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The brief that produces a good brand film

Brand video fails at the brief more often than in the edit. Four decisions settle it, and all four are made before anyone is booked.

  • What has to be true for a viewer afterwards? Not what they should feel. What they should now believe that they did not believe before. If nobody can answer that in one sentence, the film has no job.
  • Who is the film arguing with? Every brand film is a rebuttal of something: a cheaper competitor, an assumption about the category, a reason people say no. Naming that opponent gives the film a spine.
  • What can you show that nobody else can? A factory, a founder, a process, a customer, a place. If the answer is nothing, you are commissioning a mood piece and it will look like everybody else’s.
  • What has to survive a year? Pricing, headcount, product names and job titles all change. A brand film that mentions any of them has a shelf life measured in months.

Most briefs arrive with a tone and a reference film. Neither answers any of the four.

Luma Creative video production services team filming on location in San Francisco

The four shapes a brand film takes

Almost every brand film is one of four, and the choice is set by what you can actually show.

ShapeWhat it needs to existWhere it fails
Founder-ledA founder who is genuinely compelling unscriptedWhen the founder is coached into corporate language
Told through the workA process, a build or a place worth filmingWhen the work is a screen, and the film becomes B-roll of laptops
Told through a customerA customer whose story is genuinely changed by youWhen it drifts into a testimonial and stops being about the brand
Narrative or scriptedAn idea strong enough to carry actors and a buildWhen the budget forces a compromise the audience can see

The commonest mistake is choosing the fourth because it looks the most like advertising, when the company had a genuine answer to the second sitting in its own building.

What a brand film needs on the day that other films do not

Brand work is where production value is actually visible, which is why it is the format where a small crew shows. The difference is not the camera. It is how many people are solving problems simultaneously.

  • Light takes people. The look that separates a brand film from a corporate one is almost entirely lighting, and lighting is a department rather than a person.
  • Movement takes rigging. A moving camera reads as scale. Getting one safely on a vehicle, a jib or a gimbal for a full day is a crew job.
  • Locations take permission. On the Cepton brand film we ran an arm car for the driving shots and worked with the San Francisco Police Department and California Highway Patrol to close sections of road in San Francisco and Marin. That is not a creative decision, it is a production one, and it is made weeks ahead.
  • Somebody has to be watching the edit. On a brand shoot the person tracking what the cut still needs is the difference between a good day and a usable film.
bay area video production

What you should get out of one brand shoot

A brand shoot is the most expensive day on the calendar and the most under-used. The same material, planned for in advance, produces far more than the hero film.

DeliverableWhy it comes from this shoot
The brand filmThe piece everything else is cut from, usually the only one in the brief
A short cut for paid mediaDifferent opening seconds, built to work muted in a feed
Vertical cutsFramed on the day if you know they are coming; cropped badly if you do not
StillsA photographer on the same day costs a fraction of a separate shoot
Interview materialWhatever the founder or team said, usable for a year of other things

Deciding these before the shoot costs almost nothing. Commissioning them afterwards means going back, and going back to a location, a crew and a founder’s calendar is a second production.

What we need from you

The things that hold up a brand film are almost never the filming.

  • One decision-maker, named. Brand work attracts opinions, and a film approved by committee arrives at the average of everyone’s taste. Agree who has the final word before the first treatment, not during round three.
  • Access to the thing worth showing. The factory, the workshop, the site, the founder’s diary. If the strongest asset is a place you do not control, that permission is the long pole and it starts first.
  • Honesty about what is changing. If a rebrand, a funding round or a product rename is coming, we would rather build the film to survive it than around a fact with six months left.
  • Whatever exists already. Old footage, photography, product renders. Some of it will be usable, and every usable frame is a shot we do not have to buy a day for.

Music, and why it costs more than people expect

Music is the part of a brand film that most changes how it feels and most often gets decided last and cheapest, which is the wrong way round.

There are three routes and they are genuinely different purchases. Library music is fast and inexpensive, and the good tracks are used by everyone, so a film scored from a library tends to sound like other films. Licensed music, a track people know, is priced by usage, territory and term, and for a commercial in a real market it is frequently the single largest line on the budget. Original score costs less than most people assume and is the only route where nothing else sounds like your film.

The decision has to be made early, because the edit is cut to a tempo. Re-scoring a finished brand film is not swapping a file. The cut has to be rebuilt around the new track, which is why a late music change is one of the more expensive things that can happen to a project.

How to tell whether a brand film worked

Brand film is the hardest format we make to measure, and it is worth being straight about that rather than offering a number that sounds like proof.

It does not have a conversion event. A viewer who watches it and buys three months later is indistinguishable in analytics from one who never saw it. Anyone attaching a clean revenue figure to a brand film is modelling, not measuring, and the model is doing the work.

What can honestly be observed: whether the sales team starts sending it unprompted, whether the same objection stops coming up on calls, whether candidates mention it at interview, and whether anyone internally can now describe the company the way the film does. Those are soft, and they are the real signals. View count is the one number everybody reports and the one that tells you least, because a brand film shown to the wrong ten thousand people has done nothing at all.

The most useful thing to agree before commissioning is what you would accept as evidence. If the honest answer is that no evidence would change anyone’s mind, the film is being bought for reasons that are fine to hold but should be named.

When you should not commission a brand film

Brand video is the most expensive thing most companies buy from us, and it is the wrong purchase more often than any other format.

If the company is about to reposition, wait. A brand film made three months before a strategy change is money spent on a message you are about to stop making. If nobody internally agrees on what the company stands for, a film will not resolve that argument, it will expose it, usually in round four of feedback. And if the honest reason for the film is that a competitor made one, the resulting piece will look like theirs, because it was briefed against theirs.

The strongest brand films we have made were commissioned by people who could already say what they wanted the viewer to believe, in one sentence, without notes.

Brand Video Production

Luma Creative produces brand video in San Francisco for companies that need one film to explain who they are. We handle it end to end: concept and scripting, casting and locations, permits and crew, the shoot itself, then editing, motion graphics and delivery.

What is a brand video?

A brand video is a short film about what a company stands for rather than what it sells. It is built around the company’s reason for existing, its people, and the problem it set out to solve, and it is usually the film a business points to first when someone asks what they do. That is what separates it from a product video, which demonstrates a specific thing, and from a promotional video, which pushes a specific offer with a deadline attached.

The practical consequence is that a brand video ages differently. A product video is obsolete when the product changes. A brand film made well is still usable three years later, which is why it usually justifies a bigger budget than the piece sitting next to it in the same brief.

The brand films companies actually commission

Nearly every brand brief we receive turns out to be one of five things. Naming which one you need before the kickoff call saves a round of revisions later.

  • The brand story. Why the company exists, usually told through the founders or the work itself. The Cepton film below is one of these.
  • The founder or executive message. One person to camera, cut with supporting footage. Cheapest to shoot, hardest to make watchable, because it lives or dies on whether the person is at ease.
  • The company overview. What the business does, for whom, at what scale. Often the film that plays at the top of a sales deck or on a trade-show stand.
  • The employee or culture film. Real staff, real shifts. Used for recruiting more often than for marketing, and it fails the moment it looks staged.
  • The values or diversity film. The Galderma project below is one of these, and it is the type that most needs people speaking in their own words rather than to a script.

What a brand video costs

A brand film with a single location and a small crew generally starts around $5,000. Multi-day or multi-location shoots with a larger crew run $15,000 to $100,000, and commercial-scale work ranges from $10,000 to $300,000 depending on scope. The variables that move the number most are shoot days, crew size, whether you need permits and road closures, and how much motion graphics the edit carries. Our full breakdown is on what video production costs.

How the production runs

We work as one team from concept to delivery rather than handing the project between vendors. In pre-production that means concept development, scripting, storyboarding, casting, location scouting and the permits that decide whether a shot is possible at all. On the day we bring our own crew and equipment. In post we cut, grade and, where the subject has nothing to point a camera at, build it in motion graphics.

Most of our work is in San Francisco and across the Bay Area, and we are used to shoots where the location is the constraint rather than the schedule.

Brand films we have made

Case Study

Cepton approached us looking a make a powerful statement in the automotive world. To bring LiDAR to the masses. This would make vehicles better able to map their surroundings and thus keep drivers, pedestrians and those on the road safer. To show this, we created a powerful brand film in order to not only educate viewers but inspire them to learn more about this technology.

For this brand story project we provided a wide range of video production agency and production support. On the pre-production creative side we provided concept development, scripting, storyboarding, casting, location sourcing, permitting, crew hiring, vehicle management as well as craft services.

For production, we brought out all the bells and whistles. We worked with a full film production crew to bring a cinematic polish to each and every shot. We were fortunate to be able to bring on an arm car to capture shots of the picture vehicles on the road as well as San Francisco Police department and California Highway patrol support to shut down sections of road in San Francisco and Marin.

In post production we not only pieced together all the live action footage, but utilized our motion effects team to bring their technology to life.

Take a look at the video below!

Case Study

Rivian is redefining what adventure looks like with electric vehicles built for exploration. For this spec commercial, we set out to create a cinematic story that showcased the vehicle’s capability while highlighting the connection between family, the outdoors, and sustainable innovation. The finished film went on to win Best Video in the Musicbed Challenge, recognizing its storytelling and cinematography.

Case Study

Galderma came to us looking for help to create a series of brand videos to help them develop a platform to champion their diversity and inclusion initiatives. For our primary video, we knew we needed to keep it succinct but thought-provoking. And while we could have used paid actors, we spent time getting to know their team in order to learn about their people. We wanted to learn about the diversity within their program in order to show it in a genuine way.

We worked with their pre-existing script and existing employees to make a film that would make an impact.

Why do you need branded video production?

Lasting Change: It’s no longer enough to just tell people what you are offering. It’s just as important to champion the why? A brand film will do this!

Brand Awareness:Maybe you are the best in your field, but if people resonate with your mission, they’ll most likely keep you in mind the next time they need your product or service.

The video speaks for itself:They say a picture is worth a million words. Imagine what a video could do! Instead of having to share this story with words or photos, you’ll be able to quickly articulate the why behind your company without wasting precious time!

Looking for custom brand video production? Let’s get started! Need bite-sized social content, too? Check out our social media marketing services.

What Is brand video production?

Brand video production involves creating videos that communicate a brand’s message, values, and story. These videos are designed to engage the audience, enhance brand recognition, and drive business goals.

How can brand video production benefit my brand?

Brand storytelling video production uses narrative techniques to connect with your audience emotionally. By showcasing your brand’s journey, mission, and values, you can build a deeper connection with your viewers, fostering trust and loyalty, creating a deeper connection with viewers across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

What types of videos are included in branded content videography?

Branded content videography includes a variety of video types such as brand story videos, company profile videos, product demos, customer testimonials, and brand promotional videos. Each type serves a specific purpose in your marketing strategy, especially for businesses in vibrant markets like San Francisco, where strong brand identity is key.

How does video marketing for brands drive business growth?

Video marketing for brands is effective because it captures attention quickly, conveys messages clearly, and can be easily shared across multiple platforms. For brands in the San Francisco Bay Area, professional branding videos can enhance your online presence, increase engagement, and drive conversions.

What are the key elements of professional branding videos?

Professional branding videos should include clear messaging, high-quality visuals, strong storytelling, and a call to action. They should align with your brand’s voice and aesthetics to ensure consistency across all marketing channels. For businesses in regions like the Bay Area, maintaining this consistency is crucial to standing out in a competitive landscape.

How long should a brand video be?

Long enough to make one point and stop. What decides it is where it plays: a homepage film can run longer because the viewer chose to be there, while the same story cut for paid media has to earn its first seconds. Most brand work produces both from one shoot.

Who should be on camera in a brand film?

Whoever is genuinely compelling without a script. That is often the founder, sometimes a long-serving employee, occasionally a customer. It is rarely whoever has the most senior title, and coaching someone into corporate language is the fastest way to lose a brand film.

How far ahead do we need to plan a brand shoot?

Locations and permissions set the date. Filming on public roads, in another company’s building or with vehicles needs weeks of arrangement, not days. On the Cepton film that meant working with the San Francisco Police Department and California Highway Patrol to close roads.

What should we get from a brand shoot besides the film?

A short cut for paid media, vertical cuts framed on the day, stills from a photographer working alongside the crew, and the raw interview material. All of it costs little if planned before the shoot and needs a second production if it is not.

When is a brand film the wrong thing to commission?

If the company is about to reposition, if nobody internally agrees what it stands for, or if the reason for the film is that a competitor made one. In the last case the result tends to look like theirs, because it was briefed against theirs.

Contact us today!