Brand Stories

What is a brand story? 

This seemingly simple question has a multifaceted answer. It comes down to a narrative of what your brand represents. As I show in my homepage video, stories are a unit of culture, and so brand stories help to give your brand a personality. When they are first created, brands are only an idea in the minds of their creators. However, through the use of story, brands become entities in their own right, with histories, fans, and critics. Some brands even become terms that make it into the dictionary, such as hoover  replacing the common name of vacuum cleaner

Love them or hate them, it’s hard to deny that companies like McDonalds, Tesla, Volvo, and Seventh Generation are more than just the sum of the people that work at them. Interacting with them is an experience, and your brand’s customer experience sets the tone for your own success as a company.

For some examples, you can find videos showing brand stories that I have worked on as a professional film producer.

Local, Fresh, Sustainable – A video exemplifying the values of Rachel Armstrong’s family farm business: January 2021

The Time Is Now – Lisa Prewitt’s bid for election to Hays County Commissioner: September 2020

It’s Time to be Fearless – Kelly Stone’s bid for election to Texas Railroad Commissioner: February 2020

Stories Create Culture – This is my own brand story for my film business, Yellow Spiral Media.

The Process: An Overview

When you decide you need a professional brand story to represent your business, campaign, or idea, send us a message using the Contact button below. We will begin with a free 15-minute consultation, in which you will lay out your goals, objectives, audience, and reasons you would like to create a culture around your brand. Using this information, I will create an estimated quote for you.

After the consultation, I will write up a proposal. When you’re ready to begin working with me, I will begin writing a script. You and I will collaborate on the script via Google Docs, or another teamwork-ready word editor. When the script is approved, we can move into the production phase.

During the production phase, I or another filmmaker will film the shots required for your video. My business is located in Central Texas, so my ordinary filmmaking region (usually not requiring overnight accommodation) includes both Austin, TX and San Antonio, TX. I am also willing and able to travel anywhere within the United States, Canada, and Mexico if my travel expenses are budgeted for.

When all the shots are filmed, the final phase is called postproduction. This is where I will edit your shots into the culture-creating narrative that forms your brand story. I will use continuity editing, sound mixing, and color grading so that your video looks and sounds professional and represents your brand to your audience as you would like it to. Towards the end of this phase, we will discuss your music needs. If you have a particular musical composition in mind, communicate this with me at the beginning of the postproduction phase.

I will produce a rough cut, a fine cut, and a final cut as part of the standard package of deliverables. If you would like more versions of edits, be sure to discuss this with me around the time we begin postproduction, so I can optimize my workflow and your consultation time around the number of edit versions you require.

My rates will depend on the level of service you require in these three different phases, and on the amounts of consultation you would like, and on the number of edits you would like.

Pricing starts at $950 for a 90-second, locally produced video with a standard package.

During our workflow, I will continue to update our itemized quote as appropriate. While each project is different, generally, I will quote a standard fee for  deliverables requested, and then an hourly rate for any additional edits.