Behind the scenes: how a converting video is born
A video that converts isn't shot. It's designed. The part where we turn on the camera is 15% of the work. The remaining 85% happens before, in rooms without cameras, in front of paper, calendars, and numbers. This article tells you everything that happens behind — in the exact order we do it.
If you're reading this thinking about getting a video made, we want you to know where your money actually ends up. If you're reading because you work in the industry, we want to be honest about how we think — no secret recipes, just a method.
The seven phases of our process
Brief — understanding what the client actually wants
The brief that arrives is never the real brief. The client says "I want an elegant video" and means "I want to sell more." They say "I want something like Apple's" and mean "I want to look serious."
Our job in this phase is to translate generic desires into measurable objectives. How many sales? To which audience? On which channel? With what media budget after production? Without these answers, we don't start. Literally.
Strategy — deciding the format before the idea
It sounds counterintuitive, but format comes before script. A video for TikTok isn't an Instagram video cut down. A 6-second YouTube pre-roll isn't a truncated 30-second commercial.
In this phase we decide: length, aspect ratio, where it will be seen, on what device, with or without audio on by default. Only then do we start writing. If you write a beautiful idea for the wrong format, you've already lost.
Script — writing for the scrolling eye
The first shot has to stop the thumb. Not "intrigue", not "introduce." Stop. You have less than two seconds before the user moves on.
We write in very short paragraphs, each line is a shot. Then we read it out loud. If a line doesn't work spoken, it won't work on screen either. This filter eliminates 40% of what we write. It's a healthy filter.
Storyboard — drawing everything before shooting
Every shot gets drawn. Badly, often by hand, sometimes with references pulled from Pinterest. It doesn't matter if it's ugly. It matters that it exists.
The storyboard serves two purposes: making sure the director, the DP, and the client are all picturing the same film, and calculating how much time we'll need on set for each scene. Whoever shoots without a storyboard burns money. It's math.
Set — where as little as possible goes wrong
A well-organized set is a boring set. If someone's running, there's a problem. If everyone's improvising, it was planned badly. The right set has a call sheet detailed to the minute, clear roles, realistic margins, and one thing many people underestimate: catering. A hungry crew shoots badly. Always.
The director on set shouldn't be inventing. They should execute what's already been decided in pre-production, fixing only what actually needs fixing.
Post-production — where 50% of the result is born
Editing isn't finishing. It's rewriting. In editing we decide pacing, we cut lines that seemed to work on set, we compact things, we add music and sound design.
Sound is the most underrated part of the process. A mediocre video with excellent audio feels like cinema. An excellent video with amateur audio feels like a home movie. We always invest in sound design. It's not an extra: it's half the craft.
Distribution — the part almost nobody plans
A video that doesn't get seen doesn't convert. We know, it sounds obvious, and yet 70% of clients come to us without a distribution plan. "We'll put it on Instagram and see" is not a plan.
We plan distribution alongside the video. Which cuts to make, in how many formats, with what captions, with what sponsorship budget, for which audiences. A video without distribution is a file. A video with distribution is a commercial tool.
What actually measures conversion
A video that converts isn't measured in views. Views are vanity metrics. It's measured in:
- Watch time — how much of the duration was actually watched
- Click-through rate — who, after watching, clicked to learn more
- Cost per acquisition — how much it cost, on average, to acquire a customer thanks to that video
- 30-day retention — of those who came from the video, how many are still customers after a month
A video with a million views and zero CTR is a failure. A video with a hundred thousand views and 12% CTR is a success. Numbers, taken alone, never tell the truth. They have to be read together, and in relation to the objective set in phase 01.
The most common mistake
Confusing the video with the marketing. The video is a piece of the marketing, it's not the marketing. It can be the central piece, the most important one, the one that sparks the fire — but on its own it doesn't sell anything. A brilliant video without a coherent landing page, without follow-up emails, without a remarketing sequence, is a beautiful flash that dies in two days.
That's why when we work on a video, we always ask to look at everything else: where does the person who clicks land? What happens next? What will they receive via email in three days? If there are no answers, that's where the real work begins.
The question you should be asking yourself
If you're thinking about making a video for your brand, don't start from the question "who will make it for me?". Start from: what do I want to happen after someone has watched it? If you have a clear answer, you can start. If you don't, it's not yet the moment for the video — it's before, it's in understanding clearly what you're actually selling.
Our work begins from that question. And sometimes it ends there, if we realize the client doesn't yet have a clear picture. We'd rather say "wait" than deliver a video that won't work. It's more honest, and in the long run it works better for everyone.