Notes on brand documentaries
Insights
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When anything can be generated, being there is the proof
Images can be faked. Voices can be faked. What can’t be faked is that someone was there. That is why documentary film is becoming…
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Most branded documentaries fail before filming starts
A documentary needs a story people care about, someone brave enough to pay for it, and a place where the audience finds it. Most…
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THAW – Why real stories still cut through
We are surrounded by messages. Campaigns, statements, promises, positioning. Most of them disappears the moment we scroll past them. THAW exists because real stories…
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What makes us different from traditional video production
We aren’t a typical production company or ad agency. We make documentary films with companies: what we make, who we work with, and how…
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Why I walked away from the old way of making film for companies
For years I made films for companies the usual way. Beautiful footage fell flat in the edit, and the work I was proudest of…
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What’s the difference between a brand documentary and a commercial?
A brand documentary and a commercial aren’t the same thing with different lengths. One is made to sell. The other is made to be…
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Brands need better stories, not more ads
If your company is doing something that matters, you will never win on volume against bigger budgets. You can win on story. Louder ads…
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How we create brand documentaries that move people
A documentary doesn’t start with the camera and end in the edit. It starts with listening and ends with the film reaching the people…
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You don’t need a viral video, you need a truthful one
Viral is a lottery. A true story is a strategy. If your company is trying to change something, you don’t need millions of views.…
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Turning Brand-Funded Films into Movements: Lessons from OARS, Alumacraft & Patagonia
When brands fund films like About Damn Time , Muskie Man and The Last Observers , they do more than tell stories—they spark real…