Original Recipe™

You have objectives. We have a creative process to find the perfect recipe to meet them.

At the beginning of a project, the sheer number of creative possibilities can be overwhelming. Following our Original Recipe™ process, we work with you to determine what special ingredients we need to add to the universal ingredients that always make something worth watching, and what constraints (Time? Budget? Need to include a moose somehow?) that we're working under. Then, working together, we can evaluate any number of creative ideas for how well they use the right ingredients and accomplish your goals.

Let’s talk about doing something totally original.

Original Recipe™ Features

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    1.Measuring ideas is hard, but it can be done.

    • Creative is messy, so we help bring logic to it.
    • Every effective production has some combination of these 5 Universal Ingredients of Story: Purpose, Authenticity, Conflict, Spectacle, and Novelty. Measuring against these elements, we craft creative concepts backed by rock-solid rationale.
    From the jump, we optimize your narrative for those primordial elements that have worked since humans painted on cave walls.
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    2.The Tried and True + Your Specific Needs = Your Original Recipe™.

    • There are lots of ways to tell your story, but which is the best?
    • Clear objectives, requirements, and budget are essential to begin the Original Recipe™ process. We can then develop concepts tailored to your exact needs and rate every idea against every ingredient (Universal and Project-Specific) on a 1-10 system.
    Some ideas sacrifice some Conflict in favor of some Spectacle. We should always know about the tradeoffs we're making.
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    3.Know exactly what you're signing up for (before signing up).

    • The best idea is often sacrificed on the altar of "agreeing to the project," which is worth for both parties.
    • A small creative retainer engagement allows us to create everything you need to fully pre-visualize your piece. A round of scored concepts followed by script/storyboard/outline. If we haven't hit the mark, we'll keep working until we do, or there's no obligation to move forward.
    A thorough creative phase ensures there are no surprises during production (on either side).

Original Recipe™ Use Cases (& Examples)

  • Commercial
  • Explainer
  • Branding Campaign
  • Announcement
  • Anything Scripted or Animated

Original Recipe™ Process

Find the most compelling way to tell your story, one ingredient at a time.

  • Objectives, Timeline, and Budget. We' ll need all three to proceed. If you don't set a budget, we will, and we will let you know what it is.
    • There is no way to come up with effective creative ideas without knowing what resources will be available to execute on it. We need to know the budget to work on Original Recipe™ projects, and we can help you decide on one if it's difficult.
  • Creative Retainer signed and paid.
  • Discovery, a deep dive into all that you do. Lots of talking. If you have a restaurant, we will eat your food. If you run an amusement park, we will ride your rollercoaster.
  • Project Ingredients and Requirements, a determination of the special ingredients we want to optimize for. Both parties sign off before we start concepting.
  • Concept(s) developed, high level ideas for how to achieve your objectives within your timeline and budget.
  • Direction chosen (or a Frankenstein of two or three).
  • Pre-visualization/Outline/Script/Storyboards/Production Plan, everything necessary to pre-visualize the piece enough to say...
  • "Proceed": Deposit billed and production begins.
  • Post-production, with one round of changes and one round of cleanup/polish.
  • Delivery

Pricing

Proceeding with the Original Recipe™ process requires a $5,000 creative retainer and that we know your timeline and total budget. Once creative previz is set, 75% production deposit is due to begin production, with 25% due at delivery.

Robert Herrera

The Mill

“They took the time to understand my business and the problem it was trying to solve. In an era where we’re surrounded by more media than ever before, you need strong creative to set yourself apart. I would recommend Short Order every time.”