London and Dubai · Guide for brands, agencies and filmmakers
“The campaign shows the result. The behind the scenes shows the people who made it.”
Behind the scenes video production is no longer a few phone clips grabbed between set-ups. For many brands the BTS film is one of the most watched pieces of a campaign: it shows the scale, the craft and the people, and it gives social channels weeks of content from one shoot day. This guide covers why BTS content works for brands, how to plan it as a deliverable, how to film it without slowing the main shoot down, the formats worth making and the consent you need, using real campaign BTS films for Damas, Charlotte Tilbury, Code8 Beauty and Piaget x Vogue Arabia as the examples.
Damas x Dome · behind the scenes, Dubai
01 · Why it works
Why BTS content sells for brands
A finished campaign is polished on purpose. Every stand, flag and cable has been framed out. That is exactly why a behind-the-scenes film earns attention: it lets the viewer into the room. It shows that the gown was real, the location was real and a team of people cared about every frame. For luxury, beauty and jewellery brands, that proof of craft is part of the value.
Trust
Seeing the set, the make-up and the crew tells viewers the final images were made, not faked.
People
The talent, the make-up artist and the photographer become characters. People follow people, not logos.
Volume
One shoot day becomes a teaser before launch, BTS cuts during it and a making-of film after.
Credit
Every name in the BTS film is a person likely to share it, from the production company to the stylist.
You can see the effect in the comparison between the set and the screen in Code8 Beauty: behind the scenes vs the final film: the set is full of stands and bounce boards, the final film is a face and a bottle. Both are useful, for different reasons.
02 · Planning
Plan BTS as a deliverable, not leftovers
The Damas campaign in a palace garden: the main camera crew is part of the BTS story.
The Damas behind-the-scenes films, made with production company 1602 Studio, move from a palace garden to balustraded terraces, gilded rooms with tapestries and a balcony above the city. On the Damas x Dome shoot the credits list Yehia Bedier as creative director and the shoot directed and styled by @rashwaaaaan, with SwainUK on video. A shoot of that size only produces a strong BTS film when the BTS has its own plan.
1. Put the BTS in the brief, with its own formats and lengths, and a name next to it.
2. Write a BTS shot list: the set build, make-up, the main camera at work, talent between takes, product details, the monitor, the wrap.
3. Agree with the director and photographer where the BTS camera may stand on each set-up.
4. Ask which moments are off limits before the day, not on it.
5. Match the look. Grade the BTS from the same palette as the campaign so the two sit together on the feed.
The stills team at work on a palace staircase: the kit that never appears in the campaign is the substance of the BTS.
03 · On set
How to film behind the scenes without getting in the way
The main shoot always comes first. The talent's time is limited, the light changes, and a stills photographer needs a clear line to the subject. A behind the scenes videographer earns their place by being useful and invisible at the same time.
Introducing ALIF by DAMAS: the operator, then what the operator sees. Shooting the monitor is a quiet way to show the hero frame.
The ALIF by DAMAS BTS film with Nadine Njeim was shot alongside the campaign photographer, Greg Swalsart, in a studio with a grey backdrop. It is built from shots that never needed the talent to stop: a slate, the crew in silhouette, the image on the monitor, close-ups of the bangles and pendant, and short moments of Nadine with the team. The longer story of that shoot is in the Damas campaign case study.
Stand by the stills camera
The talent's eyeline stays on the lens that matters, and you see what the photographer sees.
Longer lens, fewer steps
Get close-ups from a distance instead of walking into the set between frames.
Work with their light
Don't add lights. The set is already lit for the campaign; expose for it and let it look rich.
Shoot the reset
The best BTS moments happen while everyone else waits: a touch-up, a laugh, a look at the screen.
From make-up artist Ido Raphael's behind-the-scenes film, Dubai 2021.
For the Piaget x Vogue Arabia Extraordinary Women campaign with the Emirati-Yemeni singer Balqees Fathi, SwainUK filmed the behind-the-scenes, with make-up by Ido Raphael. A separate film follows Ido Raphael's day on the Vogue Arabia shoot in Dubai in 2021, shot handheld on a Sony A7S III. That is a format in itself: the BTS told from one craftsperson's point of view. The approach to filming that day is written up in behind the scenes of Piaget x Vogue Arabia.
Source: Mojeh, Balqees Fathi joins Piaget's Extraordinary Women campaign.
04 · Formats
Campaign BTS video formats that work
Charlotte Tilbury Eid billboard shoot: the products on the make-up station are the products in the campaign.
| Format | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical BTS Short | Under a minute, fast, set to music, made for Reels, TikTok and Shorts | Damas x Dome, under half a minute |
| Horizontal making-of | About a minute, cinematic, for YouTube, the website and press | Damas BTS film, one minute |
| Talent BTS | The face of the campaign on set, with the product always in shot | Nadine Njeim for ALIF by DAMAS |
| Process story | One craft from start to finish: the set build, the make-up, the lighting | Charlotte Tilbury's star backdrop being built and the make-up going on |
| "How we made it" | A narrated piece that walks through the plan, the set and the edit | Kelly Rutherford x Code8, from the planning deck to the grade |
| Set vs screen | BTS and the final film side by side | Code8 Beauty |
| Campaign updates | Short clips that keep a long campaign fed with new content | KickOff's Kickstarter |
The Charlotte Tilbury BTS shows why a process story works: it opens on a plain flat being painted deep blue and covered in silver stars, then moves through the make-up station, the products and the team checking frames on a laptop. By the time the campaign image appears, the viewer knows how much went into it. The billboard itself is covered in the Charlotte Tilbury Eid case study.
05 · Consent
Consent, approvals and what not to film
BTS is unscripted, so it needs clearer rules than the campaign, not fewer. Everyone in the frame is working, and some of them did not sign up to be on camera.
Talent. Agree with their team what can be shown: make-up touch-ups, wardrobe changes and phone calls are the usual no-go areas unless they say yes.
Crew. Tell the crew on the call sheet that BTS is being filmed. Anyone who prefers not to appear stays out of the edit.
Unreleased product. Check embargo dates. A BTS clip can leak a collection before the launch.
Locations. Venue permission for the shoot does not always cover publishing the venue's interiors in social content. Ask.
Sign-off. The brand, and usually the talent's team, approve the BTS cut before it goes out.
Releases for everyone who features clearly are covered in model release forms for UK and UAE shoots, and paid use of BTS clips as ads is a licensing question, covered in usage rights and licensing.
06 · The edit
From BTS footage to a film people watch
Open on the result
Start with the best frame, then go back to show how it was made.
Give it an arc
Set build, preparation, the shoot, the reveal. A montage of pretty clips is not a story.
Credit on screen
Name the photographer, director and make-up artist. The ALIF film names them as they appear.
Release in stages
A teaser before launch, the BTS Short alongside it, the making-of film after.
Watch
Campaign behind the scenes films
Damas x Dome: behind the scenes
Nadine Njeim: ALIF by DAMAS BTS
Charlotte Tilbury billboard BTS
Kelly Rutherford x Code8 BTS
Balqees Fathi: Piaget x Vogue Arabia BTS
Damas: behind the scenes film
Ido Raphael in Dubai x Balqees Fathi x Vogue Arabia
Behind the scenes for KickOffMore guides
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FAQ
Common questions
What is behind the scenes video production?
Filming the making of a campaign, shoot or event as its own piece of content: the set build, the team, the talent between takes and the product, edited into short vertical cuts and a longer making-of film for the brand's channels.
Why should brands post behind the scenes content?
It shows the craft and the people behind the final images, which builds trust, and it turns one shoot day into a teaser, social cuts and a longer film, giving the campaign more to post for longer.
How do you film BTS without disrupting the shoot?
Plan it with the director first, stand beside the stills camera, use a longer lens instead of walking into the set, work with the existing light and film the resets between set-ups rather than interrupting takes.
Do you need permission to post behind the scenes footage?
Yes. Agree with the talent's team what can be shown, tell the crew BTS is being filmed, check product embargoes and venue rules, get releases from anyone featured clearly and have the brand approve the cut.
Written by Joshua Swain, who films campaigns and their behind the scenes in London and Dubai. See the Damas Jewellery project.