Better Homes & Gardens — "Modern Makers"
Client: Better Homes & Gardens · Sponsor: Humana
Overview
"Modern Makers" is a four-part documentary series for Better Homes & Gardens, sponsored by Humana. Each film follows a woman who walked away from an established career — in finance, in teaching and academia — to build a life making things with her hands. They're quiet, honest portraits of people who chose meaning over the expected path.
The Challenge
Tell four real, personal stories with depth and authenticity on a lean budget. That meant a small crew traveling across the country, limited time in each location, and subjects who weren't performers. The films had to feel intimate and beautiful without the resources of a large production — and without ever feeling staged.
The Idea
Let the story come from the person. Rather than script each film, we built a set of thoughtful questions and shaped the story around the answers. We spent a few days with each maker, time enough for real conversation to happen before and during filming, so what reached the screen was genuine rather than recited.
The Craft
The same director who engineers a blockbuster explosion can hold still and let a real person's story breathe. Here the craft is restraint. Each woman's space was lit naturally and organically, reading the color palette already present in her studio and leaning into it, so every film looks like its subject. The camera stays patient, close to the hands and the work. Jacob directed, shot, edited, and delivered all four films.
Working with the team
This was a collaboration between Better Homes & Gardens, Humana, and four makers who opened their homes and studios to us. A small traveling crew kept the footprint light, which let each subject relax into the process and let the conversations go somewhere real.
Our Services
Have a real story that deserves to be told beautifully? Let's make them dream with their eyes open.
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Better Homes & Gardens and Humana were thrilled with the series, whose subject matter spoke to a genuinely felt need.
The films became a calling card: other agencies and brands have since cited "Modern Makers" to Jacob, unprompted, as work that made them want to collaborate.
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Directed, shot, and edited by Jacob Moyer. Four documentary-style films. Brought to life with our trusted team of craftspeople — art direction, wardrobe, hair and makeup, food styling, lighting, and grip — who help us build every project alongside our clients.
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