Prep for Success

Think about the last time you painted a room. Did you open a can of paint, grab a brush, and have at it? Or instead, did you buy new brushes, rollers and drop cloths? Did you tape off the baseboards and the ceilings? What about those holes in the drywall--did you patch and repair them? Did you research paint options? Color, sure, but what about paint finishes, sheens, and texture? Did you paint large test swatches on your walls to see how they accept the color?

There’s no question that painting involves a lot of planning and prep work. But if you’re going to make the effort, you owe it to yourself to do things right.

When it comes to planning and prepping, producing a short film has a lot in common with painting a room. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done before you ever turn on the cameras. But the planning/prep stage is THE most important part of what we do, because it sets the stage for whether your production flies or flops. At the beginning of every project, we lead our clients through a thoughtful and engaging conversation where we learn about what’s behind their desire to tell their story at this particular time. Often, a client doesn’t exactly know the story they want to tell, but they know the outcomes they want to achieve. We’ll brainstorm ideas and scenarios with clients, and by the end of our first planning session, we have the beginnings of a story. As we work through the production process, we refine our ideas until we land on a narrative that speaks to us, and our client.

If you’ve done the planning and prep work, you can adjust as you go and still produce a high-quality story that your client will love and be proud to show. And like a freshly painted wall, a well-told story is a beautiful thing.