Filming a New Client in Austin, Texas
I recently met my new favorite business to film with. Lady Lanes, a home organizing company that sometimes works in Austin, Texas, hired me to create content for them. When you're meeting a client for the first time—and that first meeting happens to be the day you're filming—there’s always a little bit of anxiety. You never really know what you're walking into. Will they have clear ideas? Will they have no ideas at all?
Will they have a marketing team directing every shot? When I met the owner, Alex Lane, she walked up, introduced herself, gave me a hug, and said: "I’m so excited to see what you come up with."
That’s already a win. Then before I could say anything else, she added:
"We honestly don’t know exactly what we want. We just like what you do, and want you to do that for us."
Alex immediately became one of my favorite humans. Lol. You can read more about her here.
Preparing for a Filming Day
Depending on the company, going into a filming day blind can be stressful—especially when there’s a large marketing team involved. Over the years, I’ve learned that asking a few simple questions ahead of time makes a huge difference. The first question I ask is: Do you know what you want? If they say yes, I usually respond with something like:
"Great. Would you like creative input from me, or should I focus on filming while someone from your team directs the content?"
This tells me a lot about the environment I’m walking into. The second question I ask is whether they’ve worked with content creators before. If they have, I ask if there was anything they absolutely didn’t like about that experience. That alone can save a lot of headaches.
The third thing I ask is whether they plan to run paid ads. If they are running ads, they usually need very specific types of content. Knowing that ahead of time helps me plan the shoot properly. If they’re not running ads, I simply ask where the content will live:
social media
their website
newsletters
YouTube
Then I ask how much time we have to film. If they say all day, great. I usually keep things flexible and spend time learning more about the business while we shoot. If the time is limited, I’ll come prepared with a shot list, timeline, and storyboard so the day runs smoothly.In most cases, every business has at least a rough idea of what they want—and they definitely know what they don’t want. Sometimes they just need someone to help bring it to life.
Why Meeting in Person Matters
One piece of advice I always give businesses is this: If possible, meet in person before filming day.
Not a Zoom call. Not a quick phone call. Actually meet face-to-face. You learn so much more about someone in person—their personality, their energy, and the way they talk about their business. That makes it much easier to capture authentic content when the camera starts rolling.
If you're in Austin, Texas or the surrounding Texas Hill Country and looking for a home organizing company, definitely check out Lady Lanes. And if you're a business looking for someone to help capture your story on video, I’d love to work with you. Over the years creating content for businesses across Austin, San Antonio, and the Texas Hill Country, I’ve noticed something consistent. The businesses that perform the best on video are the ones that simply show up as themselves. Whether it’s a Home Organizer owner talking about design, or a small Hill Country business sharing their story, audiences respond to authenticity every time. Thanks for reading. You can contact me here.
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Video Production & Creative Strategy
Texas Hill Country • Austin • Canyon Lake • Bulverde • San Antonio • Spring Branch