Manufacturing Video Production Case Study: Weiss Technik
A test chamber is not an obviously cinematic subject. Weiss Technik did not ask for a film about machines. The brief we worked to was blunter than that: film confidence, capability and credibility.
This manufacturing video production case study covers the first of two commissioned films, a 90 second facility announcement made for an audience of engineers, procurement leads and funding bodies who can smell a marketing film at fifty paces.
It was shot on a live construction site under CDM 2015, timed around a single delivery window, and delivered in 16:9 and 1:1 for use across the client’s channels and in presentations.
The Approach
strategy
Creative
Rather than present one treatment, we wrote two competing 90 second scripts and set out the reasoning for each. One opened on the brand and announced the facility. The other opened on the industry problem and brought Weiss Technik in as the answer. Every claim in both was traced back to the client’s own technical bullet points and marked up with its source, so the marketing team could see exactly where a line had come from. Weiss Technik chose the brand-first version.
Short declarative voiceover, with every capability claim mirrored by a hard on-screen graphic. The structure escalates: brand, then facility, then the single most remarkable capability, then scale proof points, then the manufacturing story. Simulated altitude testing up to and beyond 45,000 feet. A five megawatt dynamometer cell. The UK’s first true scale marine single cylinder engine. No talking heads, no narrative characters, no filler.
Production
A two-person crew across two days, working to a schedule built backwards from the delivery window: exteriors and drone in the middle of the day, the existing chamber and the arriving unit either side. We produced the method statement, risk assessment and call sheet, completed the online site induction and bought the PPE, so the client’s site team had nothing to arrange.
In post, the edit was built to the approved script rather than assembled and narrated afterwards. The first cut carried music and a temporary voiceover so the client could hear the rhythm. Motion graphics came next, and the professional voiceover last, timed to the locked edit.
The Outcome
The film was signed off internally, immediately requested for use in a presentation, and circulated to the group’s French leadership.
The sharpest test came late. Weiss Technik’s French president raised that the altitude figure was in feet and his teams work in metres, and the film was needed urgently in France. Rather than send back one revision, we produced four alternative versions the same evening, covering two graphical treatments with and without a warning mark, and delivered them by 7pm so the team could choose. The version they selected went out the following morning.
The film is now live. A second, longer technical film is commissioned and still to be shot.
The Challenge
Weiss Technik UK builds environmental simulation and test chamber systems. Their equipment was being installed at the University of Nottingham’s new Hybrid Propulsion Systems Building, a facility supporting aerospace, marine, off-highway and heavy industry research into hydrogen, ammonia and other green fuels.
The audience was never general. It was CTOs and technical decision makers in aerospace and transport, alongside policy makers and funding bodies. That audience does not respond to adjectives. It responds to numbers it can check.
The constraints were unusually tight. The site was live and under CDM 2015, so every crew member needed named approval, a site induction and full PPE before setting foot on it. The second chamber was being delivered before 9am on a fixed date, and that delivery was the centrepiece of the film. It happened once.
Why This Worked
Two scripts, not one. Offering a real strategic choice with the reasoning attached moved the conversation from taste to argument, and got a decision faster.
Claims traced to source. Marking up where each line came from let a technically cautious client review the script on facts rather than feel.
Speed when it counted. Four alternative versions in one evening turned a potential delay into a same-day decision.
Manufacturing video production, industrial and engineering film, scriptwriting and treatment development, live construction site filming under CDM 2015, drone cinematography, 2D motion graphics, professional voiceover and sound design, 16:9 and 1:1 delivery, alternative version production.
Project Scope
“I had a last-minute job and needed someone fast. Rune Films responded quickly and were professional throughout. The filming day was smooth, and they kept checking in to make sure they had all the footage I wanted. I was on a tight deadline, and not only did they meet it, they went beyond what was expected when there were last-minute changes, and delivered a slick video at the end. I’m looking forward to working with them again, and would recommend them to anyone.”
Kirsty Wilkins, Sales Marketing Manager, Weiss Technik
Client Feedback
3D Animation Case Study (Henniker Plasma) A technical process explained for a specialist buying audience.
Customer Testimonial Video Case Study (Fuse 2) One customer story that grew into four films across two shoots.
Corporate Training Video Case Study (Lowell Financial) A video-led onboarding platform rolled out across three regions.
SaaS Explainer Video Case Study (Expend) 2D animation used to simplify a multi-audience product.
Related Case Studies
Looking to create a manufacturing video? Get in touch.
If you need to communicate engineering capability to a technical audience, we help manufacturers across Leeds, West Yorkshire and the UK produce film that stands up to expert scrutiny. Get in touch to discuss your project.
Manufacturing video FAQs
How do you film on a live industrial or construction site?
Under CDM 2015 you need named crew approval, a site induction and full PPE before access, plus a method statement and risk assessment submitted in advance. A production company that handles this itself saves the client a significant amount of coordination.
How long should a manufacturing or facility announcement film be?
A teaser works best at 30 to 45 seconds, carrying one idea and a handful of verifiable numbers. A longer technical film of around 90 seconds can then go deeper for the audience the teaser has already interested.
Can you film equipment that only arrives once?
Yes, but the schedule has to be built around it and the crew needs to be on site well before the window opens. There is no rehearsal for a delivery.
How do you handle technical claims in a script?
Trace every claim to a client-supplied source and mark it up so their technical reviewers can check it. Expect claims to be softened in review, and build the graphics so wording changes do not break the timing.