Initially, our collaborations with clients began with single-project requests, often driven by an immediate need: a fundraising film, a communications campaign, an annual report, or coverage of a major event. We saw an opportunity to do things differently.
Some of the most meaningful stories an organization can tell happen far from its headquarters: a health program in Sierra Leone, an education initiative in Ethiopia, a livelihoods project in Guinea. They’re also some of the hardest stories to film well.
Often we have clients who say they want an animated explainer or a documentary style film. But they haven’t clearly thought about the message they want to share and whether the format they’ve asked for is the best approach. Knowing this is important because the format influences many of the next decisions that shape the production: tone, cost and timeline.
For 15 years, Eidolon Films has been driven by a singular passion: telling compelling non-fiction stories that resonate deeply with audiences. Our journey has been one of constant evolution, marked by a relentless pursuit of efficiency, speed, and above all, a distinctive storytelling aesthetic. While we’ve honed our craft in every facet of production, the most significant transformation has been scaling our operation from a hands-on, wear-every-hat model to a sophisticated system where our vision guides every frame, even when we’re thousands of miles away.
At Eidolon Films, we believe in the power of authentic storytelling to connect with audiences on a human level. But what happens when that authentic content can be strategically repurposed to meet a new and pressing marketing need? This is the story of how our ongoing work with the Appraisal Institute on their “What I Value” series led to an innovative and cost-effective solution for a completely new campaign.
Organizations have a thirst for content; a desire to engage their audience regularly. We’ve been working for 15 years to meet that need with cinematic, authentic stories of impact. Yet a complementary approach to content creation has recently struck our interest: the podcast.
If you haven’t been sleeping under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard about or used ChatGPT in recent months. Since its public release 5 months ago, it seems as if the technology has made leaps and bounds, and endless media coverage laments the potential loss of jobs/fields, the end of work entirely, or the complete destruction of humanity (hello Skynet).
Since COVID, we’ve worked hard to reimagine our work as storytellers by utilizing existing footage in fresh ways, creating animated stories and asking subjects to record themselves remotely. These approaches were drawn from early experiences pivoting our content creation during the pandemic.
Often a failed video comes as a result of unclear goals and audience. Without clearly defined goals and audience, it’s easy for the video to lose its way – it’s confusing, long-winded, lacking emotion and overstuffed with information. Revisit the client’s original goals and audience and ensure that those remain when beginning to tackle the project.
We’ve been thinking a lot lately about creativity, specifically taking creative risks. As we get older, we become more fearful of taking creative risks while at the same time having more confidence in our creative ability. It’s a strange mindset, but one we’re willing to bet is faced daily by creative professionals.
A video production has many moving parts, each incurring its own cost with many variables affecting that cost. Clients often approach us, asking: “how much does a 3 minute video cost?” And we’ll answer, “well, it depends” and then we’ll ask questions. Often, they’ll pause on the answers. So we thought it would be helpful to break down the questions every organization should ask and answer before budgeting a video production.
Organizations often approach us requesting a single video that will do everything for them. It must communicate the nuance of what they do and how, in an emotional and engaging way. “Oh, and can you do it in 2 minutes or less?” Instead, we recommend a collection of video assets that can serve different purposes on multiple platforms. That means using different approaches. Here are 5 types of video every organization needs and why.