A film is the fastest way to make someone feel what it is like to stay in your hotel, walk through your development or eat in your restaurant. It is also the easiest piece of marketing to get wrong. A video shot without a plan, edited by whoever had the software, ends up on a home page slowing the site down and saying nothing.
Film and video production at Sayso is delivered by our own film team. The team has made eleven commercial films to date for hospitality, real estate, interiors, sport and culture clients, including IDA x Marriott, Nahaté x Zuma and Qatar Story. The same crew handles brand films, corporate videos, event coverage and the cut downs that feed your social channels.
Because the film team sits inside a studio that builds websites and brands, every film is planned with where it will be shown in mind: the length, the format, the subtitles and the file sizes that keep a web page fast.
What is included
- A creative treatment: the idea, the story, the look and the references, agreed before anything is booked
- Script, shot list and storyboard, with locations scouted and permits arranged in the UAE
- A crew matched to the job: director, cinematographer, sound, lighting and drone operator where needed
- Cinema cameras, lenses, lighting and drones chosen for the look you want, not the longest kit list
- Interview filming with proper sound, for founders, guests and staff who are not used to cameras
- Editing, colour grading, sound design and music licensing in DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro
- Motion graphics, titles and subtitles in English and Arabic
- Versions for the web, social media, event screens and broadcast, each sized for its use
- Raw footage and project files archived, so future edits do not mean a new shoot
How it works
1. Brief
We learn what the film has to do, who will watch it and where. We look at your brand guidelines and at films you admire, and we agree the length, the tone and the budget range.
2. Plan
A treatment, script and shot list, a schedule with locations, crew and permits, and a fixed price. You know exactly what will be filmed before the shoot day.
3. Shoot
The crew arrives with the kit the plan calls for. A director keeps the day on schedule and you see takes on the monitor as we go, so nothing is a surprise in the edit.
4. Edit
A first cut for your feedback, then colour, sound, music, graphics and subtitles. We review each cut with you until it is right.
5. Deliver
Final files in every format you need, uploaded and tested where they will be shown. If we build your website, the film is placed and optimised so the page stays fast.
How long does a brand film take to produce?
It depends on the number of locations and shoot days and on how quickly feedback comes back. A single location film with interviews moves quickly. A multi location film with casting takes longer. The schedule is fixed in the plan before the shoot is booked.
Do you arrange filming permits in the UAE?
Yes. Filming in public spaces, malls, hotels and many private venues in the UAE needs permission, and we build the permit applications and timings into the plan so the shoot day is not held up.
Who makes the film?
Our own film team, with the director, crew and editors chosen for your project. Your Sayso contact in Dubai manages the project, so your film sits alongside your website, brand and social media with one point of contact.
What do you need from us?
A clear idea of what the film should achieve, access to your locations and people, your brand guidelines, and one decision maker to approve the treatment and the cuts. We handle the rest.
Can you film in Arabic and English?
Yes. We film interviews in either language or both, and we deliver subtitled versions and separate language cuts as needed, with Arabic subtitles set by a native reader rather than machine generated.
Will the video slow down my website?
Not if we deliver it. We export web versions at the right size, serve them through a video platform or a CDN, and place them so the page loads fast and still meets our performance budget. A home page video is a decision we make with you, not a default.
