Hardware Podcasts

Florentine Films: Ken Burns

How I Built This · 11 Apr 2022 · 1h 17m

What this episode covers

Ken Burns, co-founder of Florentine Films, explains how he built one of the most valuable documentary archives in the world by maintaining total creative control and intellectual property ownership. He details the grueling five-year fundraising process for his breakthrough film 'Brooklyn Bridge,' where he relied on stubbornness and perseverance to secure grants from corporations and foundations despite constant rejections. Burns discusses his signature 'Ken Burns Effect' technique of animating still photographs with sound and music, and how he structured his company as a series of separate LLCs to preserve artistic integrity over profit margins.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Florentine Films, PBS, WNET, Citibank, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Hampshire College, U.S. Bank
Products
Brooklyn Bridge, The Civil War, Statue of Liberty, Benjamin Franklin

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