How to plan quarterly content days with one video team
How to plan quarterly content days with one video team, covering structured filming, efficient scheduling, and multi-format content planning for consistent brand output.
A quarterly content day is a sound idea. One focused shoot every three months instead of twelve fragmented requests, four different crews, and eight rounds of feedback that stretch over a fortnight each time. The logic holds.
Where it falls apart is preparation. Or rather, the assumption that preparation is the production team's job. It isn't - and the companies that get the most out of a content day are the ones who understand what needs to happen before the crew arrives.
Here's what we've learned from running these regularly.
Start with the output list before planning
your content day
your content day
The brief tells us what you do. The output list tells us what the day has to produce.
These are different things, and confusing them is probably the most common reason a content day runs over time or under-delivers. "We want to capture who we are as a company" is a brief. "We need a 90-second brand film, four 30-second LinkedIn clips, and six interview cutdowns for email" is an output list.
The output list determines everything: how many setups we need, how much time each one takes, what locations work, how many people need to be on camera, and whether one team can genuinely do this in eight hours. We've had clients come in wanting twelve final videos from a single day without realising that twelve edited deliverables, even from one day of filming, means roughly two to three weeks of post-production. That's fine - but it needs to be agreed before the shoot, not discovered during it.
Decide what you're making first. The rest of the planning follows from that.
These are different things, and confusing them is probably the most common reason a content day runs over time or under-delivers. "We want to capture who we are as a company" is a brief. "We need a 90-second brand film, four 30-second LinkedIn clips, and six interview cutdowns for email" is an output list.
The output list determines everything: how many setups we need, how much time each one takes, what locations work, how many people need to be on camera, and whether one team can genuinely do this in eight hours. We've had clients come in wanting twelve final videos from a single day without realising that twelve edited deliverables, even from one day of filming, means roughly two to three weeks of post-production. That's fine - but it needs to be agreed before the shoot, not discovered during it.
Decide what you're making first. The rest of the planning follows from that.
The assets that should arrive
before your crew does
Post-production is where most content day delays actually live. And almost all of them trace back to the same thing: assets that weren't ready before filming started.
We request brand assets - logos, fonts, colour codes, any licensed music, and approval on the music selection - before the shoot. The reason is simple. Turnaround is days if editing can begin the evening after filming. It's weeks if we're waiting for an approved track or the right version of a logo. The filming didn't slow anything down. The admin did.
Interview questions are the same. If questions arrive the morning of the shoot, the answers will be loose. Interviewees who've had the questions for a few days - not to the point of scripting, just to think - give cleaner, more confident responses. This isn't about over-rehearsing. It's about not wasting an hour of shoot time getting someone comfortable with questions they've never seen before.
We request brand assets - logos, fonts, colour codes, any licensed music, and approval on the music selection - before the shoot. The reason is simple. Turnaround is days if editing can begin the evening after filming. It's weeks if we're waiting for an approved track or the right version of a logo. The filming didn't slow anything down. The admin did.
Interview questions are the same. If questions arrive the morning of the shoot, the answers will be loose. Interviewees who've had the questions for a few days - not to the point of scripting, just to think - give cleaner, more confident responses. This isn't about over-rehearsing. It's about not wasting an hour of shoot time getting someone comfortable with questions they've never seen before.
Brief your people, not just your team
One person needs the authority to make decisions on the day
This sounds obvious until you're on set and the marketing manager likes the setup, the head of content wants to try a different angle, and the CEO isn't there but will definitely have thoughts later.
On a content day, someone from your side needs to be the single point of sign-off. On lighting, on framing, on whether a take was good enough to move on from, on whether the interview answer was what you needed. If that person isn't in the room - or is in the room but doesn't feel empowered to decide - the day slows down in a way that's hard to recover from.
We've seen content days add two or three hours purely because decisions kept being deferred. Nobody's fault, exactly. But the schedule doesn't care about organisational dynamics.
Name the decision-maker before the shoot. Put it in the brief.
On a content day, someone from your side needs to be the single point of sign-off. On lighting, on framing, on whether a take was good enough to move on from, on whether the interview answer was what you needed. If that person isn't in the room - or is in the room but doesn't feel empowered to decide - the day slows down in a way that's hard to recover from.
We've seen content days add two or three hours purely because decisions kept being deferred. Nobody's fault, exactly. But the schedule doesn't care about organisational dynamics.
Name the decision-maker before the shoot. Put it in the brief.
What one video team can realistically produce in a content day
A two-person crew - camera operator and producer - working a full day can comfortably cover three to four distinct setups, deliver clean footage on four to six interview subjects, and capture b-roll across two locations. Push much further than that and something gets compressed: setup time, the number of takes per interview, the quality of the b-roll.
The ceiling isn't effort. It's physics. Moving equipment, adjusting lighting, setting audio, doing test shots - these take time that doesn't show up in a run sheet until the day is already behind.
If the output list is longer than what one team can deliver well, the answer is either a bigger crew or a second day. We'd rather tell you that before the shoot than under-deliver on the day.
For a broader overview of how structured corporate filming is planned and delivered, see:
https://westream.uk/corporate-video-production
The ceiling isn't effort. It's physics. Moving equipment, adjusting lighting, setting audio, doing test shots - these take time that doesn't show up in a run sheet until the day is already behind.
If the output list is longer than what one team can deliver well, the answer is either a bigger crew or a second day. We'd rather tell you that before the shoot than under-deliver on the day.
For a broader overview of how structured corporate filming is planned and delivered, see:
https://westream.uk/corporate-video-production
For Cytec, we filmed seven complete videos in one day-interviews with team members and clients, brand content covering values and culture, plus coverage of their new CEO announcement. Full crew: producer, two camera operators, gaffer, sound engineer. Filming day cost £4,200. Post-production across all seven videos added £1,800. Total: £6,000 for seven finished videos. That's £857 per video when broken down, versus £1,800+ if each had been commissioned separately.
The shoot order matters more than the schedule
Most run sheets are organised around time slots. Ours are organised around setup changes, because that's where time actually goes.
If you have three interviews happening in the same location and one setup change between them, run all three interviews together. Don't break them up because someone's "available at 10 and 2." If that means having a conversation with three people about adjusting their calendars, have it in advance. Reorganising setups mid-day because the schedule was built around people's diaries rather than the filming logic adds an hour or more to a full-day shoot.
The same applies to b-roll. Capturing everything you need in a given location before moving saves more time than people expect. Going back to a location you've already packed down from - even once - is rarely as quick as it looks on paper.
For a broader breakdown of how structured filming improves results, see:
https://westream.uk/effective-corporate-video
If you have three interviews happening in the same location and one setup change between them, run all three interviews together. Don't break them up because someone's "available at 10 and 2." If that means having a conversation with three people about adjusting their calendars, have it in advance. Reorganising setups mid-day because the schedule was built around people's diaries rather than the filming logic adds an hour or more to a full-day shoot.
The same applies to b-roll. Capturing everything you need in a given location before moving saves more time than people expect. Going back to a location you've already packed down from - even once - is rarely as quick as it looks on paper.
For a broader breakdown of how structured filming improves results, see:
https://westream.uk/effective-corporate-video
The approval chain is a post-production problem you create in pre-production
Post-production scope varies between quotes more than any other factor. Basic cuts with minimal graphics versus polished edits with extensive colour work, motion graphics, sound design. The difference is 10-15 additional hours of specialist work. That's where £2,000 gaps appear between quotes that initially looked similar.Producer involvement changes the client experience. Self-directed videographers manage themselves. Producer-led shoots have someone coordinating crew, managing timeline, handling communication, solving problems as they emerge. That costs £500-£900 per day but means you're not managing the shoot yourself or dealing with equipment failures, schedule overruns, or creative decisions mid-filming.
The most common reason a video takes six weeks to deliver when it should take two isn't editing. It's the approval process. Multiple stakeholders reviewing separately, feedback arriving in rounds rather than consolidated, one person who wasn't in the original brief loop suddenly weighing in. These patterns add time at the end that no amount of fast editing can recover. We've had projects where the footage was cut within three days and the final version took five weeks to approve.
Before a content day, agree who reviews the edit, what one round of feedback looks like, and who has final sign-off. Put it in writing. If the CEO needs to approve the brand film, make sure the CEO has seen a reference cut or a brief in advance so their feedback is directional rather than fundamental.
Before a content day, agree who reviews the edit, what one round of feedback looks like, and who has final sign-off. Put it in writing. If the CEO needs to approve the brand film, make sure the CEO has seen a reference cut or a brief in advance so their feedback is directional rather than fundamental.
The edit is usually the fastest part. Everything around it takes longer than anyone planned.
When to run the same quarterly content day format and
when to change it
After a content day goes well, the temptation is to run the same format every quarter indefinitely. That works until the content starts to feel like it was produced on a schedule rather than for a purpose.
Quarterly works well for interview-led content, LinkedIn clips, and recurring brand materials where the format is stable and what changes is the message or the speaker. It works less well for anything where the brief has shifted, the audience has changed, or the previous round of content didn't land.
Before booking the next content day, look at what the last one produced and whether it got used. Not whether it was delivered. Whether it was actually deployed, performed, and served its purpose. If three of the six videos from the last shoot never went live, the issue probably isn't the filming. It's something upstream - clarity of purpose, internal buy-in, or a distribution plan that didn't exist.
Quarterly works well for interview-led content, LinkedIn clips, and recurring brand materials where the format is stable and what changes is the message or the speaker. It works less well for anything where the brief has shifted, the audience has changed, or the previous round of content didn't land.
Before booking the next content day, look at what the last one produced and whether it got used. Not whether it was delivered. Whether it was actually deployed, performed, and served its purpose. If three of the six videos from the last shoot never went live, the issue probably isn't the filming. It's something upstream - clarity of purpose, internal buy-in, or a distribution plan that didn't exist.
FAQ
What is a quarterly content day?
One focused shoot every three months instead of twelve fragmented requests across the year. The idea is efficiency - same crew, same location, multiple outputs in one go. Where it falls apart is when companies assume the production team handles preparation. The crew executes what you've planned, they don't plan for you.
How many videos can you produce in one content day?
A two-person crew working a full day can comfortably cover three to four distinct setups, film four to six interview subjects, and capture b-roll across two locations. Push beyond that and something gets compressed - setup time, number of takes, or b-roll quality. The Cytec shoot produced seven videos in one day because we brought a producer, two camera operators, a gaffer, and a sound engineer. One person doing the same job would have needed two days minimum.
What should be ready before a content day shoot?
Brand assets - logos, fonts, colour codes, approved music - before the crew arrives. If editing can start the evening after filming, turnaround is days. If you're chasing the right logo version or waiting on music approval, it's weeks. Interview questions should reach participants a few days ahead so they're not seeing them for the first time on camera. The filming didn't slow things down. The admin did.
Why do you need one decision-maker on a content day?
Because on set, someone needs authority to sign off on lighting, framing, whether a take was good enough, whether the interview answer worked. If that person isn't in the room - or doesn't feel empowered to decide - the day slows in ways you can't recover from. We've seen content days add two to three hours purely because decisions kept getting deferred. Name the decision-maker before the shoot and put it in the brief.
How should a content day schedule be organised?
Around setup changes, not time slots. If you have three interviews in the same location, run them together - don't break them up because someone's "available at 10 and 2." Reorganising setups mid-day because the schedule was built around diaries rather than filming logic adds an hour or more. Capture everything you need in a location before moving. Going back to a location you've already packed down from is rarely as quick as it looks on paper.
Why do content day videos take weeks to deliver when editing is fast?
The approval process. Multiple stakeholders reviewing separately, feedback arriving in rounds instead of consolidated, someone who wasn't in the brief loop suddenly weighing in - these add time no amount of fast editing can recover. We've had footage cut within three days and final approval take five weeks. Agree who reviews, what one round of feedback looks like, and who has final sign-off before the shoot. Put it in writing.
What's the difference between a brief and an output list?
The brief tells us what you do. The output list tells us what the day has to produce. "We want to capture who we are as a company" is a brief. "We need a 90-second brand film, four 30-second LinkedIn clips, and six interview cutdowns" is an output list. The output list determines how many setups we need, how much time each takes, and whether one team can do this in eight hours. Decide what you're making first.
How do you know if you need a bigger crew for a content day?
When the output list is longer than what one team can deliver well. The ceiling isn't effort, it's physics - moving equipment, adjusting lighting, setting audio, doing test shots all take time that doesn't show up in a run sheet until the day is behind. If scope exceeds capacity, the answer is either a bigger crew or a second day. We'd rather tell you that before the shoot than under-deliver on the day.
Should you repeat the same content day format every quarter?
Only if the previous content is getting used and performing. Quarterly works well for interview-led content and LinkedIn clips where the format is stable and what changes is the message. It works less well when the brief has shifted or the last round of videos never went live. Before booking the next day, check whether the material was actually deployed and served its purpose. If three of six videos from the last shoot never published, the issue isn't the filming.
What makes a quarterly content day actually efficient?
Preparation that happens before the crew arrives. Output list agreed weeks ahead, brand assets ready, interview questions sent in advance, one decision-maker named, schedule organised around setups not diaries, and approval process locked down in writing. Content days done well produce material that gets used, performs, and makes the next brief easier to write. Done badly, they're twelve hours of filming that produces three published videos and a lot of frustration.
© All rights reserved. We stream
team@westream.uk
team@westream.uk