You can commission a corporate film before you have a finished script. Start with the purpose, audience and intended use. Agree on the message, available people and locations, deliverables and approval process, then move through planning, filming, editing and delivery. Timelines, revision rounds, source materials and usage scope need project-specific agreement rather than assumptions based on a sample film.
Turn “we need a video” into a purpose
Is the film introducing a brand, helping sales explain a service or documenting a team culture? Choose a primary job before listing messages. References can communicate pace and style, but explain what you value in them instead of copying another organisation’s people or storyline.
Make resources visible during planning
Share brand information, possible interviewees, locations and existing media so the team can assess the story. Agree on the treatment, interview topics, locations and schedule together. Difficult product shots or motion graphics also need an approach and scope at this stage.
Prepare people, places and sound
Assign a contact who can coordinate the location. Check availability, noise, power and filming restrictions. Interviewees should understand the topics and intended use; memorising every word is rarely the only approach. Plan framing and sound with any language or portrait-format versions in mind.
Give actionable edit feedback
Review the story and key facts before fine details such as titles and subtitles. Have one contact consolidate feedback using timecodes, the issue and the requested change. New footage, reshoots or a changed direction need a scope discussion rather than being treated as routine corrections.
Check the final deliverables
Check company and personal names, figures, subtitles, aspect ratios and versions, then test the intended playback setting. A main film does not automatically include cutdowns, clean versions, subtitle files or raw footage. Confirm usage arrangements for music, contributors and external media with the appropriate reviewers.
Bring three things to the first discussion
Bring the purpose, intended placement and required completion date. List unknowns as questions. WEDO’s existing brand films can support a discussion about style, while responsibilities and deliverables remain specific to each commission.
A quick commissioning checklist
- Who is the audience, what is the purpose and where will it play?
- Who provides people, locations and information?
- Who consolidates feedback, when is approval due and which versions are delivered?