Short films that stop the scroll
We make short-form video for brands: reels, TikToks and Shorts, shot and cut in-house, one idea per beat, captioned for the viewer whose sound is off. For the Gettysburg Museum of History we film objects from the collection and tell one story each. For The Poster Project, the content reached 2.2M views in ninety days, 80% of them organic.
In detail
What does a short-form video agency actually make?
Vertical video under a minute, built for the feed it will run in: a reel for Instagram, a TikTok, a Short. Each one carries one idea. The first second earns the second, the caption carries the story for the viewer with the sound off, and the last frame says what to do next. We write it, shoot it, cut it and post it, or hand you the file. The brief is not a script; it is the one sentence a stranger should repeat after watching.
One idea per beat
The reason most brand video is skipped is that it tries to say four things. A short film that works says one. For the Gettysburg Museum of History, every object in the cases is a story, so we film the piece, write one line, and cut it for vertical: who wore it, where, and why it sits behind this glass. Objects beat adjectives. A jacket with a name on it stops the scroll in a way a montage of the building never will.
The same rule runs the October campaign for the museum's anniversary weekend: countdown stories one a day, an object series, one invitation film, all in one look. A viewer who sees three of them recognises the fourth. That recognition is what a brand is on a feed.
How a month of video runs
- 01
The list
We write the month's ideas first, as one line each. If the line is not interesting on its own, the video will not be either, and we find that out before a camera is out of its bag.
- 02
The shoot
One shoot day covers a month of content when the list is good. We shoot in the studio or on your premises, and we shoot more than we need, because the best moment is rarely the planned one.
- 03
The cut
Cut in-house, captioned by hand, one idea per beat. A dull second gets removed, not explained. Every file is checked frame by frame before it leaves, because a reel that still has a still in it is the mistake everyone notices.
- 04
Post, read, adjust
We post, we read what held and what was dropped, and the next list is written from that. Watch time tells us more than likes do.
Should a brand make reels, TikToks or Shorts?
All three, from one shoot, if the buyer is on all three. The platforms reward slightly different things: TikTok favours the hook and the native feel, Instagram favours the look and the share, Shorts favour the search term in the title. We cut once and adjust the opening and the caption per platform rather than posting the same file everywhere. If your buyer is only on one of them, we only make one, and say so.
What a reel from us always has
- A first second that is not a logo.
- Captions a viewer can read with the sound off, checked against the audio.
- One idea, finished, rather than three ideas started.
- A last frame that says the next step without shouting buy now.
- A file delivered in the size each platform wants, checked before it is called done.
What it costs
Starter's content option is four short videos and three carousels a month. Standard is eight short videos and six carousels, plus the posters, the search work and the emails. Standard does not include on-site photography or videography; a shoot on your premises is priced on its own under Tailored, and we tell you that before you sign rather than after.
You keep every file, every cut and the raw footage. If we part, the library is yours.
The questions that follow.
Do you shoot the video or do I send footage?
Either. We shoot in the studio and on location, and we also cut footage you send. Phone footage is fine if it is steady and lit; we will tell you honestly if it is not.
How long should a reel be?
As long as the idea needs and not a second longer. Most of ours land well under a minute. Length is decided in the cut, not in the brief.
Can you make customer-made video work for a brand?
Yes. We brief creators and customers, collect the clips and cut them into something that looks like your brand rather than a stranger's phone.
Do you post for me?
Yes, if you want, including captions, timing and the replies in the first hour. Or we deliver the files and a schedule and you post.
How do you measure video?
Watch time and what the viewer did next. Views alone are a vanity count; a reel that is watched to the end and sent to a friend is the one we make more of.
The price is published.
Where this leads.
No deck. No discovery theatre. One metric, one date, in the contract.