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Pilot.

SHIFT on one real piece of work.

One project. Brief to delivery. Advisory leadership end to end.

A Pilot is full advisory leadership on one of your projects.

Brief to delivery. Whatever the project needs.

Some Pilots are oversight. Others go further. SHIFT designs a bespoke production workflow with your team for the duration of the project.

Independent of the agency and the production company. The advice is only in your interest.

Where Pilot fits

Seven types of projects.

Brand Campaign

A single integrated campaign across multiple formats and channels.

Hero Film

A single high stakes hero film, TVC, or anthem piece.

Content Series

A defined content series or branded episodic content.

Brand Launch

The production work behind a brand launch, rebrand, or major positioning moment.

AI Production

A first AI driven production at scale.

Live Event

A single live event production. Launch, summit, brand activation, festival.

Format Launch

Bringing a new format to life. Podcast, social series, mini documentary, branded short film.

How a Pilot runs

Four phases. One project.

We scope the Pilot with you. Project goals, success criteria, key constraints, SHIFT's role inside your team, vendor and agency context. We confirm what we cover, what stays with you, and what falls outside the Pilot.

Deliverable

Signed Pilot Scope Document.

01

Week 1

Scope

We scope the Pilot with you. Project goals, success criteria, key constraints, SHIFT's role inside your team, vendor and agency context. We confirm what we cover, what stays with you, and what falls outside the Pilot.

Deliverable

Signed Pilot Scope Document.

02

Weeks 2 to 4

Embed

SHIFT joins the project as advisory lead. Brief refinement, production company and director selection advisory, budget design, vendor negotiation support, governance setup. Minimum two days per week of active engagement, more if the project demands it.

Deliverable

Production plan, budget, partner selection, governance framework.

03

Weeks 4 to 7

Deliver

The project goes into live production with SHIFT embedded in the rhythm as advisory lead. On set or in pre and post sessions, on calls, on approvals, on costs. Weekly Estimated versus Actual reporting. Real time decision support for the brand team.

Deliverable

Delivered project, weekly EvsA reports, decision log.

04

Final week

Handover

Post production close out, cost reconciliation, rights and disclosure check, lessons learned, recommendation for what comes next. SHIFT exits cleanly, with everything documented.

Deliverable

Final Pilot Report covering project delivery, cost reconciliation, lessons, and recommendation.

What we cover

In scope and out of scope.

In scope inside a Pilot

Production strategy design
Brief development and refinement
Director and production company selection (advisory)
Budget design and benchmarking
Vendor negotiation support
Real time cost reporting and variance management
Milestone and approval gate oversight
AI tool selection and governance design
Post production cost discipline
Rights and licensing oversight
Quality gate oversight
Handover documentation

Out of scope

Structural redesign of your full production operation — that is Build
Ongoing advisory across multiple workstreams beyond this project — that is Engine
Production lead on parallel campaigns running alongside this project — that is Campaign or an extended Pilot
Recruiting or hiring decisions for permanent staff — we advise, we do not place

What every Pilot ends with

What every Pilot ends with.

— 01

The project, delivered.

Whatever you brought us in for. The film, the campaign, the series, the launch, the event, the rollout. Produced and shipped, with SHIFT as advisory lead alongside your team and your partners.

— 02

A full Pilot Report.

A written analysis of what was done, how it was built, what worked, what did not, the cost reconciliation against the original scope, and the lessons learned. Every artefact produced during the Pilot is included as appendix. The report belongs to your team.

— 03

A recommendation, where it makes sense.

Sometimes a Pilot surfaces something structural that would benefit from a longer engagement with SHIFT. Sometimes the project is the work, and the work is done. Both are valid outcomes.

What comes next

After the Pilot, where it makes sense.

[01]

Campaign

Embedded production advisory on a specific campaign or production.

Click to explore

[02]

Build

Advisory led design and build of your in house production capability.

Click to explore

[03]

Engine

Ongoing senior advisory across content, campaigns, and operations.

Click to explore

Ready to start

Talk to us about a Pilot.

Tell us about the project. We will scope it, schedule it, and run it alongside your team.