Trusted by
Video for PwC, Penfolds, Bunnings, FIFA, Coles, Sennheiser, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, the Australian Turf Club, Inglis, ABC Kids and the NSW Government. Our work has run on Seven, Nine and Network 10.
Most of these come up on a first call. We have written them out so you can get the answer now rather than waiting for a meeting to find out whether we are a fit.
Money
The question everyone opens with, and the one most video companies dodge.
It depends on the days, the crew and what you need back, so we quote every job rather than publishing a price list. Tell us what you are trying to make and when, and you will have a fixed number to look at, usually within a day.
Yes. A two minute conversation is normally enough for us to give you a range so you know whether we are in the right ballpark. Nobody wants to spend a week scoping something that was never going to fit.
Tell us the number early and we will tell you honestly what it buys. That is a better conversation than building a scope you were never going to approve. If the budget will not stretch to something we would put our name on, we will say so rather than cutting corners quietly.
Yes. The quote is itemised and fixed before anything gets booked, and the number you approve is the number you get billed. If something changes on your side we tell you what it does to the price before we do it, not afterwards.
Yes, and it is on the quote as its own line so you can see it. Planning is the shot list, the running order, the crew booking and the call sheet. It is the part that makes the shoot day calm, so it is real work rather than an add-on.
Go deeper: Get a quoteHow we work
Timing
Most people are asking because they already have a deadline in mind.
Usually within a couple of weeks of the brief. We have turned shoots around in a few days when the date demanded it, so ask even if it feels tight. The honest answer comes back quickly either way.
A first cut lands about a week after the shoot for most jobs. Event sizzle reels are faster, usually within three business days, and a bigger brand film takes longer because there is more to build.
Give us the date at the briefing stage and we will either commit to it or tell you it is not realistic. We would rather lose the job than agree to a date we are going to miss.
For events, yes, and it is a common ask. It changes how we run the day, so it needs to be in the brief rather than requested at 4pm on the shoot. Say it up front and we will build the day around it.
Feedback and approvals, almost every time. The filming and the edit run to schedule. What moves a deadline is a cut sitting with five people who all need to see it. Deciding who signs off before we start saves more time than anything else.
Go deeper: The full processEvent video
On the day
What actually happens when we turn up, and how much of it lands on you.
The crew the job needs, named on the call sheet before the day so there are no strangers. Normally a Director of Photography plus whoever else the shoot calls for, sound, lighting, a second camera or a producer running the floor.
You are welcome, but plenty of clients brief us once and get on with their week. The brief and the call sheet cover what we need. If a decision comes up we call you rather than guess.
That is the normal starting point, not the exception. Our crew came up through live broadcast news, so settling nervous people is most of the job. We talk to them like a person, keep the set calm, and nobody sees the first three takes.
In your own building, almost always. We bring lighting so a plain meeting room still looks good, and filming where your people actually work looks more like you than a hired studio does. We film on location and in studios too when the job calls for it.
We plan for it. There is a wet weather option on any outdoor shoot, spare kit in the van, and a crew used to solving things on the day rather than stopping. If a shoot genuinely cannot go ahead we reschedule it, we do not bill you for a day that did not happen.
Go deeper: Corporate videoCrew hire
The edit
What happens between the shoot and the files landing with you.
Two rounds are built into every job. In practice that is plenty, because you are commenting on the actual frame rather than describing a timecode in an email. If a job genuinely needs more we talk about it rather than surprising you with a fee.
Through Frame.io. You click on the moment you mean and type. Everyone on your side comments in the same place, so we get one clear list instead of four conflicting emails, and nothing gets missed.
Yes, and it is worth asking for at the briefing stage rather than afterwards. If we know you want vertical cuts and short social versions, we frame the shoot so they work. Asking later means cropping something that was never shot for it.
Yes. Send your brand guidelines and the font files and we work inside them, so the titles and graphics match everything else you put out. If you do not have a video style yet we build one on the first job and it becomes your standard.
Often, yes. Send it over and we will tell you honestly what is usable before you commit to anything. Sometimes there is a good video sitting in there. Sometimes the honest answer is that it needs a reshoot, and we would rather say that early.
Go deeper: Video editingMotion graphics
The fine print
The questions procurement and legal ask, usually after everyone else has agreed.
Yes. The finished videos are yours, with full usage rights, for as long as you like. There is no licence clock running in the background and no fee that reappears in two years when you want to keep using it.
Yes, as a paid extra. Raw footage is a lot of data and it takes work to sort, label and hand over, so it is quoted rather than thrown in. Mention it when we quote and it goes on as its own line.
We archive it after delivery so it is there if you come back wanting another cut. It is not a permanent guarantee though, so if the footage matters to you long term, take the raw files at handover.
Yes, and we do it regularly for professional services, government and anything commercially sensitive. Send yours over. We are used to filming things that are not public yet and keeping them that way.
Yes. Public liability is in place and we can send the certificate. Our vehicle registrations are on file too, so venue access, loading docks and site inductions get sorted before the day rather than at the gate.
Go deeper: Government workProfessional services
Working together
The things people want to know before they hand a job over.
Jess, from the first call to the final files. No handover chain, no being passed to an account manager you have never met. One person who knows your job and answers the phone.
Yes. Sydney and greater NSW is standard, and we travel interstate for the right job. Travel and mileage go on the quote as their own lines so you can see exactly what the distance is costing you.
Yes, and a large share of what we do is crewing for other production companies, event agencies and comms teams. Your client, your brief, your name on the job. We do not pitch your client and we do not go around you afterwards.
Yes, and running both on the same day is usually the smart move. The lighting is already up and your people are already organised, so you walk away with two libraries instead of booking everyone twice.
Usually what went wrong was managing them, not the footage. So the whole thing is built around you briefing us once and not having to chase anyone. Fixed quote, one contact, named crew on a call sheet, and delivery on the date we said.
Go deeper: About Zarco CreativeWho we work with
Not answered?
If your question is not here it is probably a good one. Tell us what you are trying to make and we will give you a straight answer, whether or not it wins us the job.
