Nobody sits in a chair in front of a logo wall.
The customer talks while doing something real from their day. The interview happens inside the routine, not instead of it… and the product shows up where it actually lives.
The look: lit well, one soft source when the scene needs it, real locations, camera work that feels expensive. But nothing staged.
If it feels produced, we've lost the raw part. If it looks cheap, we've lost the enterprise part. The whole job is holding both.
Six customers. Six real moments. What the series could look like.
Sketched to show the shape, not the shots. Once we know who the customers actually are, each one gets their own version of this.
We build the creative framework, then the energy to propel the series to success… here's how.
The story process and the direction are the constant. They carry from the first shoot to the last, so every testimonial is seamless with the next one and the whole series stays on brand and on theme. That's what the money is for.
Pre-production
Which customers, where, and what each one's story actually is. Then a storyboard and a shoot plan for every customer, signed off before anything is filmed.
Changes on paper are free. Changes in Dubai are not.
Same quality, different speed.
Two crew sizes. Both have the same baseline quality. What changes is how much we can make in a day, and how complex the shots can get.
Alok directs and runs sound. Hannah runs cameras and the production. A local gaffer in every city.
Same baseline quality. A smaller crew, for when a small footprint and staying flexible matter. Ideal for simpler shots and fewer testimonials.
Every role has its own person. Alok directs. Hannah produces. A local DP with a cinema package, a local sound recordist, a local gaffer.
Same baseline quality. More assets out of every day, and room for more complex shots.
Either way: same director, same plan, same look in every city.
The shoot
Day one is the person and their routine. Day two is the place, the b-roll, and anything we missed. Most customers get done in one.
Post, and the QC gate
Everything synced, organized, and colour-corrected. From there, two paths: your editors cut, and we hand over a graded, organized project with a selects reel… or we cut. Either works. It's one of the two questions at the end.
Either way, nothing goes to the client without a QC pass: audio levels and stereo, captions, music licensing, clean cuts. The boring stuff that makes enterprise clients trust you.
You asked for our best customer interviews. Here's the direction we'd take… and what we'd add on top.
The Wall of Stories
Black Tech Week, Cincinnati 2026. A pilot for a client: fifteen people, thirty-eight stories, one roaming crew on a conference floor, one day, no lights. Tap a face, hear the person.
It's not the finish this series needs. It is the direction. Raw, organic, vibey… people talking about something they care about, in the place it happened. This series takes that feel and adds the part a conference floor can't give you: the light, the sound, the time. Open the wall
If the client wants a straight compilation cut instead of a wall, say the word… it's an afternoon.
Multicam podcast, live from CCW Las Vegas
The 1Point1 booth, June 2025. Three cameras, a live conversation on a noisy show floor. Watch it
A selection of past work
Brand films, interviews, and event coverage from the last couple of years. Watch the reel
Alok Karnik
Director. Runs the interview and the sound. You've worked with him on CashFlow Kings, CCW Las Vegas, and the Pendleton shoot for Akash.
Cincy Social, Cincinnati. Brand documentaries, interviews, event coverage. No AI-generated content, ever.
Hannah Shoemaker
Cameras and visual direction. Commercial and creative photo and video background… composition, framing, lighting, styling, wardrobe, the set itself.
Also the production manager on this: project management certificate, has run corporate and creative projects end to end, PA experience on multiple film sets, and an event coordination background. The person who makes sure a shoot in Toronto and a shoot in Dubai feel like the same production.
Open now through the end of December. Nothing on the calendar that blocks travel. Give us dates and we'll hold them.
Priced as one series, not five separate shoots.
The hard part of this job is the thinking: the formula, the plan, keeping five cities consistent. So the base price covers the series. Crew, gear, and travel sit on top, at cost. The numbers here are approximate on purpose… they firm up after one call, with the answers at the end of this page.
On top of the base, at cost
Quoted per city before anything is booked, so the client always knows the number first.
- Local gaffer, per shoot day. Both tiers.
- Local sound recordist and a local DP with a cinema camera package, per shoot day. Max.
- Our own camera and sound kit, at a day rental rate.
- Travel, lodging, and per diem for two, at cost.
- Editing, if we're cutting: one hero film plus cutdowns per customer, quoted once we know who's editing.
Rough planning number: with crew, gear, and travel, a customer done properly lands somewhere around $15,000 all-in on Pro, more on Max. Both ranges above are before editing.
Our numbers next to what this work usually costs
Market ranges are published 2026 rates for professionally produced work in the US. Bigger cities run higher. International crews vary.
| Item | This proposal, rough | Market range |
|---|---|---|
| One shoot dayDirector and second shooter, planned and directed | $5,000 | $5,000 – $15,000full crew, on location |
| Director of photography, per day | at cost | $800 – $3,000 |
| Sound recordist, per day | at cost | $400 – $1,500 |
| Gaffer, per day | at cost | $600 – $1,200 |
| The series, ProFive customers, up to ten shoot days, all-in | $65,000 – $85,000 | $50,000 – $150,000production only, before travel |
| The series, MaxSame five customers, full crew, all-in | $80,000 – $120,000 | $50,000 – $150,000production only, before travel |
Ten shoot days at market rates is $50,000 to $150,000 before anyone travels.
Ranges from Vidico's 2026 testimonial and production cost guides, Assignment Desk's 2026 crew rates, and NeedaCrew's 2026 day-rate guide.
- 50% of the base to hold the dates. The balance billed per customer as each shoot wraps.
- Crew and travel billed as incurred, net 15. Or booked directly on the client's card, whichever is easier for their accounting.
- One round of light revisions per deliverable. Sign-off on the shoot plan is what keeps revisions rare.
- Cincy Social retains original copyright of all original footage and creative assets. The client receives an unlimited, perpetual license to use all delivered content across social media, the web, advertising, and any other platform. If this goes out under Pipeline Road's name, the license passes through to your client the same way.
- Music licensed from the Artlist library. Full terms in contract.
You wanted this by Thursday. Here's how the rest of the year could go.
What we'd need to turn the rough number into a real one
- How many customers, and which cities.The base scales with the count. Crew and travel are quoted per city.
- One day or two per customer.Most get done in one. The ones with more locations need two.
- Pro or Max.Same quality, different speed. Max covers more per day and costs more per day.
- Who's cutting: your editors or ours?If it's yours, we hand over a graded project with selects. If it's ours, we'll add the editing line.
- Does the client know who's producing, or does this go out under Pipeline Road?Either works. It changes the paperwork, not the work.
If this is the right direction, send it on and let's get the three of us on a call.
alok@cincy-social.com
Talk soon,
Alok