Young Presence: An Exciting Studio of New Visual Artists Backed by the Power of Presence

With a focus on multidisciplinary artists, Young Presence is an agency representing up and coming filmmaking visual art talent to generate truly unique and creative work. It is a collective for directors, DoPs, editors, animators, 3D artists and photographers, designed to give them an outlet to flaunt their creative prowess.

Backed and guided by Presence - a full in-house production company with a set of dedicated and experienced producers - Young Presence offers clients fresh new storytelling experiences to elevate their brands and identities while empowering young filmmakers that may not have industry connections. 

With the launch of this initiative, spearheaded by producer Brad Smith with a helping hand from Presence founder Danny Fleet, the company has taken supporting new talent one step further by forming Young Presence as a studio in its own right. 

To find out what sparked this idea and how Young Presence is shaking things up, in this interview Brad and Danny reveal all.

LBB> Young Presence sounds like an amazing concept for both new talent and your clients looking for exciting work - what was it that first sparked the idea?

Brad> Looking at the current work that is being produced in our film landscape we wanted to inject some young and fresh takes across those diverse topics.

We focus on multidisciplinary talent which we spotted as a trend - but not a gimmicky one. It’s born out of breaking typecasted moulds and giving people the social freedom to express in any way they see fit.

LBB> The mission with Young Presence is to do more than just “support” young talent in the industry. Can you tell us how your experienced team is banding together to give this collective a real step up in their careers?

Danny> We do this both by supporting them as a full service production company but also by giving them a place to be. A home of sorts, that encourages them to push themselves creatively and not be afraid to break into the industry. 

Our creatives have many different needs and each one is taken care of individually in the same way that we treat our clients. Every project is an individual labour of love.

LBB> What was your own experience like when you first started out in the industry?

Brad> Getting messed about. I originally tried to break in as a director. Major production companies and agents were interested in my work but wanted to see me develop more, which to me seemed like they didn’t want to say no but also didn’t want to invest in me. 

Danny> For me it was brilliant. Music videos were huge and commercials were epic stories, tied together by a really strong central idea. Everyone was winning awards and the champagne flowed. At least that’s how I remember it. It was probably far less glamorous.

LBB> What would an initiative like this have meant for you at that stage in your career?

Danny>  When I started, everything was very siloed. You would settle into your chosen path and work as hard as possible at it. The learning curve was steep, and I got the chance to handle complex shoots with large crews, but everyone had their role and stuck to it. 

Now that the barriers to entry have lowered with amazing tools and technology, the opportunities to work across departments has improved and the new breed of filmmakers have become incredibly resourceful, and confident to work across various roles. 

LBB> Young Presence wants to empower young filmmakers that may not have industry connections. What is your vision for the growth of this collective and how are you aiming to discover this talent?

Brad> My vision is for the directors and creatives to become fully realised and support themselves with amazing careers work, and to tell new stories.

The hunt for talent never stops. But when we see something truly arresting, we know - as anyone would. When talented people begin to get recognised, the path to the top can happen very quickly. We are happy to be a part of encouraging this growth.

LBB> What sort of projects do Young Presence artists get to work on?

Danny> Loads of different types of projects. It’s not out of the ordinary to hear one of our directors working on an AR project one day and then shooting on Super 8 the next. Our creatives are experimenting with different mediums of storytelling constantly.

LBB> And finally, how does Young Presence fit into your wider values and ethos as a company?

Danny> We love the multidisciplinary aspect of work now. Presence had always worked with directors from many genres. Masterful comedy directors, award winning animators, brilliant immersive specialists…across both long form and short form projects. 

Nurture and growth have always played an important role in our business and Young Presence is a perfect extension of these values.