The Challenge
A destination is not its attractions. It's the bar you found on the second night, the restaurant locals actually go to, the distillery run by people who will tell you more than you asked.
Visit Virginia Beach wanted to capture the voice and mission of the small businesses that make the city a place worth traveling to. Three businesses, each with a distinct personality — Beachside Social, Hearth, and Chesapeake Bay Distillery.
The constraint was scale. A destination-marketing budget doesn't stretch to three separate productions for three small businesses.
The Work
All footage was captured in one day of production with a two-person turnkey crew.
A small crew is an advantage on this kind of work. Owner-operated businesses get self-conscious around a full unit, and the honesty the piece depends on evaporates. Two people in the room, moving quickly, gets you the version of someone that customers actually meet.
The Result
A set of spotlights giving three local businesses a real presence in the destination's marketing — produced at a scale that made covering all three possible.
