CASE STUDY BUILDINGA CAREER
community was overwhelming. And on another positive note, the couple’s insurance company has now agreed to cover the loss, so all of the stolen gear will be replaced, although sadly the lost footage has yet to be found. So, what of the future? As they reflect on all they have achieved in a few short years Sam and Chloe are understandably positive and upbeat about the state of their company and looking forward to yet more exciting years ahead. “We’ve really enjoyed ourselves,” reflects Sam, “and we particularly enjoy the fact that no two days at work are ever the same. It’s also great that we’re now in a position where we can actually afford to choose the work we take on and maybe say no to well-paid jobs that just aren’t taking us in the direction we want to go. Ultimately, it’s crucial to remember why you started out in the first place.”
Element,’ and the Søren film fitted the bill perfectly. “I sent it off and thought no more about it,” he says, “and was then amazed to receive a phone call several months later telling us that we’d won!” Disaster strikes With a prize pot of £15,000 worth of gear as the top prize this was a huge deal as well as a massive confidence booster, and it effectively moved the company on to the next level in one fell swoop. As a bonus, and outside the original remit of the competition, Sam and Chloe were invited by LaCie to travel to Las Vegas as their guests for the giant NAB Show and to deliver a presentation of their winning entry. There was also the opportunity for a short road trip through the Grand Canyon and Yosemite afterwards, a tantalising prospect for any creative filmmaker. Everything appeared to be just about as good as it could get for the couple, but their world fell apart following a short stop at a hamburger joint in California. In broad daylight and with plenty of people about, their vehicle was broken into and most of their gear was stolen, along with
much of the footage of the film they’d been shooting, complete with three backups. “We were heartbroken when we discovered what had happened,” says Chloe. “We put news of the theft on Facebook and asked people to tell us if they were offered any of our stolen gear, and we also talked to local pawnbroker shops. It turned out that several people had suffered similar robberies, all of them involving break-ins to the trunk.” What happened next, however, helped to restore any faith in human nature that might have been lost for Sam and Chloe, as filmmakers responded in their droves with offers of kit loans and practical help, and the generosity of the filmmaking ABOVE Sam shows his head for heights during filming of the wingsuit sequence for Søren on the MOVI M5. The harness secured him to a metal fence for safety. “In broad daylight their vehicle was broken into and their gear stolen”
More information thevisualsteam.com Lacie Winning Film: https://vimeo.com/ thevisualsteam/soren
42
PRO MOVIEMAKER AUTUMN 2018
Powered by FlippingBook