We’re not all natural-born yogis at The Content Division – but when it comes to producing polished content that helps brands look their best, we’ve found our flow.
When Elysia Wellness Retreat asked us to shoot a full suite of photography and video assets, we jumped at the chance to showcase the Elysia experience – and maybe pick up a few mindfulness tips along the way.
The challenge
Surrounded by the rolling hills of the Hunter Valley, Elysia Wellness Retreat is an award-winning luxury day spa and retreat. It called for a refreshed suite of content that captured every aspect of its offering: The grounds, rooms, spa treatments and products, gym, pool, on-site activities, food and beverage, building exterior, merchandise, herb garden and other common spaces.
In the wellness space, Elysia Wellness Retreat does it all. We had a lot of ground to cover with limited time. Our job was to translate Elysia’s serene atmosphere into assets that felt contemporary, premium and versatile, all within a narrow two-day shooting window.
This project called for meticulous time management and detailed planning. The Elysia team wanted a large volume of diverse content – a resource it could use across multiple channels and over a significant period of time without growing stale. Our shoot would capture and define Elysia Wellness Retreat’s image for years to come.
Like the retreat’s guests, we left our shoot on location revitalised and inspired by its tranquil beauty and mindful approach. We just needed to update Elysia’s content to match its calm.
Our approach
The Content Division developed a detailed shoot plan covering talent, wardrobe, props, equipment, staff and shot lists for the two full days onsite. The strategy was comprehensive but flexible. Experience and careful preparation gave our team of three the ability to adapt our precise shooting schedule to the unexpected.
At the same time, we were thinking further ahead. For the two-day shoot at Elysia Wellness Retreat to yield long-term gains for our client, each shot had to stay true to its ethos of harmony, balance and wellbeing but be versatile enough for marketing campaigns, social content and other channels. We would anticipate Elysia’s needs and build a cache of new content from the ground up.
Our team of three oversaw photography, video, phone content capture, shoot direction and talent management. We chose three female models to reflect the cultural and age diversity we saw firsthand among guests and staff, and Elysia team members were present throughout for valuable input.
The results
Elysia Wellness Retreat now draws from a vast library of flexible content that showcases the full breadth of the Elysia experience, from serene gardens and luxurious rooms to spa treatments, active pursuits, dining experiences, and lifestyle moments.
We delivered a suite of new assets, including:
- 150 stills
- 141 phone content clips
- 279 video clips, including regular and drone footage (watch the highlights here!)
- Landscape and portrait content for different platforms
To keep the content fresh, we shot from multiple perspectives, pairing wide, cinematic shots of Elysia’s idyllic Hunter Valley setting with intimate details – the calm of a morning stretch, the easy laugh, the crispness of the pillows. Other shots incorporated plenty of clean, empty space ideal for text overlays and graphic elements. Every frame established Elysia’s holistic approach to wellbeing and positioned the retreat as Australia’s leading luxury wellness destination.
And while our version of wellness may still involve too many post-shoot coffees, we left with a deep appreciation for connection and renewal – and the content to prove it.
