Having clients filming their own video content on their phones was the last thing producer Nick Heydon had on his mind prior to the pandemic.
There’s no denying 2020 has been catastrophic for many businesses. In the months and years to come, we’re bound to see further fall out as many simply cannot survive. But for some businesses, COVID-19 has been a catalyst for change and has provided the space and opportunity to alter the offering into something even more exciting. For one Melbourne based video production company, this has proven to be the case, and the new offering might just be useful for franchisees moving forward.
Nick Heydon started Rise Films, a full-service video production agency back in 2000. He had focused on the corporate video sector and was successful. Enter COVID-19. Suddenly Rise Films went from having six months of work booked in, to pretty much nothing over the course of a week, as shoot after shoot cancelled due to the pandemic. After the initial panic, Nick realised he needed a radical plan to get through the year. Restrictions made it unlawful to run shoots, but his clients had more messages than ever they needed to convey. He realised that all of his clients had phones with pretty good video cameras in them. He could train them to shoot and work their post-production remotely.
RISE&SHINE was born. Under this system, clients are given a kit that contains a tripod, microphone and ring light. They’re given access to the RISE&SHINE short video tutorials that teach how to frame a shot, how to choose a background, how to use the equipment provided and how to shoot ‘overlay’ and even interview techniques. Clients use their own phones to shoot their stories. Footage is sent back to RISE&SHINE for editing, sound, graphics, colour grading and all the highly skilled extras one might need.
“Clients love this because it can be done at fraction of the cost of a full film crew, it’s a quick turn around and it still looks semi-professional,” explains Nick Heydon. “It’s being used for CEO announcements for internal comms, to showcase new products on websites and socials, to create expert opinion pieces or even to promote sales. The possibilities are endless really.”
Clients can buy a package of films that suits their needs and have 12 months to use them. The RISE&SHINE team is on hand for support at all time too. The model has provided some unexpected benefits too, as employees tasked with ‘making’ the company videos are learning new skills and flexing their creative muscles.
“We’re finding there’s always at least one person in a team that loves being behind the camera and usually more than one that loves being in front of it,” said Nick.
Head to riseandshine.video to find out more.