When does a founder scene work in an ad film?

Why put the business owner on screen?

In small and mid-sized businesses, trust comes from a person rather than an institution. When a supplier or customer sees the person who runs the business, the decision becomes easier. Promotion built only on stock footage does not create the same effect.

An ad film with your portrait carries that effect into the film itself. The film is produced from scratch as usual: the script is written, the scenes become footage, and everything is edited with voice-over and music. In the scenes you select, the person on screen is you. You appear as a character standing inside the location that was described, with no shoot day, crew or studio needed.

Voice-over carries the story, and that makes multilingual versions simple

In the cinematic scene engine, your portrait scenes are built for presence rather than speech. You appear on screen while the narration flows uninterrupted through the film's professional voice-over. Knowing this from the start helps you plan the film: the founder is seen, and the voice-over tells the story.

This design has a practical benefit. Because the scenes do not depend on lip sync, the same film can be voiced in another language and your face stays exactly as it is. There is no need to reshoot scenes for an English or German version. For businesses that export or expand abroad, this is often more useful than a speaking scene.

How many scenes will you appear in?

The upper limit depends on the film's length band: up to 1 scene in the short band (10–20 sec), 3 in the standard band (20–40 sec) and 5 in the long band (40–75 sec). The limit follows the number of scenes each band produces, so if you would like to appear in more scenes, you move the film up to the next band.

The opening wide shot stays as the film's establishing image, since a film does not open on a face, and scenes where the product stands alone in frame stay product-focused. The scenes you select are spread evenly across the film, and the final scene is always included, so the film closes with you.

• •For a first attempt, 1 scene is enough for most businesses: a moment near the middle of the film that does not interrupt the flow.
• •Choosing not to appear at all is also an option; the film is then produced on its length band alone, with no portrait scenes.
• •You can have your scenes produced in Standard (720p) or High (1080p); Standard is sufficient for social media and the web.

How do you prepare your portrait?

There are two ways. You can upload a single front-facing, well-lit portrait photo, with no glasses glare or hat and a plain background. Or you can skip the photo and design a presenter who is not a real person by describing gender, age range, clothing and setting.

Your portrait stays in your account: the same face is used in later films, presenter videos and recipient-specific videos. You may upload another person's photo only if you have their explicit permission, and the permission declaration is recorded.

No frame is produced before you approve

The scene plan, the narration script and the scenes in which you appear are shown to you first, and you can edit the scene text and order there. Payment is taken after this approval, so you see which scenes you are purchasing before you pay.

If you would like to change a scene, it can be regenerated on its own and the film is reassembled. All other scenes stay exactly as they were.

If you would like to speak in your own voice

Two products are designed for videos where you look into the camera and speak. In a presenter video, you write the text and your portrait delivers it to camera: announcements, welcomes and briefings. A personal profile video introduces you rather than your company and does not require a website. It is produced in informational mode for physicians, lawyers, trainers and consultants.

You can also combine them: tell your brand story with an ad film featuring your portrait, and handle announcements with a presenter video. The same portrait works in both.

There used to be a “founder film”. What happened to it?

The earlier product was a speaking portrait that ran on the same production line as the presenter video. It has since been reshaped into something distinct: you now receive a true ad film with scenes produced from scratch, and you appear in the scenes you choose.

Older links continue to work, and readers searching for “founder film” arrive at this page and the product page. If you would like to speak to camera with your own face, choose the presenter video or personal profile video products.