Most video projects are contained. One location, one day, one story. The SOPEC leadership testimonial series was different from the start.
Twelve interviews. Multiple counties across Ohio. Leadership voices from communities most video crews never visit. A client with a genuinely important mission and a tight timeline.
Here’s how we did it.
The brief
SOPEC — the Southeastern Ohio Public Energy Council — needed to document the voices of their leadership network across the state. The goal was a library of testimonial films that could be used in advocacy, fundraising, public education, and community outreach.
Not one film. A series. Each interview a standalone piece, each one also part of a larger whole.
The planning challenge
Twelve subjects across multiple locations means twelve coordination conversations, twelve travel legs, and twelve opportunities for something to go wrong. Pre-production on a project like this is as important as the shoot itself.
We built a production schedule that batched locations geographically — grouping subjects by region to minimize travel time and maximize shoot days. We scouted each location in advance, identifying the right interview setups for each environment. Some were offices. Some were community spaces. Some were outdoors.
Each location required a different approach to light and sound. That’s the reality of documentary production at scale — you can’t control the environment, so you have to be ready for all of them.
The shoot
We ran a two-camera interview setup on each subject — a primary camera for the interview and a secondary for cutaways and b-roll. Canon cinema cameras, DZOFilm prime lenses, Aputure lighting adapted to each location, and a Zoom F3 for clean audio capture.
Interview subjects aren’t actors. Getting a compelling performance from a community leader or public official requires patience, conversation, and the ability to make someone forget the camera is there. That’s a skill that lives in the pre-interview conversation, not the equipment list.
We spent the first fifteen minutes of every shoot just talking. No camera rolling. By the time we hit record, most subjects had already said the most important thing they were going to say — we just needed them to say it again.
Post-production
Twelve interviews generates a significant amount of footage. The editorial challenge on a testimonial series is consistency — each film needs to feel like part of the same body of work while standing on its own.
We built a shared visual language across the series: consistent color grade, consistent lower third design, consistent music approach. Each film runs between two and four minutes. Together they form a coherent picture of SOPEC’s statewide leadership network.
What the client got
Twelve individual testimonial films. A compiled highlight reel. A body of work that SOPEC can deploy across every channel and every audience for years.
That’s the real value of a series over a single video. One film tells one story. A series builds a world.
If you’re planning a multi-location or series production in Ohio, talk to AmeriFilms. See more of our documentary work and Dayton video production services.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the SOPEC documentary series?
A statewide leadership testimonial series for the Southeastern Ohio Public Energy Council: twelve on-camera interviews across multiple Ohio counties, delivered as a library of standalone films used in advocacy, fundraising, public education, and community outreach.
How did AmeriFilms plan a twelve-location shoot?
By batching locations geographically to minimize travel and maximize shoot days, scouting each location in advance, and adapting lighting and sound to offices, community spaces, and outdoor environments.
What equipment was used on the SOPEC series?
A two-camera interview setup: Canon cinema cameras, DZOFilm prime lenses, Aputure lighting adapted to each location, and a Zoom F3 for clean audio capture.
How does AmeriFilms get natural interviews from non-actors?
The first fifteen minutes of every shoot is just conversation, no camera rolling. By the time recording starts, most subjects have already said the most important thing — they just need to say it again.
What did SOPEC receive?
Twelve individual testimonial films, each running two to four minutes, unified by a consistent color grade, lower-third design, and music approach.
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