Wide Awake Films - History and Craft
We love making history. It's in our roots. We've honed our craft on it. And it's even earned us a few Emmys along the way.
Re-creating history takes careful research, resourcefulness and the ability to find a fresh, new angle.
Take a look behind the scenes of...
The American Artist: The Life & Times of George Caleb Bingham
Authentic and Inventive
Have you ever contemplated the shape of a button? Or the frame of a window? We have. It's these small details that make or break a historical film. We're sticklers about insuring that every aspect of furnishings, architecture and clothing -- what we call "material culture" -- is absolutely spot-on.
Our standards are high: we want to create the most authentic, accurate and visually compelling historical re-creations that you've ever seen. You might say our extreme attention to detail borders on fanaticism, but we're cool with that.
The Honor of Storytelling
Every story we tell is a humbling experience. We never forget the importance of telling a story well, and telling it right. This means crafting something that will grab ahold of an audience's attention, but without resorting to cheap tricks or sensationalism.
Especially in the realm of non-fiction cinema, we strive for that perfect balance, honoring the facts and presenting them as they occurred, but also respecting our viewer's time and giving them a memorable experience rather than a filmed lecture.
In some cases, a story waits a century or more before it lands in our laps. It is an opportunity of a lifetime to do it right. Now Bingham's time has come, and we will do his legacy proud!
Award-Winning Team
Our motors are always running - on hip design, cool lighting techniques, the latest trick we learned in the edit suite and may be a little caffeine. You might call us a well-oiled machine. We genuinely enjoy conspiring as a team, putting our brains together and distilling our collective creative energy into work that excites each of us. We honestly love what we do.
Our team represents a wide range of backgrounds and skill-sets, but we all share a common interest in exploring new, exciting ways to tell a story, while never losing respect for good old fashioned craftsmanship and a lot of hard work.