As creatives, we have a drive to create. Whether it’s with our hobbies of photography, fine art, cooking, etc. or more closely aligned with our professional skill sets as filmmakers, we are always looking for a project. We know these creative endeavors have invaluable benefits, so we often pursue passion projects together as a team in the form of short films.
In fact, bringing the team together is one of the first benefits our short film process provides. For client videos, we often have to divide and conquer to ensure we’re meeting our client’s deadlines and budgets. With passion projects, we purposefully schedule meetings and shoots to include every team member. Being able to fully collaborate without restrictions means our team can contribute to every part, from pre-production to finalization.
This full-team hands-on approach gives everyone the opportunity to dip their toes into other areas of the work. Essentially, our short films allow everyone to cross-train and learn from each other’s expertise as they participate in behind-the-scenes work they might otherwise miss. We’re proud to have team members who can fill a variety of roles, as it gives us a great deal of flexibility as a crew. Producing shorts is an investment in our team’s lifelong learning of the craft and undoubtedly brings value to our client work.
Without exterior pressures and requirements, we also have the freedom to experiment. We can try new techniques, equipment, and processes without a client’s investment and timeline at risk. This freedom opens the door to endless possibilities and allows us to practice existing skills or build new ones.
Truthfully, the projects are also just a lot of fun. While we often share stories and play games together, these passion projects are our ultimate team bonding experience. And at the end, we get to share something we’re really proud of with our communities and see how they connect with our authentic stories and messages.
We spend our time and money producing short film passion projects because we see them as an investment—in our business, craft, team, and morale.