Field notes from a working director. Branded content, documentary craft, and the questions to ask before signing the SOW.
When a director-led boutique studio beats a full-service agency, and when it doesn't. An honest comparison from a working director who runs both relationships.
Featured: Kelly Slater × Slater Designs →
A working water cinematographer on the real cost factors, the hidden risks brands don't see, and how to vet someone before you put your shoot at the mercy of the ocean.
Featured: 2026 Water Cinema Reel →
B2B video has a reputation problem. Here's how to make work that buyers actually finish, from a director who shoots both consumer and B2B brands.
Featured: WSL + Eero →
Brand activations live or die on the camera plan. A director's guide to capturing real energy at live events without scripting the spontaneity out.
Featured: The WAI KAI Experience →
A director's playbook for product launch films. The hero-plus-cutdowns model that makes launch budgets pay back, and the mistakes that quietly kill them.
Featured: Reef × Paipo →
The role most production teams underweight. Why a great operator changes the day, and how to find one before you book the shoot.
Featured: Tim Tadder × Epson →
A field guide for directors and producers hiring a DP. The signals that predict craft, the questions that reveal taste, and the red flags worth walking away from.
Featured: Ready × Giannis Antetokounmpo →
A working director-DP on the real economics and creative tradeoffs of hiring one person to direct and shoot your project. When the hybrid wins, when it doesn't.
Featured: Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable →
The brief that turns a branded documentary into a real film. A working director's checklist for what to include, what to cut, and what to never put in writing.
Featured: The WAI KAI Experience →
When to use your in-house brand studio and when to hire an outside director. A practical 2026 framework for brand teams squeezed by budget and scope.
Featured: WSL + Eero →
The 10 questions that separate a director who will deliver from one who will burn your budget. Written by a director, for the marketers who hire them.
Featured: Kelly Slater × Slater Designs →
What a branded documentary really costs in 2026. Real ranges from a working director, what drives the number up, and how to think about cost per year of usable brand value.
Featured: Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable →
A director's field guide to choosing between a branded documentary and a brand commercial. Two questions that decide the format before you write the brief.
Featured: Marmon × The Wasp →