Every film starts before the cameras roll.

Ideas, scripts, budgets, casting, and every logistic in between. 1846 Studios takes your project from first spark to camera-ready — whether you're pitching a concept or prepping a fully financed

  • Concept Development

    • Idea expansion & development — solidify a concept into something pitchable.
    • Scriptwriting & story development — in collaboration with your creative team.
    • Visual development — mood, tone, and look, built early.
    • Sizzle reels & proof-of-concept pieces — to sell your next big project.
    • Stakeholder connections — help getting your project in front of industry decision-makers.

  • Script & Budget

    • Script development & refinement — to make sure the story fits the creative vision.
    • Script breakdown — every scene, element, and requirement accounted for.
    • Budgeting — built on real production numbers — an affordable, high-end look wherever you shoot.
    • Scheduling — that keeps creative ambition and production reality on speaking terms.

  • Team & Casting

    • Assembling key creative team — producers, directors, DPs, and department heads.
    • Casting — finding and securing the best talent for your project.
    • Crew scaled to scope — from lean documentary teams to fully specialized departments for features and series.
    • Deep relationships — 20+ years of crew, talent, and vendor connections.

  • Visual Planning

    • Storyboards & shot listing — the visuals mapped, scene by scene.
    • Production design prep — sets, props, and costumes designed to the story.
    • Look development — with your director and DP, carried through from prep to post.
    • Rehearsals & final prep — so everyone's confident on day one of the shoot.

  • Logistics

    • Location scouting — wherever the story lives — with unmatched local knowledge across Iowa and the Midwest.
    • Permits & approvals — secured and managed.
    • Scheduling & logistics planning — locked schedules, coordinated moves, no loose ends.
    • Behind-the-scenes coordination — everything ready before the first slate.