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Video Production
December 4, 2025
Estimated Read Time: 9–11 minutes
If you're in marketing or video production, you already know the challenge: everyone wants more content, faster, across more platforms than ever before. But budgets? They're not growing at the same pace. And even when you do shoot a big production, most of the footage lives on a hard drive, never to be seen again.
The traditional approach of shooting one campaign for one purpose doesn't cut it anymore. Most teams use less than 3% of what they shoot. You need a smarter system. That's where modular content comes in.
Think of modular content as building with LEGO blocks instead of carving a single sculpture. Instead of producing one hero video for one campaign, you capture a versatile library of footage that can be remixed into hundreds of different assets over time; social clips, product demos, testimonials, training videos, internal communications, you name it.
The goal is simple: shoot once, use everywhere.
Leading brands are already doing this. A single well-planned shoot can power an entire year of content. But it takes intentional planning and a shift in how you think about production.
Here's how to do it right.
If you want to learn more about the broader concept of modular content, read HERE.
The most important work happens before you ever hit record. This is where you design a system, not just a shot list.
Every modular shoot should capture footage across four core categories:
These pillars give you diversity and flexibility. You are starting to build a library that serves multiple teams and use cases.
Here's the thing: you don't need to shoot every single bucket in every shoot. In fact, focusing deeply on just one or two buckets can be more cost-effective and yield better results for your library.
For example, let's say you dedicate an entire shoot to product footage. You can set up multiple angles, swap out backdrops, move between locations, and capture every variation you need—all without the complexity of coordinating customer testimonials or employee interviews. You'll walk away with a robust product library that can power content for months. Then your next shoot can tackle customer stories with the same depth, focus, and volume.
When you're location scouting, don't just look for the perfect angle. Look for places that give you options:
The goal is timeless footage that can work in any context, months or even years from now.
Your content will live everywhere—Instagram Stories, YouTube, LinkedIn, internal dashboards, etc. So plan accordingly:
Before the shoot, map out:
The more intentional you are upfront, the more valuable each minute of your footage becomes.
Once you're on site, the modular mindset becomes your operating system. You're not staging a single story—you're documenting reality in a way that gives you endless storytelling options.
Here’s a modular secret that can dramatically increase your content output:
plan your commercial shoot exactly as you always do—then layer in additional operators to capture more b-roll and more angles.
You’re already investing in the location, talent, and setup. Don’t let that energy hinge on a single camera. Multiply your coverage and your options.
The multi-operator approach:
Primary operator:
Your lead cinematographer runs the main cinema setup—your hero content, your core campaign shots, the polished centerpiece of the story. This operator is knocking out your commercial shotlist.
Secondary operator:
A second shooter doubles your coverage by staying fully flexible—providing a B-cam to the primary shooter or breaking off to capture a separate setup, fly the drone, or gather exteriors and environmental context. They give you two perspectives when working together and two places at once when needed, resulting in a more cinematic library. In action, this often means the second shooter captures b-roll while the primary operator and the director handle interviews or other involved setups.
Third operator:
Someone dedicated to shooting iPhone footage—vertical formats, behind-the-scenes moments, quick-turn cutaways, textures, reactions, and those authentic, native social assets your audience instinctively trusts.
Because here’s the truth:
You’re already paying for the most expensive part—getting everyone in one place.
Adding a couple more operators is a marginal cost that can easily double or triple your usable footage. More formats, more angles, more story—without blowing your budget or complicating production.
For modular workflows, it’s one of the highest-ROI moves you can make.
Some of the best footage happens between the "official" takes—someone walking into frame, resetting equipment, laughing at a mistake. Those human moments are gold for editors. Keep the camera rolling, and you'll capture authentic transitions and interactions you can't script.
Example from the field:
When shooting with a partner, we had a second unit crew that was shooting b-roll while the other camera unit was shooting employee interviews. They happened to have spent about 15 minutes shooting all of the American flags at the property from multiple angles. Then, once the 4th of July rolled around, they simply asked AdPipe to make a video of all of the relevant footage they had, and in minutes they had the organic social post online.
Once you've decided which buckets you're focusing on, here's the golden rule: shoot every subject in wide, medium, and close-up.
This might sound basic, but it's where most shoots fall short. You get caught up in the moment, capture a great wide shot, and move on. Then, in the edit, you're stuck because you need a close-up that doesn't exist.
Why the three-shot approach matters:
When you have all three, you can cut them together seamlessly in a single edit. Wide to establish, medium to show action, close-up for impact. But just as importantly, you now have three distinct assets in your library instead of one.
That close-up might become a social media thumbnail. That wide shot might anchor a totally different video six months from now.
So whatever you're shooting—whether it's product features, customer interactions, or facility tours—pause and ask: did we get this wide, medium, and close? If not, get all three before you move on.
Here's where modular content really pays off—but only if you organize it properly. The goal isn't to create a single polished video. It's to build a searchable library of usable clips.
This is the foundation of a modular library. Instead of jumping straight into final edits, you first organize all your footage into "stringout timelines."
What's a stringout?
Think of it like a cookie jar filled with cookies. It's all your footage dropped into a timeline—one long file where every clip is usable and ready to be pulled into future projects. No narrative flow needed, no fancy transitions. Just clean, organized, color-corrected footage.
How to build them:
Export settings:
For interviews:
These stringouts become your modular library. Every clip in them is a building block that can be searched, pulled, and reused across countless future projects.
Instead of creating one master edit and calling it done, break your footage into searchable categories:
This transforms a pile of raw footage files into an asset you can search and reuse indefinitely.
It's tempting to delete anything that's not "perfect." Resist that urge. In modular editing, even subtle or mundane clips can anchor future stories. Only delete footage that's genuinely unusable.
Apply your color grading and LUTs early, ideally during ingest. Save both raw and corrected versions so you have maximum flexibility down the road.
Modular content isn't just a production hack—it's a fundamental shift in how brands create and manage video. When you build a modular system:
The brands that figure this out are building content ecosystems that scale with them. And in a world where the demand for video only keeps growing, it's essential.
Want to build a modular content engine that never runs dry?
Book a demo to see how AdPipe makes it possible.
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