Video Direction for Brand Experiences
Jara Wallace | 10.30.24
When you’re directing for brand experiences, it’s about more than capturing great footage—you’re balancing creative vision with logistical realities, while making your client and partners look great. Your role as a director is to be the conduit between brand stakeholders, the production team and your talent- encouraging collaboration amongst all and keeping the project true to its creative roots.
One particular moment that stands out was during a sprawling outdoor motorsports event. I was working with a talent who was fairly new to being on-camera. The shoot was intense, with a grueling schedule and mountains of footage to capture. The client had very specific messaging they wanted to get across in a variety of different exciting environments, not exactly an easy needle to thread for fresh on camera talent. By meeting the talent where he was and building trust, I managed to tap into his personal experiences, which wound up authentically communicating the brand’s messaging, even during some of our crazier moments. It wasn’t easy, but the real, human connection shone through in a way that resonated with the brand and audience alike.
In moments like these, it’s all about being adaptable, trusting your team, and keeping the brand’s voice clear, even when things don’t go perfectly. Production plans change and evolve, sometimes on a dime, but a brand’s message and creative northstar needs to stay the same. And that is the director’s true responsibility, maintaining the creative through an adaptable and collaborative mastery of storytelling.
After all, storytelling is the foundation of all great content. Whether it’s a social campaign or a live concert, effective storytelling connects the audience to the brand on a deeper level. Video, as a medium, offers unparalleled opportunities for this connection—there is no greater communicator of emotion, action, or intimate moments. At First Tube, we bring a unique advantage to this process because our directing is largely kept in-house. This means we can shape creative storytelling from the ground up, providing sharper, more intentional storytelling throughout production, and richer options in post-production.