Breakdowns

How we created surrealistic floating product shots without VFX.

Why do so many brands blow their budget on one hero video… only to have it flop? It’s the same story every time: 👉 Go into the field with a full crew 👉 Pour all your resources into one hero piece 🤞 Hope it lands But what if that hero asset doesn’t perform? Instead of

Brands that only chase quick hits on social are missing out on what really matters. Short-form content like memes, quick hits, and transactional pieces definitely has its place. It’s great for grabbing attention, sparking quick reactions, and staying relevant in the fast-paced world of social media. But longer-form content drives earned engagement. That’s where the

The best shots of the day came from a $200 monopod. On a recent shoot we skipped the gimbal and went full lo-fi. Nigel Edwards strapped our cinema cam to a stick and started moving. Why? –> We had 20 athletes to capture and one day to shoot. –> Gimbals slow you down. –> The

We needed a shot that didn’t exist. So we built the rig. A spinning camera arm made from mashup of grip gear scraps. No motor. No stabilizer. Just weight, balance, and a few feet of gaffer tape. Each take, I’d give it a manual spin right before action, buying us 3 or 4 seconds of

We didn’t write a script for this one. We built the mood. When we filmed Vancouver Rise FC’s signing announcement for Quinn, we had a few seconds to make an impression and a lot of that came down to mood. Nigel Edwards and Jon Hunwick’s approach: No detailed script, no flashy transitions. Just lighting, fog,

Most brands are doing paid ads backwards. They spend big on producing content that hasn’t even been tested yet… Then wonder why it flops. Social is your testing ground: → Post 10 pieces a month organically → Let them run → Run paid on the top 20% We let your audience tell us what’s landing

Most content gets ignored. Not because it’s bad because it doesn’t do anything for the audience. At BrainStation, I broke down a simple framework we use at Magnafire to guide everything we make: Content should do at least one of three things: → Educate → *Entertain* → Inspire You can hit one, or two or

Most brands approach content production the wrong way. They chase the shiny object. One big hero asset. If it flops, the whole plan flops. “Following the content pyramid approach, you’re delivering significantly more value, 20x views, with only a marginal increase in effort.” Your shoot day is the multiplier. While the lights are on, create

Even the largest brands I’ve worked with struggle to create content across all platforms due to internal capacity. Our solution? The Content Pyramid. This method offers brands 8x more content with a minimal increase in effort, resulting in 20x more views. How does it work? → For every hero asset we create for a campaign

Tools of the trade. Why we chose 360 cameras and FPV drones for these shoots. 🤓

Real or not? Here’s how we created this seamless loop to support the launch of new tennis product.