One shoot, nine assets: a simple plan that makes budgets work harder

Most brands pay for a shoot, ship one hero film and leave value on the floor. The fast fix is to plan versioning before you pick a date. A single, well run day can give you a toolkit that feeds channels for months.

Start with where the work will live

Decide the channels early. Website, paid social, organic social, retail screens, LinkedIn, email, PR. Each platform prefers different pacing, framing and captions. If you know the destinations, you can capture variations without chaos.

The nine-asset toolkit

From one day, with a tidy plan, you can usually leave with:

1. Hero film, 30–45s

   Sets the story for launch pages and press. Clear open, clear close.

2. Vertical 15s

   Full-frame stories that hook in the first two seconds. Captions on. Works in Reels, Stories and Shorts.

3. Square 15s

   Feed-friendly cut that respects tight cropping. Use bolder type.

4. 6s bumper

   A clean hit that names the product or promise. Useful for paid support.

5. Product highlight 10–15s

   One feature, one benefit, one CTA. Keeps retargeting honest.

6. Testimonial 10–20s

   A credible human line that builds trust. Staff or customer, recorded clean.

7. Looping banner 6–8s

   For site headers or retail screens where there is no sound.

8. Three graded stills

   For thumbnails, CRM and PR. Shot with intent, not screen-grabs.

9. One behind-the-scenes still

   For LinkedIn and internal comms. Makes the brand feel open and human.

How to shoot for versioning without slowing down

Script transitions and natural cut points into the schedule. Capture wides and close-ups for every key moment. Record two minutes of room tone for clean edits. Shoot at least one neutral plate for text overlays. If a stakeholder needs confidence, share a short pulse cut on the day so they can see direction without derailing the plan.

File hygiene that keeps teams sane

Agree folder structure and naming before export. Use standard names such as Brand_Project_Asset_Ratio_V1.mov. Deliver captions as SRTs and note export settings. It feels dull. It saves hours.

What to measure afterwards

Pick useful numbers. Completion rate on the hero, play rate on the verticals, saves and replies on organic, click-through on the bumper. Do not chase vanity metrics that do not relate to your goal.

Try this

Open your next brief and add a section called Versioning. List the nine assets you want and where they will live. Costs become predictable because the output is clear before you roll a camera.