Article
Specs don't sell. Scenes do.
Every line on a spec sheet hides a scene. A simple way to find product video ideas: ask who the spec saves, when, and what that looks like on screen.
Rad Todoroff · Founder3 min read
Article
Five product films people still remember
Honda, Sony, Dyson, IKEA and Red Bull made product films people still talk about. None read out a feature list. What each did, and what to take from it.
Rad Todoroff · Founder3 min read
Article
Your product has twelve features. Your ad has thirty seconds.
Twelve features, thirty seconds. Why the best product ads pick one point, and how to choose it without losing the details buyers need.
Rad Todoroff · Founder3 min read
Article
"Make it more premium" is not feedback
The five questions we settle on the storyboard before any filming starts, so changes happen on paper and not in the edit.
Rad Todoroff · Founder3 min read
Article
You can always spot a hybrid film at the seams
Live action, 3D and AI-generated footage in one film. What gives a hybrid video away, and what we do so the joins disappear.
Geo Manolov · Creative Director3 min read
Article
Vertical video is not a crop
Why cropping your landscape ad to 9:16 kills the joke, the product and the captions, and how we plan vertical versions before the shoot.
Geo Manolov · Creative Director3 min read
Article
Your food ad can be weird. The food still has to look good.
A food commercial can be strange, funny or surreal. It still has to make people hungry. How to keep the food the hero of the idea.
Rad Todoroff · Founder3 min read
Article
A plastic button should not sound like a bank vault
Sound is half of a short ad. Clicks, room tone, silence and the phone speaker test - how we design sound for 10 to 60 second commercials.
Geo Manolov · Creative Director3 min read
Article
A beautiful AI shot of the wrong product is still the wrong product
AI video can generate stunning scenes and a product with an extra button. The checklist we use to keep products accurate in AI-generated footage.
Rad Todoroff · Founder3 min read
Article
Don't make a new ad. Test three openings.
Before you pay for a brand new campaign, test three openings of the one you have. How to plan hook variations that teach you something.
Rad Todoroff · Founder2 min readCase study
Seven Shelly product films: how the product decides the method
Live action, 3D, AI or motion graphics - how we choose the technique for each Shelly smart home product, and what every one of the films has in common.
Case study
Shelly Wall Display: the film where the product was added afterwards
A 60-second product film shot on an empty wall in a rented apartment, with the display added in 3D. How the idea, the script and the method fit together.
Case study
Two leak sensors, two methods: real water and AI
Shelly Flood Gen4 was shot with real water in front of the camera. Flood S Gen4 was made with AI-generated footage. Two films for the same kind of product.
Case study
Christopher Hansard: course videos in the style of a MasterClass lesson
A filmed video series for Christopher Hansard's online courses - scripts written in-house, several shoot days, finished with motion graphics.
Case study
Fortelier: six short documentaries with no script
A documentary series profiling artists for Fortelier. No script - the artist leads, guided by a few interview questions. Filming, motion graphics and visual effects by Catchy Graphics.
Article
Live action, 3D or AI: how we choose for a product film
The technique should follow the product, not the other way round. Five ways to make a product film and when each one fits, with examples from our work.
Article
You do not need a brief to start a product video
What a video production company needs from you before it can quote, what you should get back, and where the changes should happen.