Our New “Normal”
How we’re helping brands keep production up & running.
Mofilm has been connecting brands to a diverse community of more than 10,000 filmmakers for 10 years now, but never before has working with diverse local creative talent made more sense.
In this new landscape, being able to produce content that is locally authentic, less-damaging for the environment and safer for your teams can give companies a clear advantage. Here are just some of the ways we’re creating branded content with our global network of filmmakers and photographers – both now and going forward.
‘At-home’ filmmaking
During lockdown, Mofilm’s community of creators have been shooting in and around their homes with their own equipment and studio space
This includes not just product / pack shots or ‘how to’ type films: our filmmakers can also capture ‘family reality’ stories, or lifestyle imagery / video – by safely shooting in and around their own homes, families & neighborhoods
Simple, one-person productions are possible in many places around the world – the key is to consider the practicalities during creative development
Since March we’ve helped our clients thank employees, support parents, celebrate key workers and even launch new products – all using safe production methods
Safe shooting
From using set robots for sharing monitors safely, to designating social distancing managers on set, Mofilm filmmakers are putting safety first and being lean and nimble is at the heart of that – this is likely to be the new normal
Some cities are now allowing small (<5) crews to operate safely, and as the situation changes weekly Mofilm has created a virtual panel of filmmakers all over the world to keep up with local situations – get in touch if you want to know about a specific market
Using ‘on the ground’ directors and crews avoids the impracticality of flying that brands will be faced with for the foreseeable future
Using safe and nimble production methods, we worked with 11 filmmakers across the US during the Covid-19 lockdown to create a beautiful tribute to first responders and front-line workers
To all of you keeping the world moving, #ThanksForDelivering ❤️ Show us how you #ThankADasher and we’ll share our favorites. pic.twitter.com/ubWce5468M
— DoorDash (@DoorDash) April 9, 2020
Virtual animation studios
We’re building bespoke ‘virtual studios’ for brands as a way to create always-on content – including stills, gifs and stop-motion – without needing to shoot
These studios are made up of animators & illustrators working remotely across the world, each inducted into the brand world and then pitching proactive ideas on a rolling basis. It’s how we’re fuelling evian’s ‘positive drops’ campaign right now
At-home studio shoots can be incorporated where product needs to be included in animations, like this social campaign we created for La San Marzano with 30+ deliverables
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_7D0lMH80L
Remote directed UGC
Coordination and curation is crucial in getting UGC right. Remote-directing shoots with a filmmaker means subjects can be instructed to shoot safely, consistently and true to the narrative of the wider piece
Inexpensive and easy-to-use equipment can even be shipped to subjects to improve footage quality
Fans, existing customers and employees make ideal candidates for UGC content, like this video we created for Unilever earlier this year
Building bespoke stock libraries
There has never been a more important time to focus on getting as much footage as possible from the shoots that can still happen
A bespoke library footage shoot focuses on delivering banks of footage against a bespoke brand brief
Shoots can be coordinated all over the world to cater for local nuance, all happening simultaneously to save time and budget (see ‘at-home filmmaking’ for guidance on what shoots look like)
Once compiled and uploaded, brands have access to a bespoke ‘stock’ library that can be shared with remote editors, motion graphics specialists and colourists to deliver any number of brand assets
Giving existing footage a new lease of life
What footage do you already have at your disposal? How can it be complemented with stock footage? Could a previous project be re-cut and repurposed with new supers? Could you repurpose internal comms?
You might be surprised what can be achieved – we helped DoorDash create a broadcast ready spot using footage from their archives
Production planning
Never has it been so important to consider the practicalities of shooting from the beginning. Bringing the makers into the process earlier on is crucial to this. Don’t we always say we wish we had more time for this stage of content creation?
Whilst shooting might not always be possible, everything up to that most likely is – helping you get prepared for when things become easier (or change course if the original plan can no longer happen).
Collaborating with filmmakers and photographers all over the world during creative development helps you get to richer, more surprising and more authentic ideas
This can all happen remotely – Mofilm regularly curates projects where the client and filmmaker are never in the same room!
A chance to look at production differently
No matter how long this disruption lasts, this is a chance to look at production differently. Using huge crews, flying people around the world while negatively impacting the environment and face-to-face PPMs were looking dated before the crisis – and that has now accelerated.
Out of this disruption will emerge a new normal when it comes to production, with technology at the heart of it. There is an array of incredible creative talent out there for brands to tap into – from filmmakers to animators, illustrators to photographers. This is an opportunity for brands to try new ways of working in order to make the most of that talent.
Producing content with local creators as diverse as your audience has never made more sense.
If you’ve got questions, feel free to reach out.