esearch
Original research and insights on branding, video, photography, and the industry we work in, grounded in the work we produce and the conversations behind it. branding, video, photography, and the industry
Occasional, in-depth field reports, drawn from our experience in video production and commercial photography. We pair hard data with what we see producing this work ourselves, so every read is measured against real work, not pulled from a dashboard.
The index
Commercial Photography in the Age of AI
Why a provably real image became a brand's most defensible asset as AI floods every feed.
Corporate Brand Storytelling
Why forgettable B2B video is now the expensive option, and how to prove a story worked.
Brand Activations as Content
Why the footage your crowd captures beats foot traffic, and how to build activations that travel.
Fashion Brand Content
Where fashion video and creator content win in the year between the shows.
Nonprofit Video Production
How dignity-first video moves donors without selling out the people in the frame.
Brand Video Production
The year video became infinite and taste became the scarce thing.
The Boutique Advantage
Why boutique agencies keep winning as the holding companies consolidate.
What we're building next
The brand documentary and long-form.
New research,
first.
Each report lands in The Monthly before it goes anywhere else. One email, no noise, the work and the thinking behind it.