Sample treatment · Landscape architecture
01 · Sample treatment

A sample treatment for landscape architecture films.

A central film + focused short-form work.

This is a first draft of a treatment for a series of landscape architecture marketing films. While it is shaped by twenty years of commercial filmmaking and advertising experience across industries, it is meant to be a starting point.

My goal here is not to sell you a templated system. It is to book a discovery meeting where we can work together to develop a treatment around your firm—its existing marketing, its work, what distinguishes the practice, and what prospective clients need to see and understand.

See the treatment See the strategy

Brand Story

Introduce the firm through its point of view—not only its portfolio.

Sample 16 by 9 Brand Story frame for the fictional firm Fakescapes Studio

1–3 minutes 16:9 + 4:5

A Brand Story is often the first film a company releases. If you already have one you love, feel free to skip to the next section. If you do not—or yours is ready for a refresh—I approach it as a cinematic, documentary-style film driven by conversational interviews and footage from real projects. The film introduces the firm through its people and point of view. Before production, we identify which topics should shape that broader introduction and which could also support additional focused films.

Strategic job
Give referrals and active prospects a clearer understanding of what distinguishes the firm—and a stronger basis for choosing it.
Primary use
Website · Proposals · Presentations · Follow-up · Social
Related work · Global Wood Source View a related Brand Story

A documentary-style Brand Story introducing Global Wood Source through its people, processes, and products.

Deep Cuts + Cutdowns

Develop selected interview topics into focused films—or distill them into concise social cutdowns.

Sample 4 by 5 Deep Cut frame titled Starting with the Site Sample 9 by 16 Cutdown frame titled Designing with Water

Deep Cuts · 1–3 min · 16:9 + 4:5 Cutdowns · up to 30 sec · 9:16

Deep Cuts take one subject beyond the broader introduction; Cutdowns shape concise versions for social. Either can be included in the initial scope or developed later from the interviews and project footage captured for the Brand Story.

Strategic job
Deep Cuts help interested prospects understand one part of the firm’s thinking in greater depth. Cutdowns are designed to support organic discovery in Reels and Shorts, using a clear hook and a focused idea to introduce the firm to people beyond its existing followers.
Primary use
Website · Project pages · Follow-up · Reels · Shorts
Related work · Global Wood Source Watch two interview-led cutdowns

Two focused social films developed from the same interviews and production coverage as the central Global Wood Source Brand Story.

Hardscapes

Let prospective clients explore the materials behind the finished landscape.

Hardscapes title frame featuring stabilized decomposed granite Hardscapes information frame presented in a social media interface Stabilized decomposed granite shown in a finished landscape design

10–20 seconds 9:16

Each film introduces one material, details its features and potential uses, then shows how and why it works in one of the firm’s finished projects. Across the firm’s website and social channels, the series gives prospective clients a place to browse materials, compare possibilities, and imagine what might work in their own landscape—so that exploration happens within an ongoing interaction with the firm’s brand, work, and point of view.

Strategic job
Give prospective clients a useful place to browse material possibilities while connecting each choice to the firm’s judgment and finished work. On social, each film can be published for organic discovery or boosted to reach new viewers.
Primary use
Organic or boosted social · Website · Project pages
Related work · Global Wood Source View the “Slab Stories” series

A vertical series about individual wood slabs—materials presented through their figure, provenance, and potential use.

Softscapes

Round out the catalog with planting choices and the possibilities they create.

Softscapes title frame featuring Yankee Point California lilac Softscapes information frame presented in a social media interface Yankee Point California lilac shown in a finished landscape design

10–20 seconds 9:16

Each profile introduces one plant from the firm’s planting palette, describes its features and site requirements, then shows how and why it works in one of the firm’s finished projects. Together, the Hardscapes and Softscapes series give prospective clients a catalog to browse, save, and return to as they imagine what could work in their own space.

Strategic job
Give prospective clients an inviting way to browse planting possibilities within an ongoing interaction with the firm’s brand. Organic publishing and boosted distribution on social can keep the catalog in front of active prospects while extending its reach to new ones.
Primary use
Organic or boosted social · Website · Project pages
Related work · Global Wood Source View the “Made From This” series

A companion vertical series following the materials into finished guitars and other crafted objects.

Case Studies

Show the finished landscape and the thinking that shaped it.

Case Study title frame for a Willow Glen entry landscape Case Study detail frame presented in a social media interface The completed Willow Glen entry landscape shown at night

30–60 seconds 16:9 + 4:5 + 9:16

Each Case Study centers on one completed project, connecting the finished landscape to the goals, choices, and details that shaped it. Interviews, motion graphics, or a combination of both give the viewer a way into the project, while cinematic coverage shows the result. When a Case Study is captured alongside a Brand Story or profile series, the same interviews and project footage can contribute to several films.

Strategic job
Give referrals and active prospects a concrete example of how the firm translates a client’s goals into a finished landscape, making its process and judgment easier to understand.
Primary use
Website · Project pages · Proposals · Presentations · Follow-up · Social
Related work · Ammunition Group Watch Beats Studio · 1 min

A focused design story built around a designer interview and controlled product cinematography, connecting the finished headphones to the thinking behind them.

View more Ammunition Group videos
Ammunition Group

Beats Pill XL

1 min
Ammunition Group

Square Stand

1 min
02 · Why this mix

The strategy

Carry the intention into the films.

Landscape projects are shaped through countless decisions before they are ready to photograph. I bring the same level of care to the strategy, interviews, cinematography, and post-production used to represent them.

Through The Hard Way Cinema, I have led end-to-end productions and worked in specialist roles alongside agencies and in-house teams. I bring those disciplines together here, while current marketing practice informs the format, structure, and intended use of each film. Every film can contribute to each of the goals below.

01 / Understanding

Connect the finished result to what produced it.

Interviews and thoughtful cinematography add context to the finished portfolio by revealing materials, process, design decisions, and people.

02 / Discovery

Give people a specific reason to look closer.

Useful subjects, thoughtful cinematography, and clear design create entry points into the firm’s work through organic publishing or targeted promotion.

03 / Confidence

Give interested prospects a clearer basis for choosing the firm.

Across formats, the films can help referrals and active prospects understand the firm’s perspective, process, and expertise before the first meeting.

The next step

You carry intention through the finished result. I carry it into the films that represent it.

That begins with getting to know your firm—its projects, people, process, point of view, and marketing priorities—then shaping the treatment, production, and deliverables around what prospective clients should see and understand.

Start with a discovery meeting See selected work