Ross and Cassie

The Problem:

Our client needed a series of short films for an e-learning programme to help employees understand different types of customer and to guide conversations about their needs and wants in terms of financial planning and services. The films should offer a glimpse into the home life of a variety of diverse families and characters, and the challenges they face. The filming challenge was heightened by COVID-19 restrictions.

The Solution:

In this story, we meet Ross and Cassie as they juggle the demands of life with a big family, and the financial pressure that the ever-changing needs of their growing children puts on them. To overcome restrictions around social distancing, the decision was taken to cast a real family and to film in a ‘video diary’ format. This also brought a level of warmth and a personal dynamic to the films that helped bring the characters and the stories to life.

We wanted the films to look authentic, with a bit of chaos and realism to them, so we filmed the footage on an iPhone. But rather than just have the actors self-shoot, we felt it was crucial to have our director present at the shoot to bring his expertise to the table, along with an understanding of the clients’ objectives. It meant he could offer hands-on (not literally!) help and guidance, think on his feet to work out how best to shoot the scenes, and assist the actors with their performances. Thus, ensuring we would come away from the day with the high-quality professional footage that we needed.

Learn more about this shoot and how we safely worked around COVID-19 restrictions in our blog post: Making it look easy isn’t as easy as it looks … (especially during a global pandemic).