MANIFESTO

Apocalypse Now took more than three years to shoot and edit. Talk to anyone who was there, and they’ll describe it as one of the most hellish experiences of their lives.

The production blew through its budget. The crew lived in ridiculous conditions in the jungle. Typhoons destroyed sets. Martin Sheen literally had a heart attack.

Don’t get us wrong; the film was amazing. But that’s despite the fact that its production was a giant lesson of what not to do.

Yet over 40 years later, we still hear stories all the time about crews working brutal hours under stressful conditions. Maybe they’re not working through typhoons or civil wars anymore, but there’s this stubborn idea that says quality work has to require extreme struggle and burnout. To us, that always sounded like a myth, something we tell ourselves to make it through tough times.

We believe people can tell great stories without so much suffering, that we can work smarter and spend more and more of our days on creative tasks—especially as new technology promises to solve major production problems and open up so many new possibilities. 

That promise is why SHOWRUNNER exists.

The production world has been ready to change for the better; it just needed a nudge. Because even with all this potential for technological innovation, your typical production is still ruled by chaos. Processes are still too inefficient. The barrier to entry is still too high for a lot of professionals. And too many dirtbags are still gumming up Hollywood because talented people from diverse backgrounds can’t tell big stories without their money.

We want to change that. And we think technology is the answer.

Our goal is straightforward: use technology to make production simpler, faster, and more accessible to more creative people. Filmmakers deserve tools that empower them to do more, and that level unnecessary power dynamics.

For so many other industries, technology has done just that. In filmmaking, we have a chance to use technology to shape the future in way that’s:

Connected

and helps talented people add up to more than the sum of their parts. 

Agile

to improve on old techniques so that we’re doing better work—and can afford to adapt and iterate.

Conscious

to be kinder to the planet, and to all the workers involved in making the magic we call filmmaking.

No more waste, and no more heart attacks pls.

We love this craft, and we love the crews who perform it. Let’s help them do the work they were meant to do—and get home in time for dinner.