I have now been producing film professionally in Cornwall for over three and half years. I am still learning on a daily basis and relishing the challenge of producing visually captivating imagery with an intriguing story at its heart.
It’s incredibly satisfying to see the whole Idenna film crew push forward and create evermore impressive productions with each new completed project. Whilst our technical ability has no doubt improved along the way, the area which has seen the most marked improvement is pre-production. Pre-production is the unsung hero of film production, it’s the slightly geeky older brother of the cheeky twins ‘production’ and ‘post production’. Pre-production would rather be in the office storyboarding, casting and filling out risk assessments than be out in the field filming from a helicopter or the waves of Watergate Bay, or getting all the credit for the final colour corrected and visually stunning piece.
But the fact of the mater is without pre-production’s hard work, the helicopter would have been a Robin Reliant, the waves of Watergate would have wiped out a member of the crew and post-production would have no footage to work with.
The idea of pre-production is to make the following parts of the process go as smoothly as possible. It’s figuring out the what the problems will be before they occur and deciding exactly what it is you are trying to achieve before you head out and leave that vital piece of kit you need in the cupboard.
When you get it right, it feels like you’ve cheated, as the rest of the project seems to slot into place so beautifully and everything runs like a Swiss watch. And even when you miss something you have the capacity and clarity of mind to see an obvious solution to the problem.
So in many ways the parts of the production process that is seen by most (the days spent filming and the final product) are really only the tip of the iceberg. The bulk of the work goes on behind the scenes or under the surface. What would happen if an iceberg didn’t have its huge, hidden, steadying base? It would, most likely, capsize.
These principals also apply to graphic design work, social media campaigns, photography projects, web design and that perfect PR piece. At Idenna we are a passionate bunch of storytellers who understand the value in a well thought out project and would love to connect you to your audience.