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The Lantern

A short film that shows people why they'd choose you.

The Lantern is a short video for your business: a 15 to 30 second story film made for Instagram and Facebook. It opens on a moment your customers know and ends on why you are the answer. There is no shoot day and nothing to set up. Prices start at $500.

Start my film Building a website with me? Every build already includes a free launch film.

People scroll past ads and stop for stories

  • Most local businesses post photos that nobody stops for.
  • A filmed video usually means a shoot day, a crew and a bill of $2,000 or more.
  • Cheap AI ads look like every other ad, often with fake people in them.

The Lantern sits in between. It is a real story about your business, built for your customers, at a price a small business can say yes to.

Four films

  • Announcement film, $500. 15 to 20 seconds for something with a date: opening day, a new season, a new product or an event.

  • Story film, $750. 20 to 30 seconds. It opens on a frustration your customers know, like the shop that looked closed or the booking that would not go through, and ends on how you fix it.

  • Place film, $750. 20 to 30 seconds of your season and your setting, for lodges, marinas, golf courses, ski hills, campgrounds and attractions.

  • Season series, $2,400. Four short episodes across one season with a story that carries from one to the next, released on a schedule.

Every film comes in the two social sizes, 9:16 for Reels and Stories and 4:5 for the feed, with your end card. The film is yours to post or boost as an ad. Need something longer, up to a few minutes? Longer films are scoped and priced individually.

How it works

  1. 01

    You fill in a short questionnaire, so we start past the basics.

  2. 02

    We talk about your customers, your season and what you are proud of, for as long as it takes.

  3. 03

    You pay to start. The season series is half to start and half on delivery.

  4. 04

    I show you the storyboard on a call, frame by frame, and you say what is wrong.

  5. 05

    I make the film, and you review the cut.

  6. 06

    You get the finished film in both sizes, ready to post.

Made for the Kootenays and made honestly

  • Real seasons and real local moments: winter roads, smoke season, the summer rush, the ferry, Highway 3.

  • Your own building, rooms, products and people appear only from your real photos or phone footage.

  • The story and the setting are animated, and no film invents a customer, a review or a number.

I make my own series this way. Stump, a cedar stump with a lantern who fixes up local businesses at night, runs on the Kootenay Made Digital Instagram.

What owners ask first

Do I need to film anything?
No. If you want your real place or products in the film, send phone photos or a short clip. Everything else is made for you.
Is it animation or real footage?
Both, where it helps. The story and the setting are animated, and your real photos or footage show your actual place.
How is this different from the free launch film?
The launch film comes free with every website I build. It is cut from your finished site and shows the site off on launch day. The Lantern is a story about your business itself, for any time after.
Can I run it as an ad?
Yes. The film is yours once it is paid for, so you can post it, boost it or run it in an ad campaign.
Does the neighbours rate apply?
No. The 10% neighbours rate is for website, store and app builds, so it does not apply to films.

Tell me what your customers should feel in the first second.

Send me your business and the moment your customers know best. I reply within 24 hours.

Start my film