Working in the Present Tense:
using evolving technologies to tell compelling stories

How We Work

Energetic and creative, Present Tense has the flexibility to put together a package to meet your project and budget needs. We can work as a three-person documentary team or provide crew, actors, and equipment for narrative or more-complex documentary productions. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have on-going collaborations within the diverse film-related community. We can bring in animators, graphic artists, musicians, or translators to work on your video.

We provide a full range of film and video production services to museums, nonprofits, government agencies, schools and universities, and businesses. We can work with you from start to finish, or we can step in at any stage of your project.

For more information about working with Present Tense, email us at info@present-tense.com, or call us at 650-363-8450.

Project Development, Research, and Preproduction

Working together on the early stages of your project allows us to make recommendations that will increase the effectiveness of your production and help contain costs. Our services include:

• concept and treatment development
• grantwriting and identifying potential funding sources
• developing project budgets and schedules
• background research
• field research, including finding subject experts and interviewees
• writing narrative scripts or developing documentary shooting scripts
• planning and scheduling production
• hiring and rehearsing actors and identifying locations for dramatic productions

Production

We produce, direct, and provide crews for small or large productions, including documentary, dramatic, or multicamera performance productions. Most of our work is shot in digital video, but we can work in any format that you require.

Postproduction

We edit our productions – for broadcast, the web, educational distribution, exhibits – on our Media 100 nonlinear editing system. We can accommodate digital or analog source video. Most of our clients work in DVCam, BetaSP, or Mini-DV. We provide the editing system and an experienced editor who will take the project to completion.

During project development, we evaluate and identify any special postproduction needs, including:

• animation
• archival photographs or footage
• graphic arts
• translations
• original music composition
• preparing your video for the web

Distribution and Dissemination

We can consult with you on a promotion and distribution plan, in order to help you most effectively reach your audience. We can assist you in

• packaging your production
• arranging screenings
• creating press packets and promotional materials
• writing study guides or other supplemental materials