We were sitting around the other day thinking about possible themes for our annual party. For some reason, we usually have a theme. One year centered around “Freejack,” the bad early 90′s movie starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger and Renee Russo. We were giving away some swag, also known as “free jack” (I didn’t say our themes were cerebral). Another year we went with a Spanish theme, “Pedro, Paella and Post” to celebrate our post production offerings, alliteration and love of single pan seafood meals. Pedro Almodovar’s “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down” was just an excuse to have an incredibly hot love scene play repeatedly at our party (again, I didn’t say our themes were cerebral).
This year we toyed with bringing attention to our current home, the former home of the San Francisco Press Club. Or just celebrating the fact that we have a huge fireplace since a campfire is our unofficial logo. Then it dawned on me: 2010. A new decade, yes, but also the 10 year anniversary of the birth of Kontent. I’m still stunned as I write this. Even though we’ve gone through iterative gyrations to adjust and hone what it is we do, 10 years have gone by. It seems to have flown by, but thinking back it’s been a long, strange trip with plenty of roadside attractions, bar fights, warm fires and some damn good parties.
Kontent was born from the loins of Asylum, an ad agency that always considered advertising as another form of content: strategic entertainment at its best. Unfortunately we were 10 years ahead of that becoming commonplace; ahead of compression technologies and broader bandwidth to make any of that a reality. We also knew we wanted to create original content, just as Magic Bullet was providing a “film look” for digital camcorders and Final Cut 1.0 released. When the Varicam and 24P was a reality we were off to the races with our first feature film, “Dopamine.” Sundance 2003, 20 city release, now on Amazon and Netflix.
When I shut down Asylum in 2005 to make a go of Kontent full time, web films were beginning their run, along with a little known site called YouTube. The gates were open and 2006 was a big year. The Panasonic HVX 200 and P2 cards just hit the market as we started production on my second feature, “Unflinching Triumph.” Web released and funded by Red Bull, the world of professional staredown was a perfect underground film. Written up by Sports Illustrated and the Wall Street Journal as a bonafide web hit, it’s now available on Comcast’s VOD service.
It was during production of Unflinching that the idea for the Kollective arose. Neck deep into a three week shoot, a job came up that I knew would bring in more money in two days, than two weeks on a feature. I couldn’t do the job, but it dawned on me that over the years I had met talented San Francisco based filmmakers at Sundance, and that by tapping into their talents we could handle it. Teri Heyman, my producer, stepped away from Staredown, and with Eric Escobar directing, pulled off the shoot for IDEO without a hitch. Maybe there was something to this thing.
Also, about the same time, Tad Fettig, my former partner at Kontent, who went on to start Kontent Real in New York, called as he was launching his stellar PBS series, “Design e2.” He needed a narration writer for the series. I’d been a tree hugger all my life, and wanted to do it, but had to decline with the feature on my plate. Thankfully, he persisted. 18 episodes later, the acclaimed series voiced by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman is some of my most gratifying work. I directed one episode on Portland’s visionary public transportation policies that revitalized her downtown, but more importantly, I was revitalized and reengaged with beliefs I’ve always held close as an environmentalist. It created the catalyst for more work in green building, sustainability and social justice. All inextricably linked.
So, in 2007, the Kollective launched– John Dilley, David Munro, Eric Escobar and our superstar, Sam Green. All Sundance or Tribecca alums and in Sam’s case, an Academy Award nominee. To be honest, it’s been a roller coaster ride. My expectation of hanging out a shingle with five Sundance pedigree filmmakers didn’t have clients beating down our door, necessarily. Like a rollercoaster, we had a slow and steady climb when the ride started. We faced the usual San Francisco production company conundrum with L.A. only an hour flight away to deep talent pools, heated swimming pools and per diem expense accounts. Who can blame anyone for wanting that?
We scratched, clawed and climbed in the face of the ever downward spiral of the economy of free, with more DIY production coming from clients, allies and these days, anyone with a Canon 5D Mark II. Then as we crested that first hill we hit the deep dive, better known as the Great Recession. We pulled up hard on the stick as the plane skimmed the treetops. Not fun. Not pretty. We still can see the individual leaves on the trees, but we’re staying above it. Knock on wood, fingers crossed and all of the other superstitious rituals I do whenever I exude any semblance of cockiness. My karma.
When I look back on our body of work, I’m always impressed by how much we’ve accomplished in the last three years. Plenty of webfilms, commercials, brand films, pilots, and of course the director’s personal work. I can’t take any credit other than a little support here and there. But Sam continues to lead the way with his constant Sundance presence and current release of his live documentary, “Utopia in Four Movements.” David’s feature, “Full Grown Men,” after the Undiscovered Gems theatrical release, is out on DVD and premiered on the Sundance Channel. John keeps hammering away on his feature script, occasionally changing from his robe and slippers to attend continued screenings of “How to Be Popular.” As Eric continually pushes the boundaries of the DV Rebel post-industrialized film ethic with writing, shooting, software beta testing, and blogging. I’ve got a few things in the hopper myself, but that’s for another post.
My hope for this blog (three years late) is to create a place where we’ll share our Kollective experience: from writing to shooting to editing in this ever changing landscape. Perhaps it’ll become the digital campfire we’ll gather around to share some grog, find out where the next herd of caribou are headed, and spill some laughter. Or maybe just have a place to keep our feet warm. Bring your fire starter.
Domo arigato,
Mark Decena
Writer/Director/Founder
