This post is the final in a series of blogs highlighting our 2018. Our shop would not be what it is without everyone involved.
Tico and James P. looking forward to the future
I believe former Secretary of State Colin Powell had a great quote that coincidently defines our team, “Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.” Not only does everyone we have on our team devote their lives to this trade, but they are also great 2018 was a heck of a year, especially near the end, where it seemed we had a project to work on all the time, but we could have not done it without everyone involved.
It’s people like James S., who is always willing to learn and helps us with rough cutting footage. Aspiring filmmakers like Joe R. who take some time during break from school to help us out and gain more experience. It’s creative people like Ben from Digital Squirrel Studio and Adam, who helped us with a project with the Future Vision Foundation, who can create graphics, whether a video game setting or even a Skee-Ball panel with the Ohio Lottery logo. Ben’s son, Aaron, who became a huge help to us as a production assistant, is always in the moment and is willing to help as much as he can. We even have a new face you will see more often in 2019. Chris C., or “Tico,” who came to us in late July, has been a driving force with bringing new ideas as well as always having the will to keep learning in the film industry. He will produce with us for many of our projects.
Ryan always happy to be on cam.
This year, we started the Collective Film Project, and that introduced us to some awesome people. Creative directors and writers like Zach, Jamie, Greg, Chris W., and Carlton, whose stories we brought to life. It’s producers and crew like Grant, Jessica, and the rest of the Wilmington gang, who catalyze the creative process, and crew members like Christine, Kayce, and Jasmine, who wake up at 5am or earlier just to get to set on time for these projects.
Basil in his natural habitat.
With the Collective and 48 Hour Film Projects, our actors we had always brought their game. Young performers like Nick, Makenna, Keith, Carl, Liam, and David were amazing in front of the camera and were all pleasures to work with, and veterans like Andrew, Stefanie, and Richard, always gave show-stealing performances. With those films, we also need composers, like Alex and Eli, to bring our films to another level.
The cool thing about our film community is how tight everyone is and how many of us tend to work a lot with each other. It’s our friends from Black Valve Media (Hunter, Evan, Thomas, Alec, etc.) who we have filmed shorts with and have helped with some our our bigger projects. It’s camera ops and ACs like Ryan F. and Basil who may not be able to help us at every shoot, but when their name is called, their attention to detail and precise focusing can be the difference between a good shot and a great shot. It’s sound guys like Henri, who deal with an equally-important job as the audio portion of our projects is just as important.
Evan from Black Valve directing a scene for a short film we helped him with earlier this year.
Alec, Adam, myself, James P., Tico, and Henry looking dapper at the Future Vision Foundation Awards.
If you have worked with us this year, you may know Henry from Three Driveway Media. Whenever he enters the room, his outgoing personality and charm always brings team morale at its highest. As a very talented photographer, Henry helps us with some behind the scenes photos, as well as art directing some of our projects. You may also know him as the dead guy in our 2016 Cleveland 48 Hour Film Project, “Black Market Beauty.”
When all is said and done, we cannot forget the person who brought us all together. A lot of you may know him as our founder and director of photography, James. Of course, I call him by a different name. His vision and caring for his clients and colleagues, as well as the professionalism he brings from pre- to post-production, makes him one of the best to work with in the area. And let’s not forget his better half, Mamel, who works behind the scenes on the business side and the hospitality wing, as well.
Now you may be wondering, “How about the guy who wrote this?” What can I say? I’m just a part of the team!
As 2018 comes to a close, we are thankful for everyone who we have encountered, and we may have forgotten some names, but our shop would not be successful without you all. We cannot wait for what will be coming up in 2019, as well as everyone we will meet or reconnect with. Happy New Year!
