It’s a big night on 5 September in Canberra. Three hundred people will flock to the Canberra premiere of a new feature film that’s special to the capital in many ways. Rip Tide will screen at the National Film and Sound Archive. And at the end, included in the rolling credits, will be SilverSun Pictures, an award-winning team that works in a purpose-built facility here in Canberra producing amazing work.

SilverSun Pictures has produced thousands of hours of feature films, documentaries, television shows, advertisements, corporate videos and animation. And all stories are told with gusto.

SilverSun Pictures just gets on with the job and they’ve been doing so since 1995. Rip Tide isn’t the company’s first major film (it’s the seventh), but it’s their biggest value and it’s turning the tide for the company with Rip Tide—a $3 million plus film—making it big in Australia and internationally with a mega 100+ screen release.

“We were selected by The Steve Jaggi Company to be part of the team producing Rip Tide, and handled complete post production services, which is everything that happens after the camera stops rolling until the film hits the screen,” says Rohan Taylor, SilverSun’s Producer/Director and Re-recording Mixer for Rip Tide “And it was all managed from our facilities in Watson.”

Rip Tide, directed by Rhiannon Bannenberg, is a film featuring Cora (played by American actress Debby Ryan) who ends up living it up down under. Cora’s story begins after a humiliating modelling incident. She books a one-way ticket out of New York. Her destination? Australia.

Expecting a five-star holiday with her aunt, Cora realises that her beachside retreat is miles from the nearest city. She feels trapped until friendships bloom and romance sparks with handsome Tom, played by Andrew Creer (whose parents live in Canberra). When the community realises Cora’s hidden talent as a fashion designer, they rope her into creating the outfits for the big Surf Festival. When Cora’s mum calls to say she’s secured a modelling contract, Cora must decide between career or a community she now loves.

SilverSun’s role involved taking all media from cameras and managing edits and quality control while shooting took place so everything came together with the highest quality demanded for cinema. “We were on set from the first day of shooting in Kiama, with an editor and assistant, editing while the footage was being filmed given the short turnaround for the film,” says SilverSun’s Managing Director and Post Production Supervisor for Riptide Andrew Marriott. Steve Jaggi says SilverSun’s work is on par with the standards of the best post production houses in Sydney and Melbourne.

SilverSun faced many challenges along the way, but that didn’t deter the team from getting the job done. One major challenge was the tight time frame, with shooting starting in November 2016 and the film being delivered in May 2017. “It’s the shortest turnaround of any major film project we’ve worked on,” says Greg Evans, SilverSun’s Senior Editor and Colourist.

Don’t fret if you’re not going to tonight’s screening. Rip Tide will open on 14 September at Capitol Manuka.