How to shoot a fashion film?

The communication and marketing strategies of major fashion brands have sought to jump on the bandwagon of new digital advertising trends, a mix between fashion and cinema, a combination that has resulted in fashion films, the new way of advertising a brand through storytelling and Hollywood-level cinematic production quality.

What is a Fashion Film?

Fashion films are a new language of fashion to convey the essence of the brand, a very curious mixture of fashion, cinema, and advertising that intends to reflect its personality. It’s a step beyond conventional advertising, creating imaginary scenarios that reflect the combination of elegance and sophistication along with cinematic language.
Renowned directors from the world of cinema have been the masterminds behind some of the most famous fashion films, such as Sofia Coppola for Cartier or Roman Polanski for Prada.
The creativity that characterizes them has joined forces to bring us completely innovative stories that combine storytelling with video marketing to offer us an advertising spot that can last up to 15 minutes, similar to a short film or a music video. Experts assure that fashion films are the new fashion editorials adapted to the digital age.
The production of Fashion Films is a strategy mainly used by luxury brands due to the high budget it requires. It’s not just an advertising campaign intended to sell a specific product, the goal is to visualize the brand in its own conceptual universe, called branding. The main intention is to capture the emotions of viewers that can relate to the fashion brand.

How to conduct a fashion shoot?

Due to its cinematic origins, the production of a fashion fashion film has the main characteristics of a short film or audiovisual feature. Although it should be noted that there are some specific aspects that are more closely linked to the fashion field.

1. Find a fashion brand, whether little-known, new, or renowned
   A fashion film can’t be a fashion film without the main factor, fashion. The fashion film has always been associated with big brands, but with the spread of this advertising genre, more and more small brands are using this resource to showcase their image in a more creative way.
2. Create a briefing and a counter-briefing
   Once we’re clear about which brand we’re going to work with, it’s important to share ideas between the audiovisual producers and the brand. Making a briefing proposal and receiving feedback is important to be able to capture in the fashion film the essence and image they want to convey to their audience.
3. Make a script proposal or creative proposal
   When it’s clear what image they want to convey, it’s important to be creative in the script and add those elements in the storytelling that fit with the brand’s ideology.
4. Pre-production
   With the script clearly outlined, you can move on to the pre-production of the fashion film shoot. In this step, the models, the clothing pieces to highlight, the location and setting for the shoot, preparation of recording equipment, and setting shooting dates should be finalized. By organizing these elements, the production of a fashion film can be carried out without unforeseen issues.
5. Shooting
   Like any audiovisual project, shooting is one of the most important parts. For it to flow correctly and as planned, it’s important that all involved elements have been correctly defined in the pre-production phase, so that the shoot goes smoothly.
6. Editing
   The editing of an audiovisual project is very important because it will define the tone that the piece will adopt and the way it will convey the message. During editing, a careful selection of the visual narrative shots must be made, accompanied by timed music that is capable of reinforcing the message.
7. Digital media disclosure
   Finally, the dissemination of the fashion film through all digital media. This way, the audience can interact with it and understand the essence of a specific fashion brand, what it wants to convey, and which ideas it wants to be associated with.

Where to shoot a fashion film?

If you’re thinking about creating a fashion film for a brand and don’t know where to shoot, at AvisualStudios you can rent the photography studios and sets in Barcelona and Madrid that you need to produce your fashion audiovisual production in a completely professional manner. Additionally, don’t miss our previous post Why use video marketing in your content strategy?, if you’re interested in advertising and marketing in the audiovisual world.