Ongoing Video Series (Monthly Retainer Proposal) Dec 28, 2025

          The purpose of this ongoing collaboration is to position Long Bros as a distinctive and influential voice in the world of rare books, regional history, and culture, while creating work that is witty, cinematic, and genuinely entertaining for audiences beyond traditional book collectors.

Rather than focusing on promotional content centered solely on inventory, this project presents Long Bros as a living archive, a place where books become portals into stories about place, taste, obsession, memory, and personality. The videos will treat rare books not only as cultural artifacts, but as active participants in a larger narrative about history, authorship, collecting, and the people who care deeply about these things.

          At its core, this partnership is about storytelling as a form of cultural stewardship. Long Bros will be presented not only as a provider of rare materials, but as an active supporter and curator of regional history and culture, helping to preserve, interpret, and circulate ideas that might otherwise remain confined to private collections or footnotes.

          The tone of the work will be intellectual but playful, informed without becoming overly academic, stylish without being precious, and authentic to the personalities being portrayed.

By experimenting with format, voice, and visual language, this collaboration aims to create a body of work that feels closer to auteur cinema, literary satire, and documentary world-building than traditional retail marketing. The goal is to make something people want to watch, even if they have never bought a rare book, and in doing so, to elevate Long Bros’ reputation locally and internationally as a thoughtful, influential, and culturally essential institution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Deliverables

• 4 short films per month (30–90 seconds each)

• Optimized for Instagram, web, email, and long-term archive use

• The subject matter of the films would evolve over time, but initially would focus on Jeffrey discussing selections featured in the shop, guest writers speaking about their work, and pieces highlighting events or offerings at Long Bros.​

• ​This model leaves room for new campaigns to be developed as time goes on.
   

Content Direction

          The videos would follow a repeatable, evolving format, creating cohesion over time while leaving room for discovery and creative exploration.

          Visually, the series leans cinematic, experimental and unique, commenting on a rich history of filmmaking and storytelling rather than leaning on social media trends. It is important to understand the mechanics of the platforms we are posting on but not to follow necessarily derivative aesthetics. We aim to explore an aesthetic world of our own making.

 

Pre Production Strategy

In-Person Planning with Jeffrey (1 hour)

          One in person planning session per month, approximately one hour. During this session we will select the subject matter to focus on for the month. Jeffrey will have descriptions and contextual notes prepared in advance to guide discussion. Together we will outline the general script direction and identify any narrative or visual ideas worth exploring further.

          We will also discuss broader themes and points of curiosity, including provenance, historical context, seasonal moments, holidays, and opportunities to align stories with local events or regional cultural moments.

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Follow Up Development

          Following the planning session, I will take the information gathered and expand it through additional research, reference building, and creative development. This includes refining voice and tone, exploring stylistic or structural variations, and building a clear shot list and visual approach for the month.

          A key goal of this process is to ensure that each month feels fresh and intentional, rather than locked into a single formula. While the series will have a recognizable identity, the structure, pacing, and emphasis will remain flexible, allowing the work to respond naturally to the material, the moment, and the stories being told.

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Production Strategy

           On the shoot day, I will arrive approximately two hours early to prepare the space. This includes blocking shots, shaping and lighting the scene, framing compositions, and preparing for audio capture. Once the visual and technical setup is complete, Jeffrey will be on camera for approximately one hour to work through the planned dialogue, with room left intentionally for improvisation, discovery, and natural conversation. After the on-camera portion is complete, I will capture any additional b-roll or detail shots needed to support the edit. The day will conclude with approximately two hours allotted for breakdown and load out.

The Edit (40 hours)

          After all the footage is captured, editing will begin. Each video will require approximately two full days of post-production. If any pickup shots are identified during the edit, I will coordinate with Long Bros to capture them, and this time will not be billed as an additional cost.

Final edits will be delivered in advance of their posting window, with content scheduled for release the following month. For example, videos produced in January will be scheduled for publication in February.

 

Example Timeline (can be modified depending on weekly schedule):

 

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Why a Retainer?

          A retainer structure allows the work to build consistency, continuity, and depth over time. It creates space to establish a recognizable brand and level of quality that Long Bros can be known for internationally, while remaining responsive to what is actually happening in the shop month to month. Rather than producing isolated posts, this approach supports the creation of a cohesive body of work that evolves organically and reduces overhead and decision fatigue for everyone involved.

          For Long Bros, this results in a growing video archive and a steady stream of high-quality material that can be used across multiple platforms. Over time, the work becomes a long-term asset that reflects the shop’s seriousness, curiosity, and cultural role, rather than a series of one-off promotional pieces (though it can serve that purpose as well).

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Guest Writer Features

          A recurring video series featuring regional writers and those passing through. Each piece would aim to capture the personality and thinking of the author as they reflect on or summarize their featured work. Over time, the series would accumulate into an archive of people and ideas associated with Long Bros.

          The writers and their work would reflect the same sensibility that guides the shop’s curation. Each carries a relationship to place and history that is embedded in their writing. By situating these voices within Long Bros, the videos would trace subtle connections between literature, regional culture, and the curatorial logic of the store itself. Taken together, the series would extend Long Bros’ aesthetic beyond objects and into living thought, presenting the shop as a place where writers and readers alike want to spend time, converse, and return.

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General Shop Advertisements

          While many of Long Bros’ interests are rooted in events of the past, the shop is actively engaged in shaping stories of the present. An ongoing focus of this video series would be to document events and everyday activity at Long Bros, including readings, gatherings, and moments that unfold naturally in the shop and bar. Each piece would aim to capture the atmosphere and rhythm of the space, presenting Long Bros not simply as a venue, but as a place people learn from, return to, linger in, and associate with a distinct cultural life. Over time, the series would accumulate into an evolving record of the shop’s presence and activity, creating a history of its own.

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          With all of this in mind, I’d like to establish a more standardized way of working together that allows us to build and grow creatively over time. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to continuing the collaboration in the new year.​

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Much Love,

          -Brock Scott

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Series Pilot

          A 3-minute proof-of-concept episode set at Long Bros Books in Pioneer Square. We're introduced to Jeffrey, the bookstore's maverick curator, through dialogue and poetic voiceover as he pulls books from shelves and examines donations with a collector's eye. When a woman arrives with a box of books to discard, Jeffrey discovers a worn copy of "The Art of Self-Preservation" with a bullet hole from an 1800s duel. Through flashback, we see how the book saved a cowboy's life. The cowboy's descendant (wearing a matching blue scarf across time) is mysteriously drawn to buy the book and sits at the bar with Mike, the bartender, raising a beer in quiet camaraderie. The camera pulls back through the window to reveal a gloved hand on an ornate cane—someone is watching. The episode ends when a messenger delivers a threatening letter from "The Committee of Five" demanding Jeffrey "correct his standards," which he calmly files in his box of "Threatening Letters." The pilot establishes the show's tone: literary noir meets magical realism, where books have destinies, history bleeds into the present, and Long Bros is a gathering place for those who understand.

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Storyboard

          This storyboard is a visual blueprint for the 3-minute pilot episode, breaking down every shot and camera movement we'll need to capture the story. It shows the flow from Jeffrey's opening voiceover sequence, through the discovery of the bullet-holed book and the cowboy flashback, to the blue-scarf man's arrival at the bar, and finally the Committee's threatening letter.

           The storyboard helps visualize how we'll use camera techniques—close-ups, match cuts, slow pull-backs—to create the show's distinct tone: intimate, atmospheric, and cinematic. It also serves as a shooting guide so we can work efficiently during our 1-2 days at Long Bros, ensuring we capture everything needed to tell this story with the quality and style it deserves. Think of it as the visual script that translates the written concept into actual filmmaking.

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Characters

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Props

• "An Old Friend, Still With Much to Say" book (dusty hardcover)

• "The Art of Self-Preservation" book - antique version with bullet hole

• "The Art of Self-Preservation" book - period/new version (flashback)

• Box of 15-20 assorted old/used books

• Blue scarf - Western/period style (1800s)

• Blue scarf - Modern version (matching color)

• Period cowboy costumes (x2) (hats, vests, boots)

• Prop revolvers (x2) - period appropriate, non-functional

• Ornate cane (wood or silver handle)

• Black leather gloves

• Committee threatening letter with wax seal (closed)

• Committee threatening letter (opened)

• Clear letter protector sleeve

• "Threatening Letters" box (labeled)

• Door Bell

• Fake book shelf for opening shot

• Typewriter

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SCHEDULE FOR SHOOT DAY​

          In order to save time and minimize disruption, we're shooting out of story order by organizing the 9 shooting blocks by physical location rather than narrative sequence. This means we set up the camera and lights once per area (bookshelf, window, bar, etc.) and shoot all the shots needed in that spot before moving on. If we shot in story order, we'd have to keep returning to the same locations and re-setting up equipment each time, which could add 2 to 4 hours to the shoot day. The first 6 blocks will all take place in and around Long Bros, so once we finish inside the store, we're completely done there and won't need to come back in. The footage won't be in story order initially, but we'll reassemble everything into the correct narrative sequence during editing. This location based approach is industry standard because it's the most efficient and respectful of everyone's time.

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