Der Hirt

Der Hirt is an Austrian winery, or heurigen as its called locally. Its situated in the north of Vienna, in the picturesque wine region of the 19th district.

The wine you drink is grown only a stones through away. It has a unique vista overlooking the vineyard and down to the river Danube. In 2021 I initially photographed the venue when it first opened.  The photos were used on their social channels and website. Later in the summer of 2023, I created a brand film (or image video in German). I produced a directors treatment to articulate the idea I had for film. The story of friends meeting for dinner on a sunny summers day.

Rather than just putting a lot of visuals together to show everything, the storyline gave the video context. It helps the viewer to connect with the characters and imagine themselves there. The shoot day was at the end of August, on a 36 degree day. We were filming outside in the heat  for 11 hours. It was a long, exhausting, but rewarding day.

In total, throughout the day, there were 18 people / actors, 6 staff members and 2 crew members, a production assistant and myself. I wore many hats, director, producers, cinematographer, editor. Beside the technical work and creative visuals, my top priory was ensuring everyone was comfortable (not over heating), knew what was happening and were most of all happy. As happy actor make great visuals.

The day was a great success and I feel the results speaks for itself.

Besides the main shoot day, I visits Der Hirt 4 other times. To film the jazz band and to capture B-Roll for the drone and ground in different lighting conditions. Early morning, afternoon, sunset and evening. The output from this project included the main brand film, 10 short form vertical videos for social media and 60 photos again for social media.