Prospectus / 2026, The Model
A short prospectus on the way the engagement runs. Same team, same instinct, every month. The brands we partner with are not running one campaign, they are building a long-running visual identity, and the retainer model is what keeps that identity moving in one direction.
Same team, same instinct,every month.
Contents
- IThe Argument02
- IIWhat is Included03
- IIICadence and Process04
- IVCommon Questions05
- VDiscovery06
The Argument, three points.
Most brands hire a different videographer for each campaign and watch their visual identity drift. The retainer model is the answer to that, and the rest of this prospectus is an account of what changes when the rotation stops.
One eye, every piece.
Every video on retainer comes from the same team, the same camera language, the same color, the same instinct. The brand stops looking like seven different vendors stitched together.
Faster from brief to delivery.
We already know the brand, the audience, the look. Onboarding compresses from weeks to hours, every time. Tight deadlines stop being fire drills.
Planned a quarter ahead.
Retainer means we are thinking past the next campaign. Production is mapped to launches, hiring, fundraising, and the seasons your audience pays attention. The work compounds instead of resetting every time.
What is included, at every tier.
Every engagement is custom-scoped on the discovery call. The list below is what every retainer covers, regardless of cadence or volume.
Included in every retainer
- Cinema cameras and lighting
- Professional audio capture
- Cinematic color grading, ACES pipeline
- Drone and aerial coverage as needed
- Motion graphics and animation
- Licensed music sourcing
- Platform exports (16:9, 9:16, 1:1)
- Social cutdowns from main pieces
- Monthly planning calls
- Quarterly performance reviews
The cadence, without surprises.
A simple flow from discovery through quarterly review. Production days are mapped in advance, post runs in parallel, and the calendar holds.
- 01
Discovery and scoping.
Thirty-minute call. We learn the brand, the cadence, the audience. If we are a fit, we draft a retainer scope tailored to what you actually need, not what we want to sell.
- 02
Onboarding, weeks one and two.
Brand audit, voice references, look board, kickoff. By the end of week two, we are speaking your visual language well enough to direct a shoot without you in the room.
- 03
Monthly production cadence.
Production days are scheduled in advance. The post pipeline runs in parallel, with social cutdowns and platform exports included. A clear delivery calendar, not a flurry of last-minute asks.
- 04
Quarterly review.
What landed, what to adjust, what is next. We refine the visual direction every ninety days so the brand keeps moving forward, not in circles.
Common questions, straight answers.
A short reference for the questions retainer prospects ask most often. Anything not covered here is fair game on the discovery call.
- 01
How long is the initial term?
A 90-day initial term, then month-to-month. The first quarter is the runway for the visual language, the cadence, and the bench. After that the retainer flexes with whatever the brand is asking for, with thirty days notice on either side.
- 02
How is pricing structured?
Pricing is calibrated to scope on the discovery call. Cadence, channel mix, travel, and post complexity all factor in. Tiers are confirmed in writing once the scope is locked, with no surprise charges between deliverables.
- 03
What happens if our needs shift mid-quarter?
That is the point of the retainer. Production volume can shift inside the quarter without renegotiating the contract. New launches, schedule changes, and emergency cuts are absorbed into the existing scope. Major scope shifts get a quick reset call at the next monthly planning.
- 04
Do we keep our footage and color masters?
Yes. Footage and color masters are delivered to your library at the close of every shoot, in the formats your brand uses. The retainer covers your archive, not just the deliverables that ship.
- 05
Can we pause or scale the retainer between quarters?
Pauses are allowed for legitimate cause with thirty days notice. Scaling between tiers happens at the quarterly review, or sooner if a launch demands it. The producing team stays the same across every change so the brand voice never resets.
Section V, Discovery
Now bookingQ2 / Q3 2026
Pricing tiers and scope are confirmed on the discovery call, calibrated to the brand's cadence and the channels in scope.
Tell us what you are building, we will scope the rest.
Discovery calls are thirty minutes, free, and unrushed. We will tell you what a retainer would look like for the brand, or point you somewhere better if we are not the right fit.