Services and methods

California Story Company creates award-winning visual stories that capture the essence of exceptional people, explore contemporary themes and beautifully unfurl binding human truths.  To view and download our capabilities deck, please click here.

Beyond straight-ahead journalism and documentary commissions, we team with clients who use the work we create together to drive capital campaigns, take center stage at events, gain new business, mark a milestone, advance brand identity, or underwrite exploration of an issue that is aligned with, or adjacent to, their values.

We also team with agencies, museum designers, animators and illustrators, web and app developers, and interactive designers in supportive roles to consult on editorial development, distill story and then help direct it across multimedia landscapes.

Importantly, we work in accordance with the codes of ethics set forth by the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Photographers Association. 

Here is how we can help.

Consulting and preproduction development

What are the best available stories or themes that align with your goals? Who embodies all that you’re wanting to say about your organization or brand? How can their story be told in alignment with your calendar and budget? We’re experienced in helping figure it all out.

Though the size and shape of each commission is often quite different, we often begin with a site visit that essentially serves as a reverse casting call. The deliverable: a story playbook scaled to your timeline and budget. It ranks characters and narrative possibilities, along with related costs and budget flex points, in a transparent way so you can form a plan that works best for you. Use it for your own in-house team, or continue on with us to create together.

Complete, original video storytelling

Production: We film nimbly and with a light footprint, which means greater ease for subjects, and budgets that stay focused on story.

Postproduction: We create first, second and final drafts for client feedback featuring custom scores, expert color grading and tasteful, contextual branding.

Companion products and promotional help: Social media cutdowns, copywriting to support deliverables, keynote speeches for related events can all be added to maximize an investment in videos of enduring quality.

Guidance for in-house teams and edits

For clients with in-house video teams wanting to take an important project to the next level, we provide help with character selection, interview assistance, scriptwriting, postproduction guidance — or any combination of such services. We can also provide on-site workshops for in-house teams wishing to sharpen their story-finding, storytelling or production planning skills.