Building an In-House Video Capability

Overview

The Sun Life creative team's video capability was built almost entirely on motion graphics and stock. Anything that required a camera — original footage, custom production, real people in real spaces — was outsourced to external partners. That dependency meant higher cost, longer timelines, and no ability to move quickly when the business needed it. In 2024, working closely with our in-house videographer, we built the foundation to change that.

My Role

I initiated and led the capability build alongside our in-house videographer. That meant identifying the gap, researching the equipment investment, building the business case, securing leadership buy-in, and developing the production workflow from scratch. On video projects that followed a contributed to for concepting, storyboarding, pitching, props sourcing, and business partner management.

The Build

We started with a clear-eyed look at what the team actually needed to shoot professional-quality video. Not a full production studio — a focused equipment list that would let us produce clean, branded content without external resources. We researched options, priced it out, gut-checked the budget range with the creative director, and brought a formal proposal to leadership.

Once approved, we built the production workflow in parallel with the gear. That meant establishing how we'd intake a video brief, concept and storyboard, pitch to stakeholders, source props and materials, shoot, and deliver — end to end. We operated largely as an independent unit within the broader team, which gave us the focus to develop both the process and the craft at the same time.

Selected Work

The capability has produced a sustained body of work — national awareness OLVs, demand gen assets, paid media for promotional campaigns, social reels, and internal productions. Below: three videos from a limited-time bundle offer, giving clients up to 25% off when combining Sun Life life insurance products. Produced in-house, with props sourced from the office and home, each built around a simple relatable moment that carries the idea without stating it directly.

Outcome

The team went from no original video capability to producing national campaign assets in under a year. The awareness OLVs — built with minimal production budget, two people, and props largely sourced from home — ran across paid channels longer than planned when agency production continued to be delayed. They held up.

In 2025, we benchmarked three in-house projects against quotes from local production companies. The equivalent external cost came to approximately $70,000–$80,000. That's three projects. The team produced significantly more.