A founder-led content strategy for premium brands: formats that work, how to film a founder who dislikes cameras, and how to batch a month of it at once.
Video strategy for luxury brands
A luxury brand video strategy that protects desirability: what to film, how to layer hero, campaign and social content, and how to measure it beyond views.
GuideCreative direction for luxury brands
What creative direction for luxury brands involves: defining brand codes, building treatments, holding consistency across formats and running a shoot to it.
GuideLuxury product photography: a working guide
A luxury product photography guide: how to light metal, glass and leather, style with restraint, plan the shot list and retouch without losing the truth.
GuideLuxury real estate video that sells the life, not the floor plan
Luxury real estate video marketing that sells a way of living: what to film, how to plan around light, which formats to make and how to reach serious buyers.
GuideHotel video marketing that fills rooms
Hotel video marketing across the guest journey: what to film, which formats each channel needs, how to shoot a working property and how to keep content fresh.
GuideHow to film jewellery
Jewellery video production tips from set: lighting for sparkle, macro and motion, filming on skin, preparing pieces and grading metals and stones truthfully.