Do you remember that golf documentary that we watched last never? Me neither. This week, a film about a unique golf equipment manufacturer will be digitally distributed, so we want to tell you about it. Discovering Perfection: The Miura Story, tells the tale of a Japanese golf club company known within the industry for its pursuit of perfect forging, grinding and everything else that goes into issuing clubs without peer. We sent nine questions to the production team, and got most of them back!
1. How does one get the nod to create a documentary film for a golf club company, let alone a Japanese one?
Our team at Sway has had the fantastic opportunity to work with a wide variety of golf brands in North America and across the world. Our agency, which has worked on marketing Miura for the past two years, has an in-house film production team that was perfectly tailored to take on this sort of project.
2. What work had you done in the past, that prepared you to frame and create this film?
Our team has worked for years in creating unique, original film content in the digital space; our focus is telling stories that people want to engage in. In Canada, we have worked with some of the largest sponsors in the golf industry (ie. RBC, CP Rail, Shaw) to tell short-form stories that engage audiences. It has been these sorts of experiences that equipped us with the tools to undertake a project of this magnitude.
3. From storyboard to filming, to editing and post-production, what were the unexpected joys along the way?
For us, it was uncovering the layers of the Miura family, and seeing their incredible talent mixed with their sincere humility. Although efforts have been made to modernize the game, the golf industry still has a tendency to be viewed as ‘elitist’ to the outside world. This family, of whom produce the finest golf clubs in the world, are gentle, soft-spoken, and humble to the nth degree. Getting to work with and capture these amazing people made us realize that some of the big players in golf are also the most humble people on the earth.
4. Not to be a downer, but were there any bumps and potholes along the way?
Probably our biggest hurdle was the language barrier; although our team has the command of English, French and a few other languages, we were at a loss in Japan. Without the help of our interpreter Nina Kuramasu we would have been in serious trouble!
5. What is the goal, in your minds, of this telling of the story of Miura?
Our goal was to tell a story that people would want to hear (not just golf fans, but anyone), while honouring and respecting the tradition of the Miura family and their golf clubs.
6. Is anyone on the production team a golfer? If so, how did this experience impact her/him/them?
I grew up playing golf in Southern Ontario, working in back-shops and playing some competitive junior golf. As such, I’ve had the chance to be around golf most of my life and I’ve never seen clubs manufactured, never mind the unique process that Miura has – I thought it was incredible just to see the passion that these people have for their product. Jonah Tremback, the assistant producer of the film who also manages Miura’s marketing, also has a background in club fitting. So for him, I think he was amazed to see first-hand how the Miura’s are able to modify the grain structure of the club head and the establish the absolute tightest tolerances.
7. What did you learn from this opportunity, that you will take into each of your future film projects?
I think we learned that sometimes, the best footage and dialogue comes when least expected. You’ll have to wait and watch the film to see what I’m talking about!
