CivilPlan Consultants - Content for 2020 and beyond!
TL;DR
CivilPlan are one of our longest standing regular clients. What started as 1 project last year has turned into 6 projects and counting where we create high level marketing materials at their sites across Auckland. Ryan and I have developed a solid relationship and he continues to introduce and recommend us to his project partners and contacts within the construction industry. Cheers Ryan - you’re a legend!
Check out the video, a selection of the photos and the full story below. If this sounds like what you’re looking for then contact Chris on +64224261187 or via the contact form.
The Client
CivilPlan Consultants Limited is a “progressive land development and property advisory consultancy based in the heart of Manukau City”. The team there have vast experience in urban design, town planning, civil engineering, project management and land surveying. Check them out at www.civilplan.co.nz.
Ryan (left) and some of the juniors on his team at CivilPlan.
The Story
Ryan Pitkethley, Engineering Manager at CivilPlan, first approached us in September of 2019 as he was in need of some drone footage of construction sites, residential areas and their people working out on site. Within a couple of minutes of receiving his email, we had spoken through what he was looking for and established that the footage Ryan was looking for was going to play a feature role in their marketing materials, including the new CivilPlan website.
The team were going through a re-branding exercise and were in need of a suite of marketing materials - both video and photography - that not only reflected the type of work they do, but showcased it in a modern way, up to date with today’s high standards. With 10 years of advertising experience prior to starting Construction Photography NZ (CPNZ), I assured Ryan I was the right person for the job and got straight to work.
The ’site desk’ at all green field developments.
It was a foggy morning in Pokeno, some 40mins south of Auckland’s CBD, when we met the morning of the shoot. Ryan introduced me to a couple of his team members and ran through the plans of the huge area of land they had a role in developing.
I find no matter how detailed the brief is to you over the phone or via email, there’s absolutely no substitute for meeting the client onsite either prior to or on the day of the shoot. It allows for the clearest communication, gives both parties the chance to talk through any obstacles or areas to avoid, and is an opportunity to both to see the condition of the site prior to cameras rolling. Things also tend to go pretty smoothly when you’re walking around the site with the boss!!
As we had plenty of ground to cover in order to demonstrate the breadth of CivilPlan’s work, we set up the drone and took flight. We first focused on capturing areas of future development - nothing but literal green fields at time of recording, but soon to be future sites for development.
Earth moving equipment at work. Making them look like toys from the drone.
From there we moved on to capturing the activity happening onsite - road building, civil engineering and earthworks. Capturing machines in motion and people at work can dramatically increase the interest levels of a viewer watching the content after the fact. It shows progress and adds a human element which we naturally connect with.
We wrapped up the initial shoot by capturing some specific civil works such as rail bridges, ponds and waterways as well as wide shots showing established residential areas.
Rail bridge and surrounding ponds
Completed and in-progress residential paradise
For this first project we delivered 1 x approx. 60 second video and 44 edited photographs to fulfill Ryan’s brief. He must have been happy with us as we’ve completed 5 subsequent projects across Auckland and continue to work together. Here’s what Ryan had to say about working with Construction Photography NZ recently.
“We’ve worked with Chris at CPNZ for a number of months now after originally finding him via Google. We started off with just one project and at last count we’ve delivered 5 projects with more in the pipeline.
Chris is easy to deal with, understands what we’re looking for and produces great photos and videos. At CivilPlan we’ve recently been updating a number of our marketing materials in line with a new brand development and Chris’ visual assets have helped to position us as we’d like to be seen. His marketing background gives more value as he suggested shots in line with our brand and marketing goals. I’d be happy to recommend Chris to anyone hoping to elevate their brand and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”