In Prague, is illusion everything?

View of Prague at dusk

I make a commitment to go to the IQ (International Quorum of Motion Pictures Producers) conference every year. My wife Mary-Jo was able to join me this year. She actually got to see quite a bit of Prague while we were in meetings and presentations practically every day from 7am until 12pm. While the use of Internet, iPhone, and webcam helps to some extent. spending one week away from business poses a real challenge when we have several projects at different stages of completion. At times it seems like a lunatic idea. Once at the conference, I realize how much it has to offer, and how belonging to the organization has helped me run Tribe over the years. The theme this year was "Illusion is everything". Pretty creative! The conference had a definite European flavor, with a lot of focus on style and techniques. Some of the issues presented at the conference are more business oriented - the 2007 issue of the conference was hosted here by Tribe, its theme: Show me the money! This year IQ members had the opportunity to present their work to the whole association, whether video clips, powerpoint presentations or any other creative format. I screened a pilot for a TV show entitled "The Call", which takes an unusual look at the spiritual side of the world. We will introduce it soon on our News blog, expect to be surprised and entertained.

Photo by Thom Gonyeau

The viewing of presentations from all over the world is compelling. It reminds us of our primary role: storytelling. The variety of creative solutions is inspiring. Mind boggling. Saga Films, the IQ member in Iceland, produces hundreds of hours of TV and commercials a year. An awesome output for such a small country. And the quality of the productions drives us all to do better and come back with even better products next year. I always return from the IQ Conference with a satchel full of ideas, new outlooks, creative solutions.

Tribe and IQ have some important news to announce for 2011, more about that in our next communications.

Enjoying a break between presentations: Mary-Jo & Vern Oakley