Case Study · Corporate Brand Film · Austin, TX
Bluehost × Stylist Pays Stylist
How a two-person crew delivered a corporate brand film for one of the world's largest hosting providers — in one shoot day.
Built on the Internet · Bluehost × Stylist Pays Stylist · Full Brand Film
| Client | Bluehost (via Production Hub) |
| Subject | Stylist Pays Stylist — Herta & Chris Branding, Austin, TX |
| Project Type | Corporate brand film — company profile |
| Deliverables | Footage delivery · 90-second brand film · 15-second YouTube pre-roll · BTS photography |
| Shoot Date | March 30, 2026 |
| Shoot Location | Salon (b-roll, morning) · Client home (interview, afternoon) |
| Crew | 2 — Jacob Perkins + Max Cunningham |
| Cameras | DJI Ronin 4D · Sony FX9 · Sony FX6 · Sony A7S III · Sony A1 II · DJI Mavic 3 |
| Post-Production | 4 days — narrative structure, timeline assembly, color grade, sound mix |
Overview
In early 2026, Bluehost — one of the world's largest web hosting providers — commissioned a profile film on Stylist Pays Stylist, an Austin-based platform helping hair salon owners build more profitable businesses. Bluehost engaged Production Hub to manage the production, and Production Hub hired Hen's Bread Productions as the local Austin crew.
The contracted scope was straightforward: show up, film all day, hand over the footage. What Hen's Bread Productions delivered went well beyond that.
The Client
An Industry with a Problem Worth Solving
Stylist Pays Stylist is a community marketplace for hair professionals — a platform where salon owners and independent stylists access business education, technical resources, and marketing assets built by people who actually work in the industry. Founded by Herta and Chris Branding and launched in Q3 2025, the business is Austin-based but serves clients nationally, built on a Bluehost-hosted WordPress site.
The Brief — and What Wasn't In It
Bid on Equipment. Figure the Rest Out.
Production Hub's initial brief was minimal. HBP was asked to bid on equipment and explain the gear choices. A more detailed pre-production meeting came one week before the shoot, directly with the Bluehost team — a rough day schedule, two locations, and one new detail: the client would need director's monitors on set.
No scramble. No problem. Jacob's production cart carries multiple monitor options as standard kit. A variable came up; the solution was already packed.
This is what professional production looks like. The client shouldn't feel the variables — they should just feel the results.
The Shoot — March 30, 2026
One Day. Two People. Six Cameras.
Jacob and Max arrived at the salon at 9 AM. The morning was dedicated to b-roll — the DJI Ronin 4D led the interior work while the Mavic 3 captured the establishing drone shot. By midday the crew relocated to Herta and Chris's home for a 90-minute interview that became the backbone of the film.
A two-person crew running six cameras across two locations in one day is not an accident. It is the result of a production system built around preparedness, efficient gear deployment, and a crew that doesn't need to be told twice.
The Photos Nobody Asked For
An Add-On That Became a Standout Deliverable
When HBP submitted the bid, Jacob included something that wasn't in the brief: BTS photography. The Bluehost team hadn't asked for it. Most two-person crews wouldn't have offered it — the capacity just isn't there.
Jacob shot the BTS photography himself alongside his camera responsibilities — the A1 II on hand while Max ran a second camera. The photos became one of the most valued deliverables of the day — immediately usable for Bluehost's blog, social content, and internal communications. Bluehost asked Production Hub to share them separately. They didn't expect them. They loved them.
This is the kind of value that doesn't show up in a bid document but does show up in the client relationship.
The Edit Nobody Paid For
Four Days in Post. Zero on the Invoice.
The contracted deliverable was footage. HBP handed that over. Then Jacob spent four days in post — one day building the narrative structure and soundbite selection from the 90-minute interview transcript, one day on timeline assembly, one day with colorist Brian Gomez, and one day on the sound mix.
The reasoning was straightforward: this was powerful material. A single shoot day. A real founder story. A recognizable brand client. The footage deserved to become something.
15-Second Pre-Roll Cut
YouTube Pre-Roll Cut · 15 Seconds
Audio not yet mixed — the full sound design is in the brand film above. This cut exists because the narrative structure was planned before the camera rolled. When the story is built in pre-production, the edit follows naturally. A 15-second cut from a 90-minute interview isn't luck; it's the pipeline working the way it should.
Why This Project Lives in the HBP Portfolio
Corporate narrative filmmaking is the work Hen's Bread Productions is built for. One shoot day. Two people. A real founder story with real stakes. B-roll that earns its place. An interview long enough to find the honest moments. Post-production that turns raw footage into something a brand can stand behind.
This project also demonstrates something harder to put in a scope of work: the judgment to recognize what footage can become, and the commitment to see it through. Clients don't always know to ask for the edit. The photos. The monitors. The second camera on the tight shot.
That's what experience brings to a production day.
View All WorkBehind the Scenes
Production Day — March 30, 2026
Salon b-roll, interview setup, and the candid moments that made the day.
Setting up at the salon — Ronin 4D prepped for the morning b-roll session
Stylist at work — b-roll for the Bluehost brand film
Max on the Ronin 4D capturing the salon environment
Max filming — Ronin 4D in hand, FX6 on standby
This has been a great journey working with Bluehost — where we can all come together and learn, earn, and grow.
Full interview configuration — two 38" softboxes, three camera positions, boom overhead, director monitors on set
Camera room — lighting, Sony cameras, live monitor feed
What the camera sees — the monitor doesn't lie
Herta and Chris on set — FX9 wide, FX6 tight, A7SIII single. Six cameras. Two crew.
That's the storefront. Without it, it doesn't exist.
Bluehost team reviewing the shot list on location at the salon
Max working with Bluehost
Bluehost reviewing footage while filming
Bluehost filming social content
“Everything is better at Bluehost.”