Night editor self-portrait

Context

Bat — the working name of Yves Singaye, a freelance video editor and co-founder of The Dark Agency — needed a signature piece for his personal Instagram account that wouldn't read as a showreel. No accumulation of past work: one scene, one voice, one mood. The brief came in a single line: « talk about the craft the way you'd talk to yourself late at night ».

Approach

We wrote a short subtitle monologue — « plus one question », « you rebuilt yourself », « and trust me » — that paces the reel as breathing rather than demonstration. The frame stays tight: two monitors in low light, one showing a Batman visual (a nod to the alias), the other on an editing timeline. Macro shots focus on the lit mechanical keyboard, a hand pausing, a glimmer of light passing through. The grade leans into deep blues and charcoal blacks consistent with the reference image, never sharpened into harsh contrast.

Outcome

The piece runs as a 73-second teaser, readable without sound thanks to the burned-in subtitles, designed to live pinned at the top of the profile. It serves two functions: setting the studio's tone — sober, narrative, first-person — and acting as an opener for incoming inquiries. No vanity metrics are claimed: the reel is built to work as a business card, not as a paid campaign.