You need video content. Marketing has a budget. Leadership wants results. The question becomes: do we film everything in one intensive day, or spread production across multiple days?
The answer is not about which approach is better. It is about which approach fits your project requirements. I have filmed high quality campaigns in a single day and documentary projects across months. Quality comes from planning, not duration.
This guide helps marketing managers and decision makers understand when each approach works, based on real projects filmed in Auckland and across New Zealand.
What One-Day Shoots Can Achieve
One day shoots work when you have clear scope, controlled environment, and detailed planning. They are efficient, cost effective, and can produce broadcast standard results.
Mental Health Awareness Week: Five People, One Day
We filmed five people sharing mental health stories for the Mental Health Foundation. All filmed in one day. All delivered to broadcast standard for TV.
How it worked: Studio setup meant consistent lighting, sound, and framing across all subjects. Each person had 90 minutes scheduled: 30 minutes for setup and sound check, 45 minutes filming, 15 minutes buffer.
Pre-interviews identified exactly who would share what story. No surprises on the day. Wardrobe was styled in advance to match campaign colors. The entire crew knew the schedule and what we were capturing.
Result: Five 90 second videos plus social media clips and four 30 second TV ads. Efficient production. Strong outcomes. Delivered on time and on budget.
Chorus Waiheke Fibre: Infrastructure Case Study in One Day
We filmed the Chorus Waiheke fibre optic installation in one day. CEO interview, cable laying boat with drone coverage, 6km undersea cable installation.
Single location meant no travel between shots. Tight schedule coordinated with Chorus operations team. Weather dependent, but we had contingency dates booked.
One day worked because the entire event happened in one location on one day. The infrastructure installation was the story. We documented it as it unfolded.
When Projects Need Multiple Days
Multi-day productions are necessary when logistics, geography, or story complexity require it. Trying to compress these projects into one day would compromise quality or miss essential content.
All Sorts Cyclone Gabrielle: Four Days Across Three Regions
We filmed four people affected by Cyclone Gabrielle for Mental Health Foundation's 2024 campaign. Shannon in Napier. Tyson in Hastings. Wallace in Titirangi. Tara in East Auckland.
Four days of filming across four locations. Each story required authentic environment, not studio. We needed to film people in their communities, the places that supported them through crisis.
Travel between regions added time. Setting up in outdoor documentary style (natural light, real environments) took longer than controlled studio. Each subject needed time to get comfortable, to find their words, to remember without rushing.
One day would have been impossible. Four days was efficient for the scope.
Hester Documentary: Four Days to Build Trust and Gather Expert Perspective
Speak Up documentary about online harassment required four days of filming. Two days with Hester. Two days interviewing experts.
The first two days focused on Hester's story. First day was relationship building. Getting comfortable with cameras, with the crew, with talking about difficult experiences. Second day captured the core interviews as trust developed.
Days three and four filmed expert interviews providing context and analysis around online harassment, digital safety, and the broader implications of Hester's experience.
Trying to compress this into one or two days would have produced guarded, surface level content. The four days allowed authentic, vulnerable storytelling combined with expert perspective.
The Real Difference: Planning, Not Duration
Quality does not come from how many days you film. Quality comes from matching your approach to your project requirements.
Mental Health Awareness Week (one day, studio) and All Sorts (four days, multiple locations) both delivered high quality results. The difference was project requirements, not quality standards.
One day can produce broadcast standard work when: you have single location, controlled environment, clear brief, scheduled subjects, and detailed planning.
Multiple days are necessary when: you have multiple locations, outdoor documentary style, sensitive subject matter requiring trust, complex logistics, or stories that unfold over time.
How to Decide What Your Project Needs
Ask these questions to determine whether one day or multiple days makes sense:
Location Questions
Are all subjects in one location? Can you use a studio or consistent indoor space? Or do you need to film in multiple cities, authentic environments, or weather dependent outdoor locations?
Single location favors one day. Multiple locations require multiple days.
Subject Questions
Are subjects comfortable on camera? Can you do pre-interviews to prepare them? Or are you working with vulnerable populations, first time on camera subjects, or sensitive topics requiring relationship building?
Prepared, comfortable subjects can work in one day. Sensitive topics or vulnerable populations often need multiple days.
Content Questions
Do you need scheduled interviews with clear questions? Or documentary style authentic moments that cannot be rushed?
Structured interviews work in one day. Documentary style often needs multiple days.
Logistics Questions
Can you control the environment (lighting, sound, temperature)? Or are you dependent on weather, events, or uncontrollable factors?
Controlled environments support one day shoots. Weather dependent or event based filming requires multiple days with contingency.
Budget Considerations
One day shoots are more cost effective when requirements align. You pay for one day of crew, one day of location, one production day.
But forcing a multi-day project into one day to save money usually backfires. You end up with rushed content, stressed subjects, compromised quality, or need to schedule additional filming days anyway.
Better to scope the project correctly from the start. If your project genuinely needs four days of filming (like All Sorts), budget for four days. If it can be efficiently captured in one day (like MHAW), budget for one day.
The most expensive approach is under scoping, then needing additional filming days after you see the initial results.
Hybrid Approaches
Many projects use hybrid approaches. Film interviews in one intensive day, then capture b-roll over multiple days. Or film most content in one day, then return for specific additional shots.
The key is identifying what needs concentrated time versus what needs flexibility. Interviews often benefit from concentrated filming. Documentary footage often benefits from multiple days allowing authentic moments to emerge.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Assuming one day means lower quality.
Mental Health Awareness Week proves one day can deliver broadcast standard results when properly planned.
Mistake 2: Assuming more days automatically means better content.
More days only help if the project requirements justify them. Extra days without clear purpose just inflate costs.
Mistake 3: Under scoping to save money.
If All Sorts needed four days across three regions, trying to compress it into one day would have compromised the authentic environments and community connections that made the stories powerful.
Mistake 4: Over scoping to appear thorough.
If Mental Health Awareness Week could be efficiently filmed in one studio day, spreading it across multiple days just wastes budget and complicates scheduling.
Mistake 5: Not doing pre-interviews.
Whether one day or multiple days, pre-interviews identify what you are actually filming. This prevents surprises and ensures efficient use of production time.
Questions to Ask Your Production Team
When planning video production, ask these questions to understand scope:
Can this be filmed in one location or do we need multiple locations? Are subjects in the same city or spread across regions? Do we need studio or authentic outdoor environments? Are subjects comfortable on camera or will we need time to build trust? Can we do pre-interviews to prepare? What is weather dependent versus controlled? Do we need documentary style authentic moments or scheduled interviews? What is the contingency if subjects cancel or weather does not cooperate?
Honest answers to these questions tell you whether one day or multiple days makes sense.
Final Recommendation
One day shoots work beautifully for controlled environments, single locations, prepared subjects, and clear scope. Multi-day productions are necessary for multiple locations, documentary style filming, sensitive subject matter, and complex logistics.
The worst approach is trying to force a multi-day project into one day to save money, or stretching a one day project across multiple days to appear thorough.
Quality comes from matching your approach to your project requirements. Scope honestly. Plan thoroughly. Execute efficiently.
That is how you get strong results whether you are filming in one day or ten.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you film multiple people in one day?
Yes. We filmed five people for Mental Health Awareness Week in a single day. The key is controlled environment, consistent setup, scheduled timing, and clear brief. Each person had 90 minutes: 30 minutes setup and sound check, 45 minutes filming, 15 minutes buffer. Studio setup meant no location changes between subjects.
When does a project need multiple days?
Multiple days are needed for: multiple locations requiring travel and setup, subjects in different cities or regions, complex logistics like weather dependent outdoor filming, stories requiring time to unfold naturally, or documentary style requiring relationship building with subjects.
Does multi-day always mean better quality?
No. Quality comes from planning, not duration. Mental Health Awareness Week (one day, studio) and All Sorts (four days, multiple locations) both delivered high quality results. The difference was project requirements, not quality standards. One day can produce broadcast standard work when properly planned.
How do you plan an efficient one day shoot?
Efficient one day shoots require: single location to eliminate travel time, controlled environment for consistent lighting and sound, detailed schedule with buffer time, pre-interviews to know exactly what you are filming, backup subjects in case someone cancels, and all wardrobe, props, and questions prepared in advance.
What makes multi-day productions take longer?
Multi-day productions take longer due to: location changes requiring new setups, travel between cities or regions, relationship building with subjects (especially for sensitive topics), waiting for right conditions (weather, lighting, events), documentary style that captures authentic moments rather than scheduled interviews, and coordinating multiple stakeholders across different schedules.
Can you mix both approaches in one project?
Yes. Many projects use hybrid approaches. You might film interviews in one intensive day, then capture b-roll over multiple days. Or film most content in one day, then return for specific additional shots. The key is identifying what needs concentrated time versus what needs flexibility.