“Soft Landing” Project Budget Overview
Budgeting a concept like “Soft Landing” is challenging. Unfortunately, it's like asking how much it costs to make a moisturizer: $2 to $200 seems reasonable! It entirely depends on how big it is and how rare the ingredients are.
The great news is that this concept was designed with flexibility and scalability in mind. The format adapts beautifully across platforms—from intimate Substack features, to a fun newsletter, to short-form social content all the way to a long-form video series. This adaptability is one of its greatest strengths, offering multiple content opportunities from a single shoot or interview.
It would be far easier for you to provide a budget, and I will create a plan for you. However, we have to start somewhere, so I put together these two proposals as a starting point for conversation.
I want to do this. It's a fun idea and seems like such a perfect fit for Moon Juice. So let’s figure it out!
Video Version
This encompasses the entire process of creating a high-quality video piece and its corresponding social media elements.
Pre-Production: $800 - $1,600
Includes guest booking, research, question development, location scouting, and equipment coordination.
($800/day for 1-2 days)
Production: $1,300
Camera Assistant: $300 (1 day)
Location/Hotel Fee: $1,000
Note: There is a significant partnership opportunity here with boutique hotels, particularly in the West LA market seeking post-fire recovery support. This could potentially reduce or eliminate this cost.
Post-Production: $1,200
Editing & Delivery ($300/day for approx. 4 days)
VIDEO TOTAL: $3,300 - $4,100
Editorial Version
This covers the creation of a written feature with original photography, perfect for a Substack, newsletter, or online article.
Pre-Production & Prep: $400 (0.5 days)
Interview Session: $800
Writing & Content Development: $800
Photography (Film + Processing): $200
EDITORIAL TOTAL: $2,200
Notes
The pricing above reflects the cost for a single, one-off production. Should you wish to commission a series (e.g., 3 or more episodes), the per-episode cost would come down significantly.
By bundling tasks like research, guest booking, and shooting days, we create major efficiencies. For a multi-episode commitment, we can typically reduce the overall per-episode cost by 15-20%. I would be happy to provide a custom quote for a series package.
“Soft Landing”
Concept
Here's the thing about interviews: they're terrible. Everyone's performing, the lighting is harsh, and nobody's saying what they actually mean. So we're doing the opposite. Two people, getting ready for bed together, sipping Magnesi-Om until we're loose-limbed and honest. It's part slumber party, part confessional, part nightly routine. We wash our faces while talking about breakups. We put on pajamas while discussing creative blocks, childhood memories, etc. It's intimacy as content, vulnerability as entertainment, and somehow it works.
Execution
We start wired and end whispering. The Magnesi-Om does its job—muscles soften, guards drop, conversation deepens. I'm cleansing, they're in an old t-shirt, we're both melting into something real. The format gives us permission to be human: tired, unguarded, face-tape on, saying the things we'd never say at the Dear Media studios. Written pieces capture the late-night poetry of it all. Video shows the transformation—how people change when they stop trying to be impressive and start trying to be comfortable.
Appeal
People are starved for something real. They want to see their heroes without the armor, want conversations that feel like friendship, want to be part of something tender instead of transactional. This isn't wellness content masquerading as entertainment—it's entertainment that happens to involve juicy serums and magnesium-maybe even a chat while foam rolling. It's what happens when you stop asking "What's your skincare routine?" and start asking "What keeps you up at night?" or more likely “What is your sleep shirt all about?”
