KCSM: Making the Music Move

I’ll be the first to admit: I was never a great musician.

I was good, sure, and looking back, it was actually pretty impressive that I possessed the lung capacity to honk away on the baritone saxophone, a monster of a twenty-pound brass instrument. But was I great? Most definitely not.

I was, however, a great student.

I was respectful, organized, academically inclined, a big nerd – however you choose to phrase it. I understood the sheet music, but I certainly didn’t get enough practice hours under my belt. I never honed the ability to bring beautifully written sheet music into the audial existence it deserved.

Luckily, documentary filmmaking does not require a finely-tuned embouchure, nimble fingers, or the need to overcome stage fright.

So when the Bay Area’s jazz radio station, KCSM 91.1, engaged with Incurrent Media to tell their story, we approached the process of filmmaking not as musicians, but as students.

We knew the ultimate goal of the film would be not just to entertain, but also to educate.

And what better way to do that than to learn?

What nobody tells you about making brand films is that it requires becoming a micro-expert in a unique field, often very quickly. This requires actively listening to the experts, the ones who power the organization that you’re being invited into.

As we conducted each interview with the KCSM staff, it quickly became apparent that the team members were the story.

Branded storytelling can admittedly get very corporate, very quickly. And sure, generally brands hope to bring in additional revenue through their creative assets – but there’s an old adage, “people do business with other people.”

Passion, knowledge, wisdom – these are all attributes that belong to people, not brands.

In my experience, the way to unlock a brand’s power is to get out of the way and let the organization’s people speak for themselves.

Personal perspectives, told through an individual human lens, ultimately told the same story that KCSM as a brand would want to tell – the key difference from traditional branded content is that nothing was filtered through a communications team. There was no script. No talking points. No policing verbiage. No teleprompters.

Just real people, speaking from the heart about their passion and expertise.

And when we fall in love with the people, we fall in love with the brand.

It sounds simple, right?

And it is – that is, until the reality of production sets in.

In this instance, the deadline required Incurrent Media bring this feature film to life in just six weeks from kickoff to delivery.

I can’t begin to express just how remarkable this is. It’s not uncommon for a film to be in post-production for over a year. Some documentarians will spend years or even decades collecting interviews and b-roll.

So, how on earth did we do it?

Not dissimilar to how the jazz pieces of my saxophone-laden youth were written: with sheet music that laid out a plan, but leaving “blank spaces” for improvisation.

We went into the unscripted production with a rough idea of the story in hand – this consisted of topics we would cover ranging from jazz history, to what goes into DJing a 4-hour radio set, to what it’s like to have student interns on the team at KCSM.

These topics were paired with an estimated runtime, detailing how much weight the topics should carry in the film. This was probably the biggest key we had to unlock how we would move from pre-production to finished film.

A key element behind shaping that script was making sure the film served KCSM’s mission: to advance knowledge and enjoyment of jazz. Most branded content falls into messaging along the lines of, “here’s who we are, here’s what our goal is.”

But we wanted the piece to actively drive KCSM’s mission forward.

It wasn’t enough for us to make a film about the radio station; it needed to be a film by KCSM.

And we have to give a huge shout out to Dr. Robert Franklin, KCSM station manager, for the creativity and ingenuity behind the strategy.

While we had a rough storyline that allowed us to shape each interview, not being able to predict what people would say left room for the joy of creativity. Of course, the creative process is full of challenges… but also pleasant surprises.

I always say you make a film three times.

There’s the film you set out to make in preproduction, before you’ve seen all the locations or conducted a single interview. It’s built on anticipating both worst and best-case scenarios. It’s an idea – a vision – ready to be adapted.

Then there’s the film you can envision in your head when you’re on set. You realize that there are so many new and exciting threads to pursue. There are also things that seemed like a great idea beforehand that simply don’t execute how you expected.

And finally, there’s the film you actually create in the edit. Some of the things you were thinking about on set don’t seem as brilliant as they did in the heat of the moment. And plenty of other moments play better than expected!

Our team was able to work collaboratively, allowing each person’s expertise to shine at various points throughout the process. Without each and every team member operating at the top of their game, there’s no way this film would have happened. Such a robust undertaking requires levels of passion, determination, perseverance, and thoughtfulness that are quite rare.

Trust and teamwork played key roles in bringing this film to life, particularly on a tight deadline. We are very proud of what we were able to create in partnership with KCSM.

Like students first discovering a topic that seems larger than life at first, we are all coming away with a new appreciation for jazz.

What started out as America’s only original art form quickly became taken for granted, and now is often misunderstood. It was such an honor to make this film, hopefully playing a small role in upholding its cultural legacy.

To me, the joy of working in the creative industry is not in collecting work experience, but life experience. When I lose myself in a production, I find myself feeling young again: like constantly rediscovering the excitement of tackling a new musical piece.

Creative production isn’t about forcing a message – it’s about identifying truth and helping others understand.

It’s what KCSM is about. It’s what Incurrent Media is about.

And it’s what makes stories move.

Check out the Trailer for KCSM Jazz 91: The Bay Area's Jazz Station to the World: