Hi. We’re Swagger Film. And we’re excited to meet you. You’re probably wondering who the heck we are and what we’re doing here. So glad you asked (even though you didn’t really). We’re a production company that recently went through something of an identity crisis. The good kind. Over the years, we realized our mindset had shifted from envisioning great projects to simply executing assignments, something that should never happen in a creative industry like ours. We wanted to reignite our passion; to not just do but think. And thus, here we are. Swagger Film, now its very own bonafide production company.
It wasn’t easy getting here. “Production company” means different things to different people, and we’ve definitely seen this played out in our work. Having this new vision and new Swagger Film identity helps us evolve into creatives who can help clients craft a unique voice. Sometimes, a production company does need to execute a super clear, amazing vision that walks through the door, perfect in every way with no need for interpretation or refinement. But let’s be honest (we’re all friends here)—how many times does that assignment REALLY come through the door? The odds are slim. What happens more often is that a client or an agency come to us with a vision for what they hope to achieve. They need us to help them plan and ideate on how to make that vision happen with the dollars and resources in front of us.
We believe in a team effort from start to finish. We see this as a zone defense, not a man-to-man game. Sure, everyone has their specialty and we’re not saying we have editors stepping up as lighting guys. But we also don’t think that the editors and lighting guys should never speak to each other or know each others’ names. When it’s a true collaboration across every level, people start to actually learn the whole process of making a piece of film and therefore, they can have more involvement in the process. When you have no idea what the guy next to you is doing, that’s clearly impossible.
At Swagger Film, we’ve built our brand new identity around people, not equipment. This doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t invest in the best equipment on the market, because we do. But we also invest in people, talent. Because a camera doesn’t shoot the right angle by itself and the segments of a film don’t come together on their own either. Someone, a human with a vision and understanding of the project, pushes the buttons and points the lens. And that’s how we get a great result.
We strive not to say “no” but to ask “how.” Shooting a $3 million campaign on a shoestring budget is probably not possible but it also might not be necessary. And that’s where the teamwork and talent come into play. When a client comes to our doorstep with an idea, they might not know exactly what they want or how to get it. So, we like to be part of that process from the start so we can all sit down and figure out what they really mean when they say “big” or “viral.”
We love to make stuff. We feel privileged that it’s our job to do this every day. We wake up every morning excited for the next project, and that’s the Swagger Film feeling that we want you to walk away with. Experienced. Talented. Collaborative. A new identity for a new kind of production company.