Get chosen before the numbers come in.
Video for general contractors who win on trust: project case studies, client stories and recruiting films that help you get chosen before the bid.
- Best value
- About 80% of private design build selections
- Built for
- Negotiated, design build and private work
- On a site
- Interviews about twenty minutes each
- Filmed
- A Tony Williard Construction pour at a Cone Health site
Low bid is not how private work gets won.
Design build was about 44 percent of construction spending in 2024, and private owners pick on best value for about 80 percent of their design build projects, according to FMI's study for the Design Build Institute of America. Best value means the owner is weighing cost against schedule, risk and whether they believe you.
By the time the numbers come in, they usually already have a preference.
What gets you shortlisted.
Client stories. The owner or developer who keeps hiring you, saying why on camera. Eighty percent repeat business is a number; the client saying it is proof.
Project case studies. One build, one outcome, the problems solved along the way.
Your people. The superintendent and project manager the owner will actually work with.
Safety, shown. Your record is a number on a form. Your crews working safely on camera is something a committee remembers.
Built for the committee.
On institutional, healthcare and higher ed work there is a facilities director who cares about schedule, a finance person who cares about the number, and often somebody who has never built anything and is voting on gut feel. If they cannot follow what makes you different, they default to the number. So we build for them: not dumbed down, just followable. A short film in the qualifications package or the shortlist interview does what a stack of project sheets cannot.
Filming on an active site.
We filmed a concrete pour for Tony Williard Construction at a Cone Health site with the camera right at the pour, and the work kept going. Hard hats, glasses, hi vis, orientation and escorts are sorted before shoot day. Interviews take about twenty minutes each, and nothing gets staged. More on construction video production in North Carolina.
Recruiting the crew to build it.
Ninety two percent of construction firms report trouble hiring, according to the 2025 AGC and NCCER workforce survey. A video of the people who have stayed with you for years does more than a job post ever will.
Short version.
- Private owners pick on best value for about 80 percent of design build projects.
- Get shortlisted with client stories, project case studies, your people and your safety on camera.
- Build for the committee member who has never built anything.
- Filmed on active sites without stopping the work.
Companies like yours, in their own words.
Questions we get asked.
Where does video help a general contractor most?
Private, negotiated and design build work, where owners weigh cost against schedule, risk and trust. It also helps in recruiting. On public hard bid work, the low number wins.
Can video go in our qualifications package or interview?
Yes. A short client story or project film gives the committee something a stack of project sheets cannot, and it is easy to send ahead of a shortlist interview.
Will filming disrupt the job site?
No. Site rules are sorted before shoot day, interviews take about twenty minutes each, and the work keeps going while we film it.
Who should be on camera?
A repeat client or owner, the superintendent and project manager the owner would work with, and crew members who have stayed for years.
Plain answers, before you call.
Winning bidsHow general contractors win bids before the bid
On public work the low number wins. On private work the client usually knows who they want before the numbers come in. What that means for how you get chosen.
Read →
Winning workHow owners actually pick a general contractor
Most references never get called. The people awarding the work judge what is in front of them, which changes what is worth putting in front of them.
Read →
RecruitmentWhat makes a great construction recruitment video?
Lead with culture, let your crew talk, film where the work happens. Six rules for construction recruitment videos that attract qualified tradespeople.
Read →Tell us what the video needs to do.
Dylan Smith is the owner of With A Twist Media in Greensboro, NC. He has been making documentary style video for manufacturers and construction companies across the Triad since 2019.