Flagship Narrative
The one film everything else sits undercreated to tell a story that changes minds about brands, builds trust and sells your vision to the world
From £3,500. Most projects sit between £8,500 and £17,500
Does this sound like you?
You may recognise yourself in one of these:
New Strategy or Direction
A strategy, a rebrand or a new direction that needs explaining to people who did not write it
Product or Service Launch
Something going to market that needs a story, not a specification
A Place Worth Visiting
A location, venue or experience that has to make people feel something before they will act
An Organisation Nobody Understands
Complex work that people admire but cannot describe back to you
Recruitment and Attraction
Trying to attract students, staff, members or partners who have other options
A Moment That Deserves More
An event, milestone or anniversary that will otherwise be recorded as a highlights reel
What is a Flagship Narrative?
A flagship narrative is a focused, standalone piece of high quality video that does the heavy lifting. It can be a brand film, a product film, a service film, an event film, a corporate video, a place based narrative or an impact film. The category matters less than the function.
It carries one message, not a list of facts. It holds attention longer than social content. And it becomes the anchor that an entire suite of content can sit under.
It delivers a single focused idea or transformation rather than a tour of everything you do. It runs long enough to build something, usually between one and five minutes. It feels like a complete piece rather than a montage of coverage. And it is built around meaning and emotional shape rather than comprehensiveness.
What it is not is a highlights reel, a stitched-together set of clips, or a film that tries to serve five audiences equally and reaches none of them.
One film, or five
The most expensive way to make video is to commission it piece by piece.
A film for the website. A different one for the conference. Something for recruitment. A few things for social. Each one is scoped separately, shot separately and paid for separately, and none of them sound like the same organisation.
A flagship narrative inverts that. One production, planned from the start to yield a hero film, a trailer, social cutdowns, still frames and formats for every place it needs to work. The story is decided once, so everything downstream agrees with everything else.
It is more efficient. It is also the only way to end up with a consistent voice rather than a folder of unrelated assets.
What you get
Every flagship engagement delivers a complete package:
The flagship film. Up to five minutes, built around a single focused story, finished to broadcast standard.
The trailer. Up to sixty seconds, built after the flagship is approved, designed to earn attention in feed and send qualified viewers to the full film.
Accessibility as standard. Captions and subtitled masters on every delivery, not as an extra.
Formats for the places it needs to work. Web, presentations, social, and internal use.
Depending on the shape of the story, engagements often also include social cutdowns of ten to thirty seconds, square and vertical versions for platform use, still frames for communications and press, light motion graphics and on screen text, archive integration with licensing support, and photography captured alongside filming.
Final deliverables are confirmed once scope and access are clear.
Investment
Flagship projects vary widely in what they are expected to do. A flagship film can influence trust, funding, admissions, recruitment, sales, partnerships or public perception, and the level of investment needs to match the weight of that outcome.
Where a project sits is driven less by runtime than by ambition and complexity. That includes the creative approach, the standard of craft required for its intended use, and the practical realities of capturing the story well: access, locations, contributors, archive and licensing, and any motion graphics or animation.
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Focused
£3,500 to £7,500 + VAT
Short, clear, minimal moving parts.
For one or two filming days with a small crew, one or two locations without complex access, one to three contributors or a voiceover approach, light graphics requirements and a tight story with limited review complexity.
You receive the flagship film, usually 60 to 120 seconds and sometimes up to three minutes, a trailer or short cutdowns, English subtitles, and three review rounds.
Right when the message is already clear and the project is about strong execution rather than heavy development.
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Most projects sit here
Signature
£8,500 to £17,500 + VAT
Higher ambition, more story shaping, more production and finishing.
For one to five filming days with a larger crew, multiple locations or more complex access, multiple or high calibre contributors, a more considered visual approach with more coverage and edit time, stronger finishing in music, audio and graphics, and wider stakeholder involvement.
You receive the flagship film, commonly 60 to 120 seconds and sometimes up to five minutes, narrative versions where the story needs to serve more than one audience, a flagship trailer, English and other language subtitles or voiceovers, delivery formats for multi-channel campaigns, and three review rounds with structured sign off.
Right when the film needs to carry real reputational weight and be used across multiple channels for years.
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Campaign
£19,500 to £45,000 + VAT
Complex production, high stakes usage, broadcast level demands.
For complex creative or technical production, multiple filming days or travel heavy logistics, remote locations and complex permissions, larger contributor sets and high-end talent, archive sourcing and licensing, higher end cinematography with a larger crew footprint, significant motion graphics or integrated animation, and multi version deliverables with high review complexity.
You receive a flagship film (or films) of any length with versions, multiple formats and version control, delivery formats for multi-channel campaigns, subtitles and voiceovers in English and other languages, broadcast finishing and delivery specifications including Clearcast clearance where required, in-person structured review and edit sessions, and three review rounds with structured sign off.
Right when the film represents the organisation at the highest level and will be seen by audiences who have no prior relationship with you.
A note on how the range works:
Each tier is a range rather than a fixed figure because access, contributor availability and finishing requirements are not fully known until scope is locked. We agree the range up front so there is delivery flexibility if the story develops, and we confirm the final figure once scope and readiness are locked. Consider it like an agreed budget with contingency built in. All budget allocation is approved by you before it is invested in your content and you will never receive an invoice above the range you approved.
If the film is intended for broadcast advertising, projects start in the Signature tier and usually sit in Campaign once clearance, delivery specifications, talent usage and approvals are accounted for.
Worth adding while we are here:
Most of the cost in any production is getting the right people, kit and access into one place. Once that is done, capturing more costs considerably less than commissioning it separately. When added to a production, these typically cost 30 to 50 per cent less than commissioning them separately.
Photography
Stills shot to the same brief by a photographer, not pulled from video. Ready for web, press, decks and reports.
Animation
Animated sequences inside your film. Statistics, processes, maps and anything the camera cannot show.
Studio Production
A day in our Glasgow studio. Interviews, pieces to camera, product work. Controlled light, controlled sound, no weather.
Content Library
A catalogued bank of ready-to-use clips and stills, captured on the same production days.
Looking for raw footage? ‘Rushes’ need a skilled editor, specialist software and hardware that can handle the files. What arrives is hours of raw, unedited footage with no grade or sound balance. A content library is the version that is already finished and gets used considerably more.
“When we are aligned on vision, positioning and tone, sign-off is quick and easy because we rarely need edits, and the final product is always a perfect representation of what our organisation is looking for.“
Christine Moorhouse
Marketing and Membership Manager, The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, 2024
How long it takes
Most flagship films run ten to sixteen weeks from signed engagement to final delivery.
Development
Story, audience, contributors and visual approach agreed
Pre-production
Schedule, locations, access, permissions and crew confirmed
Production
Filming on location or in our studio
Post-production
Edit, sound, music, grade, graphics, subtitles
Review & Delivery
Three rounds, structured sign off, trailer build, cut downs and final masters
Working to a launch, a conference or a campaign date? Say so on the call. We plan backwards from your date and tell you honestly whether it is achievable before you commit anything.
How delivery works
We separate thinking from making. The work is smoothest when the narrative shape and the production plan are agreed before anyone picks up a camera.
One: Development
We turn intent into a clear story and a practical plan. You give us a single point of contact with authority to approve. We come back with a one page creative summary, the core audience with key messages and proof points, a casting, contributor and location plan covering who, where, why and what each contributes, the visual approach and filming assumptions, and defined scope boundaries with success criteria.
Two: Pre-production
We turn the plan into a confirmed schedule. Filming schedule and production plan, location planning and access confirmation, production logistics covering crew, kit and travel, risk assessment and permissions, interview or voiceover approach and contributor preparation, and the asset list, archive list and brand guidelines check.
Three: Production
We capture the story with the right level of craft. At least one filming day depending on access and ambition. Lean or expanded crew depending on production needs. Interviews, observational coverage, character narrative and cinematic supporting visuals. Clear decision making on site to protect both the messaging and the edit.
Four: Post-production
Narrative edit of the flagship film, sound design, music licensing and mix, colour grade and finishing, motion graphics and branding as required, captioning or subtitling, and the trailer built once the flagship is approved.
Five: Review, Approval & Delivery
A polished first draft through our online review system, consolidated feedback from your side, a named approver for sign off, clear timeframes per round, and delivery through secure download. Three review rounds are included in every tier.
Where flagship films go wrong
Flagship films are where a loose brief quietly becomes expensive.
It happens the same way almost every time. The story is not agreed before filming, so everything gets covered in case it is needed. The edit then has to find a film inside material that was never shot to make one. Feedback arrives from six people with six different views because nobody agreed what the film was for. Rounds multiply. The budget goes on rescuing the edit rather than on craft.
Nobody sets out to do this. It happens because starting the shoot feels like progress and agreeing the story does not.
So we front load it. Development comes first, it is a paid stage, and nothing gets scheduled until the story, the audience and the scope boundaries are written down and signed off by one named person.
That is why our first conversation is twenty minutes rather than a free planning session. The planning is the valuable part. It belongs inside the engagement, not before it.
Flagship work we have delivered
Flagship films we have made for organisations across science and innovation, education, consumer brands, tourism and hospitality, and the public sector.
What we need from you
For a flagship film to land properly, a few things need to be true on your side:
- A single point of contact with authority to approve and consolidate feedback
- A decision, early, about what the film is for and who it is for
- Access to the people, places and moments the story depends on
- Brand guidelines, existing assets and any archive you want considered
- Realistic review windows, particularly where multiple stakeholders are involved
If any of these are difficult in your organisation, tell us on the call. They are all solvable. They are much harder to solve halfway through a production.
A note on sign off. Sequential approval, where the film goes to one person, then another, then a third, is the most reliable way to turn three review rounds into six. If your organisation works that way, say so early and we will build a structure that fits it rather than discovering it at draft two.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much does a flagship film cost?
Flagship films start at £3,500 and most sit between £8,500 and £17,500 plus VAT. Larger productions with broadcast requirements or complex logistics run from £19,500 to £45,000. The figure depends on ambition and complexity rather than runtime.
How long does it take?
Ten to sixteen weeks from signed engagement to final delivery. If you are working to a launch or campaign date, tell us the date and we will plan backwards from it and be straight with you about whether it is achievable.
How long should the film be?
Most sit between 60 seconds and five minutes. Shorter is usually harder and almost always better. The right length is whatever the story needs and not a second more, and we agree this in development rather than discovering it in the edit.
Do we need a trailer as well?
Almost always, yes. The flagship earns attention once someone is already watching. The trailer is what earns the click in the first place. It is included in every tier for that reason.
What if we do not know what the story is yet?
That is normal, and it is what development is for. You do not need a script or a treatment to start. We to know what you want to be different after people have watched it. We work out the rest together, as the first paid stage of the engagement. What we will say and how we will say it.
Can we use it for broadcast advertising?
Yes. Broadcast work starts in the Signature tier and usually sits in Landmark, because Clearcast clearance, delivery specifications, talent usage and music licensing all carry requirements that standard online delivery does not.
Do we own the film?
You receive full usage rights to the delivered content once commercial terms are met. Raw footage and project files remain FoSho property and are available as an optional add on at a standardised rate. Full terms are in our Terms of Service.
What is not included?
Media spend and distribution, edits beyond the three included review rounds, and raw footage. Anything outside the agreed scope is handled as a documented Change Request with its own fee, agreed before work begins.
Do you work outside Glasgow?
Yes. We are Glasgow based and work across Scotland and the UK. Travel and accommodation for locations outside the central belt are factored into the range. Global travel can also be accommodated in the Lnadmark investment and above.
Next step
If the range works, here is exactly what happens.
One. A twenty minute call. We establish the story, the audience, the ambition and your deadline. We do not scope or price on the call.
Two. We confirm your tier and send a Project Engagement Form.
Three. You sign, we invoice the deposit, and your dates are held.
Four. Development starts. Everything from that point is paid work rather than a proposal.
Most engagements go from first call to signed engagement inside ten working days.
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