Sell on Amazon Canada Remote Docs

When the COVID-19 pandemic made shooting in-person video shoots impossible, the Sell on Amazon marketing team in Canada turned to Mew to come up with an out-of-the box solution to interview business owners where they were. What started as a complete shutdown of all content capture turned into a totally original solution for video shoots, a dozen interviews, and an entire year’s worth of marketing assets.

When the Amazon Canada marketing team approached us about capturing a dozen selling partner stories from British Columbia to Quebec, we did a lot of research to find the right solution. Since we knew we couldn’t travel during this time, we decided that the best approach would be to do remote capture interviews. But we’ve all seen bad remote interviews: spotty connections, washed-out subjects, and the inevitable “I think you’re on mute…”

We needed the quality to be better than a traditional zoom-call interview. But we couldn’t send over professional-grade cameras and audio equipment to be set up by the subject. And even if we could capture the interview in high enough quality, how could we capture additional footage to make the video visually interesting? No one wanted it to look like a hostage negotiation video or a bad local news spot…

We needed two things: easy-to-use equipment that could handle the task and user-friendly remote capture software. The latest iPhone provided us with the highest quality picture (4K @ 24fps) combined with “it just works” functionality. We found a microphone that could connect directly into the phone, a sturdy tripod, a small gimbal, and a compact light - all packed snuggly in a Pelican case. 

These pieces worked great. Everyone knows how to shoot a video on a phone. The microphone was plug-and-play. The tripod and gimbal made sure that everything was straight and sturdy, and the light gave us consistency we needed in each subject’s wildly different locations. And getting two of everything meant we could have two kits circling Canada in order to capture interviews more efficiently. 

For the software, we partnered with a startup company out of New York to find the perfect option: a virtual interview room that’s accessed directly through an app on the phone: all the subject needed to do is open the app up. Once it’s opened, Mew producers could remotely control the settings, aperture, focus, and even start recording. The 4K recorded file uploads automatically to the cloud, so if something happened to the phone in transit we’d still have all the footage (this helped our editor sleep better at night). Having the raw footage uploaded immediately also meant we could get started on the edit right away—often the same day. We didn’t have to wait for the kit to be shipped, pass through customs, and arrive a week later. Tremendous flexibility.

But what does the subject do once they receive a kit? And how can we make sure that the next subject would do the same thing? We created a clear step-by-step walkthrough to explain how to set up the equipment and switch on the app. Even for the subjects who weren’t particularly…ahem…technically proficient, the process was clear and straightforward. 

Once the subject set up the phone and switched on the app, our director and production designer remotely helped the subject adjust the camera, lighting, and prepare the set so we’d have the most visually appealing shot we could in the existing space, often just their kitchen or converted bedroom! Once the shot was locked in, our producer and director interviewed the seller. The client could also tune into the interview and jump in with any additional questions. We even brought in a translator for the interviews that the team wanted to do in French.

After the interview, we asked the subject to use the phone and equipment to capture some additional content that we could use in the video: footage of their business, hobbies, time with their family…really anything we could use to fill out the edit and give a good perspective on who they were. Once that was complete, they packed up the equipment, attached their pre-paid shipping label, and put it in the mail to the next seller.

In addition to the interview and the footage the seller captured, as well as any professional video or photography from their website or social channels, we also filmed the subjects products with cinema-grade cameras both in-studio and on location. But even still, that wasn’t enough. Because each video begins with the subject’s origin story, we needed to call on animation to provide visual spectacle as the audience hears from the seller about their entrepreneurial journey. The beautiful animation allows us to jump time and quickly catch the audience up to the present. 

With the system of remote capture, seller-supplied footage, our own filming, and animation, we created high-quality documentaries for the Amazon Canada marketing team that ended up filling out a whole new page on their website, gave them great marketing tools to recruit new customers, and filled up their content calendar for a year that was supposed to be lost to the pandemic.

Plus it was just a blast.