The most expensive thing on a production is unused footage. We plan every shoot day as a matrix — hero cut, cutdowns, vertical crops, stills, BTS — with the callsheet built around that matrix, not around the hero alone.
The deliverables matrix
- Hero 60s film — the emotional anchor
- 3–5 cutdowns for paid and organic
- 9:16 verticals natively shot, not cropped
- Editorial stills captured between takes
- Behind-the-scenes for social proof
- Modular b-roll library for the next 12 months of content
Shoot the vertical natively
A 16:9 hero cropped to 9:16 always looks like a compromise. We block every hero moment in both frames, with the director monitoring both live. The extra 20 minutes on set saves a week in post and lifts vertical performance measurably.
One brief, one director, one taste
The reason 'more cuts' usually means 'worse cuts' is that different editors bring different taste. We keep one director across the whole matrix so the hero and the six-second bumper feel like the same brand talking.
"The shoot day is the cheapest day of the year to solve a content problem. Solve them all on set."
