Herbivore Beauty Product Instructional Video Production
Video Production Request
Herbivore asked Ezra Productions to produce five B2C beauty product instructional videos that demonstrate how to use selected skincare products and tools in an engaging way. The beauty products Herbivore wished to feature were their Emerald + CBD Oil, Rose Gua Sha tools, and their Jade and Rose Quartz Facial Rollers.
The production design of the shoot was inspired by the clean, elegant, monochromatic style of their Instagram feed. They selected their Head of Education, Michael Ahmad, to conduct the tutorials and star in the product demonstration videos.
Current and future customers will view these videos on their social media channels and on Sephora’s website. Since the videos will be displayed on Instagram, Sephora requested square versions of all five videos in addition to horizontal versions.
Our Role
- Creative concepting
- Video production: producing, directing, video editing
- Art direction, set design and prop styling
- Motion graphics
- VFX
- Color grading
- Music licensing
- Voiceover
- Audio editing
Company Description
Herbivore Botanicals is an ethically sourced skincare company combining pure active ingredients with a minimalist aesthetic. Co-founded by husband and wife duo, Julia Willis and Alex Kummerow, Herbivore Botanicals came to fruition in their Seattle kitchen. The formulas are made from scratch and carefully created with safe, non-toxic ingredients, and each product is developed for a distinct therapeutic purpose.
The Result
The resulting beauty product instructional videos, ranging from 30-60 seconds in length, were on-brand, monochromatic, gleaming, and informational yet cinematically beautiful and engaging.
Deliverables
We delivered five videos in both horizontal and square formats (for Instagram), totalling 10 video deliverables. These videos are broken down below:
- 2 x CBD Emerald Oil Video (horizontal + square)
- 2 x Gua Sha Video (horizontal + square)
- 2 x shortened Gua Sha Video (horizontal + square)
- 2 x Facial Rollers Video (horizontal + square)
- 2 x shortened Facial Rollers Video (horizontal + square)
Beauty Product Instructional Videos
CBD + Emerald Oil
Facial Rollers
Short Beauty Product Demonstration Videos
Rose Gua Sha
Facial Rollers
Our Approach
We wanted the beauty product instructional videos to be both informative and entertaining, so we suggested that the videos be as short as possible and start with a punchy introduction to capture people’s attention right off the bat and keep them engaged.
We studied Herbivore Botanicals’ brand style and color scheme and designed the set using their pastels and monochromatic style. We opted to shoot the videos in a clean studio using their signature colors as backdrops. We outfitted Michael in the matching color to create a crisp, unified look.
The videos featured a talking head (Michael) and beautiful b-roll shots of the products in different stylized, chic, on-brand setups and environments. We made sure that the videos were both educational and held viewers’ attention through the use of clean and cinematic shots.
We felt that the script we were presented with was a bit information-heavy for a social media audience, so we suggested cutting it down and making it less medical-sounding. We had Michael rehearse his talking points so he sounded confident in front of the camera. During editing, we pulled keywords and “steps” from the script to show on-screen using motion graphics, the idea being that the videos can be equally as informative with the sound off. During post-production, we also speed-ramped the footage in various places to give them a stylized look.
Set/prop design was a very important factor in preparing for the shoot. Since we were shooting in a studio, we needed to find seamless backdrops that we could light and color in post-production in such a way that they match the pastel brand colors. Our prop stylist was involved with our creative calls with the client to make sure she understood the brand’s vibe and needs for displaying the products in creating the setups.
There was a change of direction during editing so we ended up creating short and long versions of two of the videos. The long versions is are minute long and are intended for the customers to view on the Herbivore and Sephora websites. The short versions are closer to 30 seconds long, don’t have voiceover, and are for Instagram and social media. We felt strongly about making the shorter version “punchier” to increase viewer retention and shareability across social platforms.
Behind the Scenes Photography
