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Brits filming in the good ol' US of A

Annie Connolly



By Annie Connolly 

MD, Bear House Media


A BITTERLY COLD AND SWEET ARRIVAL DAY AFTER MONTHS OF PREPARATION

As our team prepares to arrive in Philadelphia in sub-zero temperatures after President Trump’s inauguration day, one warm thought as a British film crew is that we have never once been given a chilly reception working in America. On a day that engenders visceral polarised reactions around the world, I’d like to share our positive experiences of working in the USA.  


AN OUTSIDER’S VIEW

When I was a broadcast journalist for the BBC in the 1990’s and 2000’s I was despatched there to produce different stories, for our UK political and news programmes. Covering a news story with media accreditation is a very different task from the commercial or documentary filming our small independent production house is involved with today. 


As journalists we always had the backup and expertise from colleagues permanently based in the bigger offices in Washington DC, LA and New York; we were tasked by the London news desks and there were layers of senior editors you could refer up to.  If you were down the food chain of decision making, you were cosseted by working for a behemoth of an organisation. In fact, it was often difficult to compete with American domestic broadcasters who inevitably had first dibs with the best access, even though I arrogantly, and mistakenly, assumed on my first trip in my twenties that the BBC name would just open doors. I never made that error again. In that job role I never really got a sense of collaboration and working with Americans; I was a visitor who briefly experienced life and different cultures across different cities and states, but I certainly never had the opportunity to really spend time there and understand where I was and what makes it tick as a nation. 


CONDUCTING BUSINESS OVER THE POND

Today Bear House Media works for US, European and UK clients, filming content in America to their brief. It might be creating a short form science film for a pharmaceutical, or covering a big medical expo, or being in Las Vegas at a vast trade fair for giant construction machinery. I have always been struck by the very high standards expected from our US clients; yes, they can be tough when negotiating but they also are unfailingly polite and affirming, enthused when we hit their marks with a strong creative treatment idea, they understand the true cost of what they are paying for, and  they are open to new technology. Our ‘Britishness’ and quirks are benignly welcomed. I might even proffer that some of our own national characteristics are liked, despite our dry and understated sense of humour.  


THE HISTORY THAT BINDS US

Whether you think the ties that bind our two nations are sometimes strained or not, that ‘special relationship’ percolates in to conducting business in America today. Our small business benefits from a shared history, a root language, of trade, and of cultures.  During our Zoom calls for the documentary’s research, we sometimes get gently ribbed about our British history of occupation and going to war over American land - and losing. Yet, here we are, trading still and enjoying the challenge of working there.  I don’t know if we’ll be affected by trade tariffs, but I do know it won’t stop us from pursuing business there and taking our media skills to clients who like what we offer. 


Above all we find our clients are willing to trust us and take a risk or two on new ideas. I have often wondered if that calculated risk culture is embedded in the national psyche and goes right back to those early immigrants, enslaved and freed Africans, pioneers and entrepreneurs. That get ahead approach and forging a future necessitates risk taking, hard work and personal investment to build opportunity. It’s an attitude I admire in modern day America. History has shown how the First Nations people paid a huge price for that incoming ambition, but I am referring to the day-to-day survival and desire to do better for one’s family and community, which applies to everyone across that land today. 


MADE IN AMERICA 

Tomorrow we have a crew travelling to Philly for the first of two trips this year to film a history documentary on the founding era of the USA and becoming American, with a particular focus on the pivotal influence of the first free black population who helped to forge their nation. Aptly named the “birthplace of America,” Philadelphia was a city of many firsts: the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress met here, and it was the first capital of the United States, to name but a few. Nearly 250 years ago Philadelphia was teeming with refugees and immigrants and was seen as one of the most radical cities on earth. It was a pivotal city in the early nation building of America. In some ways there are the same familiar truths then and now; the seasons come and go, the mighty rivers of the Schuylkill and Delaware are still dominant landmarks around the city, its people are still looking for economic opportunity and flexing their political power when they can. 


We have been invited into Pennsylvania’s many cultural institutions and universities, supported by archivists and scholars from the State and elsewhere through eighteen months of research, in person and online. Everyone has been astonishingly generous with their time and expertise. Doors have been opened, facilitated by our American producer and his enviable network of contacts, and we have been welcomed in, without exception. When we visited the archives tucked away across the city we were tripping over people with PhDs. Their willingness to share their history and never flinch from our direct questioning, showed an openness and support for this commission. It’s really refreshing. 


DYNAMIC DECISION MAKING

I love how fast decisions are made in the States; once someone thinks it’s a good idea, and the right politicking, and back-room conversations have been had, things are greenlit. That approach of, ‘this is a great idea, let’s make it happen’ means injecting dynamism into something that has an honest genesis but needs support. It doesn’t mean oversight and accountability are sacrificed, it just means there is an optimism and energy that pushes forwards. 


Nowhere is that starker than the way in which this documentary has been funded by philanthropy. It has astonished me how much individuals and institutions invest in culturally important projects so willingly and wholeheartedly; out of pride for their history and the people of the city with a desire to share and educate. Perhaps that modest generosity of spirit goes back to the city’s Quaker founder, William Penn, who in 1682 wanted Philadelphia to be religiously and politically tolerant. Perhaps it reflects a country that has a strong sense of what constitutes being a modern day American, of a complex but shared history of building an audacious and ambitious world-shaping nation in an astonishingly short amount of time. 


The funding and making of this factual film have been such a positive business and creative experience for us, not dissimilar to other work we do in the States, that I feel it’s important to share that sentiment on an historic day, whatever your political persuasion. 


At the end of the documentary, I’ll post again and ask myself what has been learnt through the process and if I have understood America and her people better as they look towards 250 years since Independence. I’m looking forward to the journey. 


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