Commercial and social video production in Palm Beach CountyAds Worth the Seconds They Ask For
Epic Wolf is a West Palm Beach agency that plans, directs and produces commercials and social video for Palm Beach County businesses: spots for streaming television, paid social placements and the web. Each ad is scripted around one idea, filmed with a crew assembled through vetted partners and delivered in the lengths, shapes and file formats each platform publishes, with captions on every version.
Commercials and social video
An ad is the only film people did not ask to watch. That changes the writing. The first seconds have to earn the next ones, the brand has to be present before a viewer can skip and the idea has to survive with the sound off. Most local commercials ignore all three and open on a logo and a drone shot.
We write the spot before we plan the shoot. One idea, one audience, one thing to do next. A wealth firm and a waterfront restaurant should not sound alike, and neither should sound like an advertisement for advertising. Then we list the placements, because a streaming spot, a vertical ad and a silent feed clip are three different pieces of film.
Each platform publishes its own technical requirements, and they do not match. We build the delivery list from that documentation and export every version to it. Because the same team runs the paid campaigns, the cuts are made by people who know which audience sees which ad and what the landing page says when they click.
What it includes
Concept and script
A single idea written to the second, with the brand present early and a clear next step at the end.
Storyboard and shot list
Every frame planned for wide and tall screens so nothing important is cropped out later.
Casting and locations
Real staff, hired talent or both, with releases, location agreements and film permits handled.
Production day
A director and a crew sized to the script, brought together through vetted partners and managed by us.
Edit sound and graphics
The cut, the mix, licensed music and on-screen text designed in your brand's type.
Platform versions
Separate exports in the lengths and aspect ratios each placement calls for, never one file stretched to fit.
Captions
Burned-in text for silent feeds and separate caption files where a platform accepts them.
Campaign handoff
Files named by placement and delivered to whoever runs the media, including our own team when we manage it.
Send us the offer and where the ad will run.
We will come back with a script direction and the list of versions those placements require.
What to know
The rules behind commercials and social video
- What YouTube asks for
YouTube's recommended upload settings call for an MP4 container, H.264 video with progressive scan and AAC-LC or Opus audio, encoded at the same frame rate the footage was recorded in. It says the standard aspect ratio on a computer is 16:9 and that the player adapts to vertical and square video.
- What LinkedIn asks for
LinkedIn accepts video ads from three seconds to 30 minutes long and recommends 15 to 30 seconds so an ad can qualify for all of its placements. It requires MP4 files, lists landscape, square and vertical ratios and takes captions as SRT files with plain text only.
Source: LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help: Video ads specifications
- Paid voices must be disclosed
The FTC says a connection between an endorser and a marketer that viewers would not expect, such as payment or a free product, should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. For video it adds that the disclosure has the best chance of being clear and conspicuous if it is included in the video itself.
- There is no safe number of seconds
The U.S. Copyright Office says there are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes or a percentage of a work. Whether a use is fair depends on all the circumstances, and in cases of doubt the Office recommends getting permission.
Source: U.S. Copyright Office: Can I Use Someone Else's Work?
How the work runs
Write the spot
We settle the offer, the audience and the placements, then write scripts short enough to read aloud in the time allowed. You approve words and boards before anyone is hired.
Film for every shape
The set is framed for landscape and vertical together. We record clean versions without text, alternate openings to test and enough extra footage to refresh the ads later without another shoot.
Deliver to the documentation
Each version is exported against the platform's published requirements, captioned and checked on a phone. If we run the campaign, the ads launch against pages built to receive them.
Questions
Commercials and social video questions answered
Short, and matched to the placement. Each platform publishes its own guidance: LinkedIn, for example, recommends 15 to 30 seconds for video ads even though it accepts much longer files. A streaming spot is usually bought in set lengths, while a feed ad has to make its point before a thumb moves. We write a script for each length instead of trimming one.
Yes, and it should. A single production day can yield a widescreen spot for streaming, vertical ads for social feeds and square versions for placements that favor them, provided every shot is framed with those crops in mind. We plan the list of deliverables first and check each setup against it on set, so no platform gets a compromised crop.
On public property, yes. The Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission issues permits for parks, beaches, streets, sidewalks and public buildings and asks productions to allow three business days for a standard permit. Road closures and special effects take longer. A commercial filmed entirely inside your own business usually does not need one. We handle the application either way.
Your agreement decides who owns it, and ours states it in plain terms. Ownership of the finished spot is one question. Usage rights for actors, voice talent, music and stock footage are another, because those are typically licensed for specific media and periods. We list every license and its limits in writing so nobody runs an ad past what was cleared.
Yes, anyone recognizable in an advertisement should sign a release, including employees and customers. An ad is commercial use of a person's likeness, so written consent matters more here than in almost any other kind of video. If someone on camera is paid or receives something of value for praising the business, the FTC also expects that connection to be disclosed.
Keep reading
Go deeper before you decide
- Planning a Brand Photo or Video Shoot in Palm Beach CountyHow to plan a brand photo or video shoot in Palm Beach County: the shot list, locations and permits, releases, image rights, weather and a checklist.
- Filming and Photo Permits in Palm Beach CountyWhen a commercial photo or video shoot needs a permit in Palm Beach County, who issues it, how the Town of Palm Beach differs and how far ahead to apply.
- How to Market a Palm Beach Business Without Looking LoudMarketing on the island of Palm Beach: what buyers respond to, the channels that fit, Town sign and storefront approvals, the season and a checklist.
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