We just finished our first big branded video project – 2 months and $15,000 investment. I thought I’d share the process, budget breakdown, and key lessons for anyone considering something similar—including the storytelling framework we used to make it powerful.
Key Lessons (Quick and Dirty)
Here’s the most important information beforehand. If you want to dig deeper, I’ll get into the details and processes below.
- Work backwards from your end. Know the transformation you want to show and the opening will write itself. This is true for any narrative – emails, sales pages, presentations.
- The music and the timing of the commentary matters more than I expected. This single element turned the video from forgettable to impressive.
- The local team made logistics easy. Mission Ranch in Bozeman made coordination much easier. Their portfolio was impressive and they quickly understood the vision.
- Build for multiple formats. We cut 60s, 30s and 15s versions. Different platforms need different lengths depending on the attention span.
- The “fun factor” is important. Doing projects occasionally because they excite you prevents burnout and keeps you excited about the business.
Why we did it
We’ve made event trailer videos before. They run $5-10,000, get you a decent conference reel, but are unmemorable and dated within 2 years. No one really connects with them emotionally.
I wanted something different. Something that captures what ECF is really about – not just business tactics, but building ambitious companies that enrich your life instead of consuming it. Something that makes people feel something because
emotions drive decisions more than logic.
Also? It just sounded fun. Sometimes you should do projects in your business because you are passionate about them and want to see them out in the world.
Budget: $15,000 in total
It seemed like a lot at first, but when I broke it down:
- Previous Event Trailers: $5-10,000 for something that lasts 2 years max
- This piece: Built to last, captures our core mission and is used for years
- Just a little more expensive than the trailers we’ve done before
The budget was covered by:
- Video Production Team (Mission Ranch, local Bozeman)
- 10 hours of filming on ECF Live
- 3 rounds of revisions/edits
- Multiple cuts (60 second, 30 second and 15 second versions)
Process: 2 months from start to finish
1st month: Concept and scripting
Started by brainstorming scripts and outlines. I used Claude (my AI copywriter trained on our brand) to draft the initial script.
Biggest storytelling lesson I’ve applied: Start with your ending first, then analyze your beginning in retrospect.
I knew I wanted to end up with a connected, peaceful entrepreneur who had his priorities straight. Once I had this ending, the opening was obvious – to show the opposite state. Stressed, isolated, absorbed in work.
This framework works because great stories are fundamentally about transformation. When you know where someone ends, the beginning must show them in the opposite state. This contrast creates narrative tension that engages people.
He spent several hours with Claude rehearsing the script and then met with Mission Ranch to refine it further through several rounds of edits and shot lists.
2nd month: Production and editing
Filmed during ECF Live, 10 hours of footage in total.
Then came 3 rounds of revisions. Here’s where things get interesting.
The Music Made or Broke Everything
The initial cut had a voiceover and music that made the whole thing feel flat. Weak. I was afraid we had spent $15k.
We switched the music and I did the voiceover myself again. The difference was dramatic. Night and day.
Timing the words in sync with the visuals became critical. We spent a lot of time getting it right – when certain phrases hit, how they matched what was on the screen.
This was easily the most important post-production element. Don’t underestimate the choice of music and timing.
Why not AI?
I know AI video is getting interesting, but for something like this that needs real emotional resonance and production quality,
I don’t think we’re there yet. We didn’t even consider going the AI route for this project.
Shout out to our star and volunteers
Huge thanks to Bryan Walthall for being our protagonist. Bryan is a founding member of OG who performed at the very first ECF Live ten years ago!
I’d also like to say a big thank you to everyone in our community who volunteered to be a part of it. I really appreciate you all.
How we plan to use it
We will use the video on several channels:
- Website brand – Home page and key landing pages to communicate our mission
- Social media – Organic posts on Twitter and LinkedIn to build brand awareness
- Easy paid advertising – We don’t do a lot of paid advertising for ECF, but we can experiment with light retargeting or brand awareness at the top of the funnel for people who have already consumed our content (newsletters, podcasts, blog)
I’ll report back in 6 months on how it’s doing in terms of ROI and what we’re learning about using it in different contexts.
If you’re interested in more video production, storytelling, and video marketing techniques, join me and thousands of other seven and eight figure business owners in the forums where we regularly search for similar things.