Capstone: a hybrid photo-and-video client package

The capstone brings the course together in a complete hybrid package for a client. You will scope a job, write a treatment, plan coverage, light and sound, staff and schedule the shoot, budget and quote it, shoot photographs and video, edit a short film and vertical cutdowns, finish color and sound, caption and export to specification, run quality control and deliver with a usage summary. The capstone can use a real client with their agreement or the invented client described below. Either way, treat it as a professional job: written agreements, releases, deadlines and a reflection at the end. The worked examples use an invented business, Ridgeline Cycle Works, a bicycle repair shop with a small café in a mid-sized city.

The brief

Ridgeline Cycle Works has repaired bicycles for twelve years and recently added a café counter and a weekly group ride. The owners, two former bike couriers, want to attract new customers aged 25 to 45 who commute by bicycle and to promote a winter servicing package. They ask for photographs for their website and social media, a short brand film for the website and a set of vertical clips for social media. They have a budget of about $5,000 to $7,000 before tax, want everything delivered within three weeks of the shoot, and need captions because their social posts autoplay without sound. The shop is narrow, has large front windows and fluorescent ceiling lights, and is noisy when the espresso machine and air compressor run.

Deliverables and success criteria

A capstone deliverables set that matches the brief and the course might be: 30 edited photographs (portraits of the owners, mechanics at work, café details, the group ride and product shots of the winter package); one 90-second 16:9 brand film built around a short interview with the owners; three vertical 9:16 clips of 15 to 30 seconds (the winter service in 20 seconds, a mechanic's tip, the group ride); captions for every version, burned in for social clips and as SRT files for the web film; web loudness around −14 LUFS; graded stills and video with a consistent look; a usage summary and music license information.

Define success with the client before shooting: for example, the brand film should explain who they are and what makes them different within the first 20 seconds, the vertical clips should hook viewers in the first two seconds, and the winter package clip should end with a clear call to action. These criteria guide the edit and give you a basis for discussing feedback.

Pre-production plan

Your pre-production package should include: a scoping summary; a one-page treatment; a shot list organized by sequence; interview questions; a schedule and call sheet; a lighting and sound plan; a staffing decision; a gear and power list; release forms for owners, staff and customers; a location note covering the shop and the group-ride route; and a budget and quote. The plan should show how you will resolve the shop's problems: mixed window daylight and fluorescent light, flicker at 60 Hz, a narrow space and machine noise.

Treatment and structure

Ridgeline's treatment might describe the film as warm, practical and slightly playful, built around the owners' voices, the sound of tools and the city's morning commute. A possible structure: hook (2 to 5 seconds) with a close-up of a wheel spinning true and the line "We fix bikes so you can keep riding all winter"; context (15 seconds) with the owners introducing the shop; development (40 seconds) showing repairs, the café and the group ride; turning point (15 seconds) with a mechanic explaining why winter servicing matters; resolution (15 seconds) with the winter package and an invitation to visit. Vertical clips reuse footage but are cut for silent viewing with large captions and immediate hooks.

Schedule and staffing

For Ridgeline, a single long day with a second shooter for video is a reasonable plan, because the interview, the café, the repairs and the group ride happen at different times and the photos and video can be separated by block. The second shooter could be a classmate or a hired video operator.

Budget and quote

Build the quote from your cost of doing business and tracked editing times (lesson 11 and PHOT-410). Present it to the client as a package with clear deliverables, revision rounds, delivery dates and usage terms, and offer paid-advertising use as an option.

items = {'shoot fees': 3000, 'editing': 30 * 85, 'music': 150, 'gear rental': 120, 'mileage and parking': 60}
paid_to_others = 1000 + 150 + 120 + 60
items['contingency'] = round(0.10 * paid_to_others)
total = sum(items.values())
for k, v in items.items():
    print(f'{k:20s} {v:6d}')
print(f'{"total before tax":20s} {total:6d}')
minutes = {'interview A': 40, 'interview B': 40, 'B-roll': 90, 'slow motion': 10, 'ride': 30}
gb = sum(m * 60 * 150 / 8000 for m in minutes.values())
print(f'Video at 150 Mb/s: {gb:.0f} GB; with three copies: {3 * gb:.0f} GB')

shoot fees             3000
editing                2550
music                   150
gear rental             120
mileage and parking      60
contingency             133
total before tax       6013
Video at 150 Mb/s: 236 GB; with three copies: 709 GB

Shooting and post-production

On the day, follow the plan but stay alert for unplanned moments, which often become the best shots. Keep a simple log of cards, sequences and releases. In post-production, cull and grade the stills first to establish the look, then sync, organize and select video, build string-outs and a paper edit from the interview, and cut the film to a licensed track. Share a rough cut with the client focused on story and a fine cut focused on details, within the agreed rounds. Finish color to match the stills, mix the audio with dialogue clear above music and natural sound, measure loudness, caption every version, export masters and delivery files to the deliverables list, and run QC on every exported file.

Releases, ethics and accessibility in the capstone

Get signed releases from the owners and staff before the interview and from customers who appear recognizably, or film customers so they are not identifiable. Use a sign at the counter on the shoot day explaining that filming is taking place. Do not use AI to alter anyone's face or voice. Caption every version and check names and technical terms such as "derailleur" and "hydraulic disc brake". If the client operates in Quebec or wants bilingual reach, discuss French captions or versions.

Assessment criteria

A capstone of this kind might be assessed on: scoping and treatment (clarity, fit with the brief); pre-production (completeness of shot list, schedule, lighting and sound plans, releases and budget); stills quality (technical and creative, consistency with the brand); video craft (exposure, focus, stability, composition, coverage and sequences); sound (clean dialogue, natural sound, loudness and mix balance); editing (structure, pacing, hook, use of music and J and L cuts); finishing (color consistency between stills and video, captions, exports to specification, QC); and professionalism (communication, contracts, delivery, reflection).

Reflection

Finish with a written reflection of 500 to 800 words. Compare your planned and actual schedule and editing hours, and use the difference to adjust your future pricing. Identify the shots you wish you had captured, the sound problems you met and how you solved them, the feedback that most changed the film, and one skill to develop next, whether that is lighting, sound, editing or the business side. Include a short note on what you would charge for a similar job now, with your reasoning. Many students find their editing hours were 30 to 50 percent higher than planned on their first hybrid package, which is exactly the kind of data that makes future quotes accurate.