Boston Corporate Promotional Short Film for Advertising and Websites.
A short film that gives a window into the culture of Investment Banking firm Tully & Holland. Conceived, photographed, and produced by David Shopper.
I am a Boston-based bespoke short film maker, as well as being a commercial photographer specializing in advertising photography. I create custom high-quality videos for business clients who want to capture the imagination of their audience through visual storytelling. My still commercial photography comprises four areas: corporate portraits, which involves creating professional headshots of executives or staff on location at a company office, board room during a board of director’s meeting, natural light business portraits that are often used for team pages, websites, LinkedIn headshots, social marketing, speaking engagement invites, etc. The second area is professional editorial-style candid corporate working photography, which captures business people in their offices working together, collaborating during business meetings, interacting, and pondering solutions to business challenges. The third area of expertise is in creating commercial lifestyle photography for advertising. Natural light, bright and enthusiastic sensibilities, and comfortable models define my photographs, and I work with advertising agencies, design studios, and in-house marketing departments to create custom visual solutions to enhance branded marketing. The fourth area is professional fashion photography in Boston, MA. I create fashion imagery for print advertising, manufacturer’s websites, website banners, e-commerce, lookbooks, and editorial magazine covers and features. I also offer model portfolio packages for models and actors looking to start a portfolio or expand their on-line presence.
But back to my short films.
My films are used on corporate websites to show the capability of a business. They are made for specific presentations to national and international clients. Often, they are used to put a face on a company and distributed for commercials, branded content, social media, and more. The corporate videos can be presented and shared on YouTube, Vimeo, web advertising, and business presentations.
Now more than ever, consumers want to know about the inner workings of a company (a “human connection”). They want to see not just what the business leaders look like, but how they relate to their colleagues and their potential customers. With a positive connection, the viewer can feel trust, a shared sense of values, and even an emotional relationship with the business. It’s a powerful call to action. It increases brand awareness, social authority, and ultimately sales.
Online video has increased eightfold in five years, and short storytelling introductions are quickly becoming the go-to for defining large and small businesses alike. In choosing a Boston or New York videographer, you want to work with someone who understands your business and is immersed in your corporate culture. David has worked with scores of Fortune 500 companies over the last 30 years.
At David Shopper Photography, I collaborate with my clients to storyboard motion that flows gracefully and tells a story in a visually interesting way. So before the first frame is shot, we spend a good deal of time creating the story -- an critical part of the process. It’s not enough to simply have an executive talking at a camera: the story should tell where the CEO is coming from, what his values are. In addition, there must be an appropriate production value in the lighting, the way the background is presented, transitions between A and B cameras, continuity of color and tone, and rich, consistent audio throughout.
I have been putting CEOs in front of a camera and making them feel comfortable since 1986; I’ve shot everywhere - from clean rooms to bar rooms, for clients in every industry from New York to LA and overseas.
When I create films for my Boston and NYC corporate clients, I strive to capture a slice of their business life. By that I mean inserting visual details of their business. Many of my clients are in the financial, insurance, healthcare, and life science sectors; interspersing details from a lab, conference room, brains storming session, white board, corporate event, or small meeting adds authentic details to the video. When you shoot on location, these details are everywhere. You don’t have to style the details, you simply have to capture them as they really are in a visually interesting way.
My local work is in the Boston, Cambridge, Woburn, Burlington, and the Danvers/Peabody, MA areas. I am Ipswich-based, so some of my commercial photography work is done for the Ipswich, Hamilton, Gloucester, Topsfield, Boxford, and Manchester areas, though these localities have less businesses which might need advertising photography. A lot of my work is comprised of the New England area, which includes New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut (Hartford and Stamford in particular), and Maine areas. I often travel to New York City, as a great deal of the Fortune 500 businesses have world headquarters there.
The short films I create are graceful, dynamic, and entertaining. Authentic corporate videos don’t so much try to tell everything about the company as much as give the viewer a feel for the values, personality, and culture of the firm. It’s a chance to present the firm to potential clients and make a lasting impression before the client even walks in the door.
Why produce a film with a still photographer? Many of my clients are looking to rebrand their corporate profiles by creating compelling still photography coupled with captivating video. By shooting both formats with one photographer, they get continuity across the mediums and a photographic (rather than a 3d party videographic) way to shoot. This is apparent in the way we light our subjects, using sophisticated natural light settings or using hot lights in a way that mimics natural light. We approach our projects as we would a very short feature film. This gives a sophistication and helps give authority to the video. Hiring a photographer who also shoots video is more economical, since you can combine many of the locations and setups for both video and still production.
As a corporate videographer, I shoot in high-definition and output the files for the custom use (so a video that will be displayed on, say, a website homepage will have different settings than one predominantly displayed on a smart phone).
Still photography will never die or be phased out. It won’t be replaced by video. But still-photography can be augmented by motion. Video is getting easier and easier to display and share, and it’s the future of personal branding.
So whether you’re a small business trying to kickstart your way up or an established corporation trying to connect to a new audience, let us work with you to create a lasting visual celebration of your brand.
David Shopper Photography 2 Central Street, Suite 17 Ipswich MA 01938 (978)-356-1011