stories

How our head of studio in Toronto looks to the intricate magic of the TV screen for inspiration.

“Recently, I’ve been fascinated with how the art of filmmaking has been applied to TV shows in today’s world. When you take a look at what is being currently produced and compare that to what was on-air in the ‘80s, you wouldn’t be able to draw many (if any) parallels in terms of storyline or quality. Series like Game of Thrones and The Crown are prime examples of how filmmaking has made its way into TV, upgrading content into an immersive, cinematic experience beyond generating basic entertainment. The Crown is a great example of a production that’s paid the highest level of attention to detail to their work; to avoid poorly ‘aging’ the queen and the royal family, the casting team recasts its actors after only two seasons to be as close to the real events as possible. That same attention to detail is applied to the show’s historical props: the replicas are made so as to accurately represent their original artifacts to a T, which is nothing short of a notable accomplishment. The effort poured into these details is truly inspirational and raises the bar for video production.

At Sid Lee, we often emphasize the importance of the Art Factor being present in all facets of our work, of utilizing design and production at their absolute highest levels in order to elevate our products as much as possible. Working in studio production, we touch on everything from casting to videography to finding (or sometimes making) the perfect props—all while keeping a strict eye on a looming budget and often a tight deadline. I’m fortunate enough to work on some really inspirational and creative broadcast commercial projects, and keeping an eye on what A-list directors around the world are doing inspires us to come up with ways to add as much value to our work as possible. A universal truth here—be it in TV, advertising, or otherwise—is that attention to detail is always of utmost importance. The more we can strengthen the Art Factor in every little thing we do and refine our craft in every possible way, the more resonant the work is going to be.” — Amanda Loughran, Head of Studio, Toronto