100 Years of Akerstein: How to Take a Historic Brand and Rebrand It for a Cinematic Future

When the Client Is a Monster of Complexity (in the Best Way)

There are projects where the biggest challenge isn't the filming or the editing, it's understanding what the film needs to do, for whom, and how to satisfy people with different agendas without losing the soul of the story.

Akerstein is a conservative, veteran company loaded with history. 100 years, founding families, heavy industry, national projects, and managers in every department, each with opinions on what the film "must show."

This is exactly the project that proves how much smart client management is worth, at least as much as equipment management.

Challenge 1: An Archive Spanning Several Eras

When you work on a legacy brand's anniversary film, you receive mountains of materials: 8mm and 16mm films from founders, black-and-white photos scanned under unclear circumstances, analog VHS video from the eighties, and digital footage from the last decade, all in different aspect ratios and qualities.

The challenge isn't to "clean" them, that's impossible and undesirable. The challenge is to include them in a way that feels like a cinematic choice, not a technical limitation.

The solution: decide upfront that archive materials will be a "window in time", they won't try to be 4K. They're presented with grain, warm color, and framing that signals "memory," then cut sharply to modern drone footage. The transition between old and new becomes the film's central visual motif.

Challenge 2: Getting a Company with 100 Opinions to Agree on 100 Seconds

In large corporate projects, every VP wants their "arm" to get enough screen time. Every marketing department wants its messages. Every senior manager looks for themselves between the frames.

The solution: a script strategy that unifies from within. Instead of writing "we'll show a factory, then a project, then an employee", we built one emotional narrative thread: the materials that build Israel. Every arm of Akerstein is a chapter in that story, not because it "has to fit in," but because it's part of the narrative.

When conservative managers received the script with this logic, they understood that the film honored them more than if they'd arrived with demands. They received ownership of the narrative.

Challenge 3: Holding 3 Minutes of Attention Without Losing Pace

Three minutes is an eternity in online video. The solution isn't to "shorten", it's editing rhythm that changes intensity every 20-30 seconds.

The film is built in waves: wide opening (aerial, gestures, scale), then diving inward (closeup on texture, material, hands), then opening wide again. This rhythm prevents visual fatigue and creates a breathing feeling.

Additionally, the backing music allows "rhythmic anchoring", and with every musical intensity shift, editing recaptures attention.

What Comes Out: A Multi-Functional Corporate Asset

This film wasn't designed just for YouTube. It's delivered:

- At conference and anniversary event openings: created a "wow moment" in front of external audiences and employees - At board and investor meetings: positioned Akerstein as a market leader with 100 years of standing - As an Employer Branding asset: employees saw themselves as part of a story bigger than themselves, and unit pride soared

Rebranding doesn't mean throwing away the past. Sometimes it means making the past the most powerful asset you have.