What a buyer is checking
An overseas buyer will not visit. So the photograph has to answer what a visit would have answered: is the place real, is the process under control, are there people who know what they are doing.
A studio can make a product look perfect. It cannot show that the thing is made by people, in a place that works — and that is what a buyer who cannot come is looking for.
How it works
Four things, in this order.
- Brief from the audience. What the buyer needs to see, and where the material will be used — a meeting, a website, a trade show.
- Shoot on site. The process, the people and the place, in the light the work actually happens in.
- Cut for the platform. A short film for the web and stills for print and the site, taken from the same visit.
- Deliver. Stills, film and subtitles, ready to use.
What we need from you
- Access to the site on the day, and a sense of the normal working rhythm.
- A person on site who can answer questions and say yes.
- Any restrictions: areas that cannot be filmed, people who cannot appear.
- The date, and how much of the process happens that day.
Common questions
Do you shoot on site, or in a studio?
On site. A running floor reads as true in a way a studio set cannot, and a buyer who will never visit is looking for exactly that.
Can you shoot stills and film on the same visit?
Yes. We plan both around the same day, so you are not disrupted twice.
What do you need from us on the day?
Access, a contact, and the normal working rhythm. We would rather film the work than stage it.
Do we need a script?
No. We need the audience and the questions they have. The film is built from that, not from a script written first.
Related reading
What this covers