In today’s fast-paced, digital-first world, video is one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s arsenal. Whether it’s for social media, websites, or even traditional broadcast, high-quality video content is a key driver for engagement, brand recognition, and conversion. There’s a lot that can be done with simple…

New work from Long Haul Films– UPPAbaby + Leslie Osborne just in time for the Women’s World Cup

This spring, Long Haul Films collaborated with Southern California fashion brand Dalix on a brand video, and it got us thinking about what goes into creating video content for fashion brands that catches the eye and connects with the audience. These are our top ten tips for creating a…

In today’s digital age, where attention spans are shrinking and competition is fierce, incorporating video content into your website has become more important than ever. Video has emerged as a highly effective medium to engage, captivate, and connect with your target audience. From boosting user experience to enhancing conversion…

We’re excited to formally introduce our new photo shoot studio in Los Angeles and video production studio in Los Angeles. We’ve named it Be Here Now, and it’s a flexible, colorful, airy, and light-filled space for video content creation, head shot photo shoots, web video production, wardrobe fitting, production…

Our most recent collaboration on video content with long-time client UPPAbaby was for a video to support the launch of their JADE Rabbit stroller, to commemorate the Chinese New Year, and 2023– the year of the rabbit. This special edition stroller launched in the US, Taiwan, and China– which…

After more than a decade of sending written updates to share our favorite work with our community, we finally got around to using our video production super-powers for ourselves! Check out our first video newsletter, featuring projects we loved working on in 2022, including… Starring our co-founder and Director…

Back in 2022, Long Haul Films was invited to collaborate with the team at Society Brands, a tech-enabled consumer products company that acquires e-commerce brands and evolves them into household names.

A few weeks back, we shared the first two episodes of a new documentary series we are co-creating with the good folks at Firefox. We’re excited that two more episodes have gone live since then, and are loving the eclectic, diverse, and compelling the stories that we’re capturing for…

This collaboration with Firefox profiles intriguing digital creators who use the internet to do things differently.

Deeper Connections is a regular series where we introduce you to friends and colleagues whose work we love, and who we love to work with. You may meet them if you collaborate with us, you may want to hire them yourself. And you’ll definitely want to learn more about…

If you have decided that your business or cause needs some video mixed in with its marketing andadvertising, it may be time to look for a video production company to help you out. In our previouspiece, ‘Why Hire a Video Production Company?’, we discussed the reasons why a video productioncompany…

There’s an old showbiz adage that goes “never work with children and animals”. We’ve worked with both pretty extensively over the years in our video productions, including a multi-year partnership creating video content with UPPAbaby, showcasing their strollers and car seats. And we can confirm that especially when it…

We already posted 5 questions to ask your video production partners. We thought of 5 more and these are questions you really need to ask to make sure YOUR areas of liability and exposure are fully covered. Question 1: What is the file backup plan? There are two types…

So you’ve decided to commission some video content from your brand and you’re deep in the hiring process. What are the questions you must ask to make sure you give yourself the best chance of success with the project? Question 1: Who is on the team and how diverse…

Most businesses now recognize that engaging video content is an essential part of their marketing mix, whether it’s short snippets for Instagram or TikTok, or more in-depth storytelling that they share on YouTube or Facebook. But when everyone’s cell phone has a built-in “4K resolution” camera, why on earth…

“Nothing gets me more jazzed than witnessing the birth of a new, great idea. I get the chills when it happens.” Meet Will Burns of Ideasicle X.

After doing this work for more than a decade, I am drawn more than ever to be of service to those who are driven by a deeper purpose. Consider this reel a call to those dreamers, guides, teachers, founders, community builders, activists, artists. For the ones forging new paths,…

When the global pandemic upended the live event industry, Bizzabo saw an opportunity and pivoted their strategy. 2020 saw the Bizzabo platform support some of the biggest virtual events in the world. Learn more in the latest video produced for global venture firm Next47.

Stream our award-winning documentary “Adele and Everything After” on Amazon, iTunes, Vimeo and other platforms now.

A short documentary taking you behind the scenes with PATH, DoorDash ,and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria as they deliver meals to those in need.

A guest post from our friends at Soundstripe on why video production skills matter for modern marketers

Since our early days, Long Haul Films has created video content for events, but typically it was a short video or two. As 2021 kicked off and the pandemic limited in-person gatherings, we collaborated with our friends at Eventique Event Planning to produce video content for their client, cosmetics…

‘A First’ is a short film set in the 90s that explores female friendship in all its nuance and complexity; those youthful relationships that were so intense and intimate and insular and very much love stories.

Ari’s Take Academy is is shaking up the music industry. We got to film with some of the talented musicians who have benefitted from taking classes at ATA. Check out their stories in this short documentary we created.

What will post-pandemic production look like? In celebration of surviving– and sometimes even thriving– in this wild year, here are the top lessons learned from pandemic filmmaking, and our predictions for what aspects of our industry may be transformed for good.

With film festival season in full swing, we’re re-sharing a popular post with tips for getting the most out of the post-screening Q&A session. Updated for COVID-19 virtual screenings!

Tips from the field about finding the right focus for your documentary, and how to nurture the story and your subjects over time.

The documentaries we loved watching from our living room at SXSW Online 2021

Against the backdrop of 2020’s myriad challenges, we’ve been documenting the story of a team trying to change how the world moves. Virgin Hyperloop invited us behind the scenes as they tried (and succeeded) to safely transport the first people in a hyperloop pod– a bold and potentially gamechanging…

Maybe it’s today’s US election. Maybe it’s preparing to wrap production on a documentary about a team trying to achieve a breakthrough that naysayers call impossible. Maybe it’s the challenge of producing a multi-country shoot in the middle of a pandemic.  Whatever the case, I’ve been thinking about uncertainty…

I remember it very clearly. Home from college on easter break, I dragged my parents to the cinema to watch Magnolia. Three hours and eight minutes, but my eyes were glued to the screen for the entire time. Wild horses (or raining frogs) could not have dragged me away….

We took a little hiatus from blogging this summer, but we’re back and want to talk about a documentary short we filmed in 2016 that keeps finding new audiences in 2020. Nothing Compares follows Julian Stefoni, the lead singer of a Prince tribute band, in the months following Prince’s…

This week we have a guest post from Drew Gula over at Soundstripe, one of our favorite music libraries, all about building trust with branded content. Branded content is a means of indirect advertising. In other words, it’s a way of spreading brand awareness without having to push a…

Here’s a question that’s been on our minds a lot the past few weeks; what does film production look like going forward? First we’ll state the obvious: the video and film production industries have been hit hard by the impacts of coronavirus. At the same time, there has been…

Earlier this year, we got the opportunity to collaborate with a new client, ColorProof ColorCare Authority, a line of professional luxury products designed for color-treated hair. Having spent a lot of the winter working on a verité documentary set in the tech world, this was a great opportunity to…

One thing that has really inspired us during the COVID lockdown has been how people have shared their experience, insight and talents online. From DJ sets by Questlove and D-Nice to webinars from award-winning filmmakers to Ryan Heffington’s Instagram-live dance classes/parties, we’ve been really enjoying all of the amazing…

With the rise in popularity of video as a tool to convey your organization’s mission and values, chances are that at some point, you’ll have to sit down for an on-camera interview. Recently, we shared 5 tips to help you prepare for your interview, and we wanted to delve…

We’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years at Long Haul Films: everyone from small business owners to global CEOs. While some people love the limelight, we’ve found that the majority of people experience at least a little bit of apprehension in front of the camera. With the rise…

This week we’re releasing a new promo video for the Going Deeper eBook and wanted to share it here first. Don’t forget you can download the book here: longhaulfilms.com/going-deeper-book and it’s completely free.

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. There is no single industry that loves jargon and made-up names quite like the film industry. If you’ve ever been asked to C-47 some…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. There is no single industry that loves jargon and made-up names quite like the film industry. If you’ve ever been asked to C-47 some…

We wrote a book! Going Deeper is for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of how to craft engaging, truly entertaining videos that will catch people’s attention and communicate something meaningful about their product or service. This is a guide for marketers, entrepreneurs, business owners, social media…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. There is no single industry that loves jargon and made-up names quite like the film industry. If you’ve ever been asked to C-47 some…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. A little ad spend goes a long way Funny how all these platforms are all about relevance and engagement until you have a little…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Our expertise definitely lies on the production side of things, so if you’re serious about making the most of your investment into a branded…

Deeper Connections is a regular series where we get the chance to introduce you to friends and colleagues whose work we love, and who we love to work with. You may meet them if you collaborate with us, you may want to hire them yourself, and you’ll definitely want…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Over the past few weeks we’ve looked at all the factors that we would consider when putting together a proposal for our fictional prospective…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Before the production company can write up the bid, they will need to take a few things into consideration: Time Needed In pre-pro the…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Over the next few weeks we’re going to take a look at what branded content costs to produce by running through our example project…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. This week we’ll look at the feedback process – the part between delivering v1, making updates and then producing the final deliverable version. The…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week we started our look at the post-production phase of the project. This week we’ll look at some essential steps as we get…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. We’re back from hiatus and hope you all had a fabulous festive season and a positive start to this new decade. Before the break,…

We love to get reflective at the end of the year, and with a decade coming to a close, we can’t help but look back. Ten years ago, Long Haul Films was a wild dream. We never imagined that a decade later, we’d be flying around the world to…

Aaaargh. We’re sorry. We’ve gone radio silence the last few weeks on Going Deeper, and the truth is that we’ve been practicing what we preach – we’ve been crazy busy with amazing client projects and the holidays and everything else. So we’re going to take a little break between…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week looked at how to conduct interviews as one part of a successful branded content shoot. The counterpart to interviews is b-roll, the…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. On many branded content shoots, the production phase will be split up into two main parts: interviews and b-roll. Let’s take a deep dive…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week we started to look at some of the on-set roles you can expect to see during a branded content shoot. This week…

The key to a seamless production phase is having a clear division of roles and responsibilities, so let’s break those down here. Director The Director is the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to executing the production. While they will certainly seek advice from other key personnel, the buck stops…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week we started looking at what the pre-production process can look like for branded content. This week we’ll wrap up…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. As we’ve seen, there are many types of branded content, and just as many ways to approach them. But there are…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. If you have a specific budget you’re looking to stay within, don’t be shy – tell your prospective production partners. We…

Welcome to Deeper Connections, a new monthly series where we’ll introduce you to friends and colleagues whose work we love, and who we love to work with. You may meet them if you collaborate with us, you may want to hire them yourself, and you’ll definitely want to learn…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. As we mentioned last week, you should be prepared, at the bidding stage, to provide a written brief. Not only is…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. When you have a shortlist of companies you might want to work with, it’s often best to meet up in person…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week we looked at two ways to find potential production companies to work with on your branded content project. This…

Last week we concluded our list of reasons why you might want to be thinking about branded content as part of your marketing mix, and hopefully we were persuasive in our arguments, and so your natural next question will be how you go about actually procuring some branded content.

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week we talked about two reasons why branded content could be a great idea for you: traditional advertising is struggling,…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. There are many reasons why branded content has grown in popularity over the last decade, and why many marketers are thinking…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. In the past two weeks we’ve looked at documentary-style content and brand mission content. The final type of branded content we…

iRestore is a laser hair therapy company based in Orange County, and just last month they launched their newest product, the iRestore Professional – a new, higher-end device that represents a step-up from their original laser helmet device. This shoot was all about the up-level. The client had produced…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. Last week we looked one of the possible forms of branded content, documentary-style content. This week we’re diving into another –…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why. This week we’re looking at one of the possible forms that branded content can take: documentary-style content. We live in a…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why? Last week we delved into the question of what is branded content. This week we’re going a little deeper, and we’re…

This post is part of an ongoing series called Going Deeper where we look at branded content production through the lens of the world’s most important question: why? In 2018, Forbes ran an article called Branded Content Is The Future And It’s Already Much Bigger Than You Realize. It…

Most of the work we do for our clients is what we would term branded content. It’s a phrase that’s going to become more important for marketers, as audiences tune out blatant promotion in favor of authentic storytelling that conveys mission and values, and provides meaning and value. That’s…

Creativity is our word of 2019 and nothing is more creative than making a music video. That’s why we decided to hold a competition this year and choose one artist to work with FOR FREE on a music video. We received some incredible submissions, and the decision wan’t easy….

Sometimes the only way forward is to go back. I’ve been asking myself a lot about my influences, and how the art and culture of my youth shaped the stories I need to tell. I’m a 90s kid, and as I was coming of age, the art that blew…

The day we filmed Orchid Quartet’s music video Summertime felt like the first day of spring after an unusually cool and rainy Los Angeles winter. Two days before the shoot, the city was doused by an all-day storm. Yet, somehow, the day of our shoot broke clear and sunny….

Last year, we decided to create a statement of core values that could be shared with free lance crew members and new clients. This felt like an important thing to do in the age of #metoo. I’m a woman who runs a company and directs movies. I believe in…