THREE WEIRD YEARS

Don’t Start A Business Right Before A Pandemic

Anyone that has done it will have a hard time telling you what the best time is to start a business. Well, I can tell you the worst time. It is just before a pandemic that shuts down the world. 

We had just wrapped up a campaign that was one of my favorites to ever be a part of. It was for a good cause, with a brand I really understood, and included various parts, including a national commercial spot, complex website, print and other static designs, promotional products, and capped off with a multi-city event over three days. We were riding high. 

Then we were awarded a big production at the end of 2019 that was shot at the beginning of 2020, and presented a whole slate of productions we were to do that year. Things were going great. Then something happened that literally changed the world. 

Everything was “put on hold for a few weeks.” You remember. This wasn’t supposed to last months, let alone years. Luckily for us, everything became COVID-this and COVID-that and almost nobody needed assets more to inform their customers than the airline industry. 

While everyone was huddled up in their homes waiting for the “all clear,” we were still doing productions in airports, probably the worst place you can be in a pandemic. It is funny to me all the production companies I have heard say they were, “one of the first to start productions again during the pandemic.” Please. We never stopped. 

All things considered, 2020 was a decent year for the company, but then we entered the second year of the pandemic. 

Still, with so much uncertainty, companies had to figure out their next moves to survive. Marketing teams were slashed, advertising budgets were almost completely eliminated, and that left us struggling to find the next project. 

Time To Get To Work

Although the paying gigs were sparse, I had made the promise to myself that this company would not only help brands tell their stories, but also create our own. So that is what we did. 

We fleshed out ideas, wrote scripts, designed characters, built decks, crafted show bibles, and edited sizzle reels. The projects spanned across feature films, scripted series, unscripted shows, books, and music.

Even though the client work was slim, we were busier than ever, and now that we had all these projects packaged, it was time to get them in front of the right people. 

Easier said than done.

Hollywood is an interesting place. Nobody will look at anything unsolicited, so you need either know people in development (which I didn’t) or have an agent to submit ideas. Well… agents don’t take unsolicited clients either. So, what the hell!? How do you get in?

After tons of emails, LinkedIn requests, and networking all hours of the day, there has been a lot of positive movement. I now know people at almost every studio and major production company of note. Our projects are in various stages of development and something is happening every day. 

Ideas for films, series, books, music and more keep coming faster than we have time to write them down, and it is exciting. All this is while advertising opportunities start ramping up again. We have written and produced many concepts lately, and have more on the way. 

I am blessed to be where I am and the company is making steady strides during a difficult time. Although it has been a very hard few years, I look forward to the future. So stay with us to see what Serendipity brings.