Our latest film is out. Nevis × Focus is a three-minute film for Nevis, an AI platform for wealth managers. It went out with the news that Focus Financial Partners had chosen Nevis for its whole business. Watch it below, and find the full credits on the Nevis × Focus film page.
Most announcement films start with the same problem. There’s news, there’s a date it has to land on, and the people who need to be in the film have about an hour to spare. Here’s how we approach them, with Nevis × Focus as the example.
Make it about the decision
First, be clear about what kind of film you’re making. On the day you announce a partnership, there are no results yet. So it isn’t a customer story. That comes later, once there’s something to show.
An announcement film has to rest on the decision itself: why these people made it, and what waiting would have cost them. In Nevis × Focus, two chief executives and a chief operating officer explain why they chose a platform rather than another tool.
It also helps to know exactly who it’s for. Nevis × Focus is for the people who run large advisory firms. They see a new AI product every week. They don’t need a demo. They want to know whether serious people made a serious choice.
Ask questions, don’t write lines
Senior people reading a script almost always look like they’re reading a script. You get a better film by writing good questions and letting people answer in their own words.
We wrote the story in three acts and planned the questions for each speaker in advance. Nobody had a line to learn. After filming, we rebuilt the script from what they actually said. That’s how the film came to open with Justin Ferri, Focus’s chief operating officer:
“10 or 20 years ago, making a mistake with a technology decision was not crippling for your business. Today, that’s no longer the case.”
Justin Ferri, Chief Operating Officer, Focus Financial Partners
Nobody wrote that for him. It’s the whole argument in two sentences, and it came out of the interview. There’s usually a line like that in there somewhere. Finding it is a big part of the edit.
Plan the day around their diaries
When the people on camera run companies, their time is the thing you’re really managing. Nevis × Focus was filmed in a single afternoon.
- Each speaker had about half an hour on camera, with their questions sent ahead.
- Portraits were taken while the room was reset, so nobody waited around.
- The lighting was planned so nothing needed relighting between interviews.
- The group conversation came last, on five cameras, and everyone stayed for it.
If you only get an hour of someone’s day, plan it to the minute and protect it.
Let the room help
Where you film says something before anyone speaks. Nevis × Focus was filmed in a panelled library on the Upper East Side. The room came empty, so everything you see was brought in.
The walls are old wood and marble. The furniture went the other way: a lighter rug, a modern table, glass and metal lamps. For a film about an established firm choosing new technology, that mix does some of the talking.
Show people, not screens
There isn’t a single product screen in Nevis × Focus. The audience has seen plenty of software. What they hadn’t seen was these three people explaining their choice, and that’s what makes the case.
Leave room for both companies to review it
When two firms announce together, both will want to sign off the film, so build that into the plan. Nevis × Focus went through five cuts in eight days, with both companies reviewing each one.
The second cut taught us the most. It was faster, but it lost some of its confidence. The cuts after it slowed down and let the conversation lead. Pace matters, but not at the cost of sounding sure.
Get more than one film from the day
Once you’ve got senior people together in one room, it’s worth getting more than one film. The same afternoon gave us a longer conversation between the three of them, which comes out later. And once the platform has been running long enough to show results, that’s the time for the customer story.
Got news to announce?
If you’ve got a partnership or a launch coming up, and a date it has to land on, tell us about it. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, or you can call us on 07412 543822. You can also see more of our financial services video production and our work for technology and AI companies.
Questions about announcement films
How long does it take to make a partnership announcement film?
Nevis × Focus took a little under five weeks from first contact to the final film. That was 12 days to plan, one afternoon of filming, and 22 days to finish, including five rounds of edits reviewed by both companies. The fixed point is usually the announcement date, so the plan has to fit the time you have.
Should executives read from a script?
We’d avoid it. Write the questions instead, interview them, then build the script from what they say. Executives answering good questions sound like themselves, and that’s the version their peers believe. Nevis × Focus opens on a line nobody wrote.
What should an announcement film say if there are no results yet?
Talk about the decision: why the people involved made the choice, and what it would have cost to wait. Save the results for a customer story, once the work has run long enough to show what changed.
How long should a partnership announcement video be?
Nevis × Focus runs three minutes. That’s long enough for three senior people to make the case in their own words, and short enough to go out with the news. If there’s more to say, film a longer conversation on the same day and release it separately.
Nevis × Focus was made for Nevis, with Focus Financial Partners. It was filmed in New York with our US production partner and finished by our own team. Full credits are on the film page.
