How a production runs
Six stages, and the first one frequently reduces the size of the job.
Library audit
What you already own, how it is performing and what can be reused. Sold standalone, and on a meaningful share of briefs this is where the engagement sensibly ends.
Lifespan planning
How long each intended asset has to remain useful. A twelve month piece and a two week piece are built differently, and separating them changes the whole production plan.
Modular shoot design
Planning a single shoot day to yield a flagship piece plus supporting cuts with different lifespans, rather than a batch that expires together.
Production
Crew, location and permits managed, with supplier costs passed through and our fee stated as a separate line.
Delivery and handover
Edits, full resolution files and raw footage transferred, with the library catalogued and rights documented.
Twelve month tracking
Performance measured across a full year and reported honestly, including which assets stopped working and when. The report informs the next production plan.
What this approach costs us
We recommend smaller productions. On roughly four in ten briefs the honest answer is fewer pieces than were asked for, which reduces the invoice directly.
Library work replaces production. Organising what a client already owns costs a fraction of a shoot and is frequently the better answer.
We report our own failures. A twelve month report naming assets that died in week three names our own work, and clients read it.
We transfer raw footage. Retaining material is a standard way studios secure recuts and reshoots, and we have given that up.
Frequently asked
What does the twelve month tracking measure?
Views, completion, saves and shares across the year, and the point at which an asset stops earning meaningful attention. We report useful life per asset rather than aggregate campaign numbers.
What counts as an asset being dead?
When it stops generating meaningful engagement and is no longer being deployed. Roughly a third of assets across the market reach that point inside three weeks.
Will you really tell us to make less?
On about four in ten briefs. It reduces our invoice and it is usually correct, particularly where a volume target came from a calendar rather than a need.
Can we buy the library audit alone?
Yes, at a fixed fee. The findings are yours and several clients have acted on them without commissioning production.
Do we get the raw footage?
Yes, in full, along with full resolution stills. Another studio can recut the material without reshooting it.
How are usage rights handled?
Written into the agreement by territory, duration and media. We flag when rights are about to expire, because that sets a shelf life independent of performance.
Do you work in Spanish?
Yes, and we plan for it rather than subtitling afterwards, which is a different and better result for a Los Angeles audience.
Is there a retainer?
Only if you want one, on thirty day rolling terms. Most clients work project to project and we prefer it that way.