AEC Marketing Tips, Advice & Ideas

Welcome to Hollywood! What it Takes to Make a Minute.

September 6th, 2017 by Hilary Adorno

What exactly do we do at Golden Egg? There is no one sentence or phrase to succinctly describe all the ways that we work to help our clients in the built environment, so Lindsey decided a visual narrative could be the answer. This was the genesis of our new brand film “Connected: The Built Environment."

Before dawn, in late July, Lindsey and I made our way to the far east (of Connecticut), meeting a production team and camera crew at an active construction site to capture some live-action site work in progress. For the initial sequences, I acted as an uninvited production assistant, untrained still photographer, unnecessary script supervisor and director of the loose strands hair department. Thanks to capable team at The Union Productions, our first location objectives were “in the can” by 11:00 AM. 

We then caravanned to downtown Hartford to continue our day of filming, doing our level best to find affordable parking solutions.

First obstacle: who knew you had to commit your license plate number to memory to feed the automated parking attendant? Not I! With what felt like 50 pounds of gear and enough clothing for a week, we had to hoof it back to the parked cars to recall our respective plate numbers and still had to ask the live attendant for help! 

Hurdle conquered, we entered location number two, an office space on the 3^rd floor of mixed use building on Asylum Street. Next impediment: the elevator was out of service, requiring a great slog to get the aforementioned gear up the stairs. Panting like I’d just completed the Tour de France, I entered our location, which was a balmy 80 degrees. No problem, years of property management has made me a master at overriding ANY thermostat… I just had to locate them!

As the temperature (thankfully) began to plummet, I surveyed Union’s pre-production work and was pleased to see how thoughtfully and thoroughly they assembled our sets.  Next, I witnessed and participated in what it took to create our film.  There were rigs, lighting, reflectors, cameras, lenses, dollies, assistants, editors, supervisors, replay monitors – it was downright impressive and Union was 100% prepared. I also learned how to “Hollywood” (it’s an inside-the-film-industry term).

Several set and wardrobe changes later, we wrapped 12 hours after we started.

Now, that was just shoot day. Let’s not skim over the preliminary planning phases of this project, which began several months earlier. Developing the concept, creating and refining the script, evaluating cast options, acquiring props, determining shoot locations, procuring music... This was a big undertaking, not to mention a learning experience for both Lindsey and me. We were so grateful to have been in capable hands.

The finished product is a whopping 68 seconds - but that was the point. In just about one minute, we conveyed precisely what Golden Egg is all about.

Can video help tell your story?

We'd love to share our experience, and help you determine how a brand film like Connected can be useful in communicating your AEC firm's value. Hit us up!