A Side show. Side project. Passion project. Whatever you call them, they’re the creative outlets we use to express that part of ourselves that lives beyond the client brief. That’s just fine with us. Because a good passion project for our makers is like yeast for a baker: It raises the quality of our work.

And good work deserves celebration.

Enter The Side Show. It’s a side project about side projects founded by Josh D. Weiss and Sunita Deshpande to honor the awesome stuff people make just because they wanted to make them. The inaugural (and hopefully yearly) event invites the creators of the best passion projects from across the country to submit their work in a first-of-its-kind award show.

Naturally, we wanted to join in the fun!

thesideshow.org

Throwing Our Hat in the Ring

Not knowing what to expect, we entered Saint Frank, our short film about best friends caught in a lose-lose situation. And going up against 537 other submissions, it won Gold in the Film category!

What a result.

We’re thrilled and honored to be recognized by a judging panel that included executives from Droga5, BBDO, YouTube, Buzzfeed, and the Miami Ad School. Thank you to everyone who participated in the awards show and helped produce such a great idea.

Maya Angelou once said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” We couldn’t agree more. Creating your own side show is perhaps the best way to learn new skills when you’re in this business for more than a paycheck. Every maker at Bugle is newly inspired to take on our next passion project!

Watch Saint Frank

It took more than two years to pull off, but the wait is finally over. Thanks to the hard work of Executive Producer Joseph Smallwood of Bugle and Writer and Director David Altrogge of Vinegar Hill, we launched Saint Fank on Film Supply.

Click this link to watch the film and let us know what you think in the comments.

Enjoy the show!