The Admiral’s Log
Notes on podcasting from the Seaplane team.
Why We Only Take Certain Projects
We turn down more work than people expect from a two-person shop. Some of that comes down to simple math, a budget that doesn't actually cover the work being asked for. Most of it comes down to something less transactional: whether the project is one we actually want to make.
How a Boutique Studio Works Differently Than an Agency
At most agencies, the person who pitches you isn't the person who makes your show. A senior creative director sells the vision in the room, and the actual work gets handed down to whoever's available on staff that month, sometimes talented, sometimes junior, always a step removed from the person you actually trusted with the idea. At a boutique studio, that gap doesn't exist. The people pitching the vision are the same people in the edit at midnight making it real.
Should You Build Production In-House or Outsource It?
Advertising and PR agencies have run this experiment for decades: build an in-house production team to save money, discover a few years in that it didn't save money and the work got worse, dismantle the team, go back to outside production partners, and repeat the whole cycle again about ten years later. That pattern keeps recurring for a real reason, not bad luck. In-house production only works at a scale most organizations never actually reach.