Sunshine Presents

Sunshine Presents is one year old. Roughly. Give or take a week. What have I learned in a year? I'll do another post about accomplishments because this post will be kinda long. 1. Freelance life is no f'ing joke. Whereas the highs and lows in a steady job can be intense, the intensity comes with the knowing that there is a safety net of sorts. There is a paycheck and there are benefits. Freelance agency work is a wild free for all and there is no guarantee. Some months things are great and money seems as easy to come by as tap water, other months it's a barren waste land of desolation and it seems probable that work will never come again. I, strangely (and depends a bit on the day) prefer the wild swings to a mild sense of boredom. This shit isn't for the faint of heart however. 2. As Mac Miller so wisely stated - "it ain't your money until you make it, otherwise it's just a conversation." Talk is cheap and keep your hopes mitigated until you get that print check in the mail. I've had more potential clients ghost than I had in my short stint on the apps. Business is indeed a cold and ruthless exchange, until it's not. 3. To that end, people still use paper checks way more than I expected. I like it actually. It's personal and the USPS is so really f'ing reliable. Shoutout. 4. Running your own business requires diligence and follow through and doing a lot of tactical, boring stuff that will pile up (is piling up) if you're not careful. I was smart and hired a lawyer and CPA when I started, but I'm also not that smart so still don't keep up on the admin stuff as much as I should. I'm a creative trying to do math, and that will always be hard but the minute I can I'll hire someone to do the math for me so I can focus on the creative. 5. Relationships are as important as good creative. SP makes videos and music and we make good music and videos but the relationships are what have kept it alive. Clients have come back because they can count on us to do good work and not be dicks about it, a seemingly obvious formula that doesn't actually seem to be that obvious from all the horror stories I've heard. 6. Business insurance is confusing but key to a successful production 7. The fun / creative stuff tends to pay less than the less sexy / cool stuff. The cache involved with working with cool brands or artists has a strange gravitational effect on the overall price tag. Whether that's because the "exposure" argument or said creative / cool subject just doesn't have that much budget it seems to almost be law that this is so. 8. Survival is an excellent motivator. I've been to so many events and met so many people and been out of my comfort zone so much because my success is in my own hands (I don't have anyone else to blame if I fail). There isn't a safety net, I have kids to feed and not doing something because "I don't feel like it" (said in a whiny nasally voice) isn't a reason to not eat.

One of the things that we've gotten quite good at, and a format that we love, is the mini doc. Short, punchy, entertaining and great for brands / musicians who want to tell a story in a succinct and meaningful way about any number of things - it's a really impactful piece of content. Feel like it might be right for you? Hit us up. We scale production based on your budget, and of course every project comes with a bespoke soundtrack catered to your taste. https://lnkd.in/gi4WVQe4

We made this documentary about the recording and filming process of Whim Grace's excellent EP "Good Gurl". Filmed and recorded in New Orleans, we tracked 3 songs, 2 music videos and a documentary over the course of a frantic and killer 4 day weekend. The epic conclusion of which was filming the "Ghost Stories" music video at pre-dawn in the French Quarter in NOLA. Music production and music videos are and will always be very near and dear to our heart. https://lnkd.in/g948eA5Y

Behind the curtain (TLDR). This was our process for the Richardson Sports video: - Client briefed us on the idea, Quality in Every Stitch v2 - We concept Hat Valley with the RS team, crafted up a loose storyline and interview questions and started preproduction: gear, locations, lodging, snacks, shot list, snacks, all the things. - Meanwhile we started putting together a playlist of vibe inspiration for the music creation, discussing with RS team - heaps of vibe alignment. Discussion of guitar tones, and musical eras and favorite artists and why it works. It’s the best.  - Production in Eugene for 2 days: 4 interviews, b roll of many many locations, snacks and about 30 soda waters (just me) and some waffles. - Back to Portland where we then track the songs. Monday morning at 9 am and you’re tracking music professionally, you have a “this is my job now” moment and get back to work. Four 2 minute songs in 4 hours and then home with Tommy to mix.  - Video editing and art / design prep along with photo selects and color grading are next. Lots of revisions, nothing that sexy in this phase but it’s also everything. F**k this up and you lose.  - Edit rounds galore, client feedback. First one is always scary, because there’s always so much feedback. It’s the moment you realize how different the vision in your head is from the vision in their head - and then the process of aligning those visions or creating a better more singular vision (the goal, and outcome of this video - I think).  - Final color graded video is delivered, along with multiple vertical and horizontal short cut “teaser” videos. We pride ourselves on the borderline obscene amount of content we deliver. We also hand over youtube thumbnail, selects and really whatever else is requested.  - Delivery to the masses, along with the moment of complete exhilaration at finishing a big project. Also, the inevitable crash and panic of now what - until you look at your todo list and realize it will be fine. Credits: Tommy Hazerian: Music production, overall production and logistics Jeff Hammond: Videography and Lighting Benj Zeller: Art Direction Nick Arneson: Creative Direction, Music Production, Snacks If you've made it this far, let's hang out. Shoutout Jarod Courtney Sarah W Jeff Hammond Benj Zeller Tommy Hazerian Hop Valley Brewing Company Richardson Sports Emily Stutzman

This was such a fun project - thanks for having us!!

Sunshine Presents secret weapon is our musical chops. We make great video, but our music is always bespoke and catered to the client. Here is "Commuter" for MISE Footwear - video by us as well as bespoke audio tracked and made to order to match the vibe of the brief. Great sound is everything in content.

SP's newest work: Gabriel Rucker mini Documentary for MISE Footwear.

Sunshine Presents is a creative agency that focuses on concepts and content for brands and musicians. Some work we've done / directed below.