Tell us a bit about your organization and what your specialty is in the film and video space.
Dream Network Media is an Emmy-winning production company and creative consultancy specializing in travel, culture, and lifestyle storytelling. We produce broadcast-quality documentaries, television series, and branded content for networks and global brands, blending cinematic visuals with reporting that highlights local culture, sustainability, and underrepresented voices. Our team handles everything from concept development and field production to multi-platform distribution, helping partners reach audiences across TV, streaming, and digital channels.
What is your organization’s ethos and how does it set you apart from industry competitors?
We believe powerful storytelling can connect cultures and inspire meaningful change. Our ethos is rooted in respect for local communities, environmental sustainability, and authentic representation—values shaped by decades of travel journalism and global reporting. We stand apart by combining broadcast-level production with a journalist’s rigor and a commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices, creating content that entertains while driving real-world impact.
How can people join or learn more about what you do?
Follow @DayveeSutton across social platforms for me personally, and for industry insights, subscribe to the Dream Network Media Substack and connect on LinkedIn, where we share insider tips – from DIY distribution to using big media to spotlight indie projects, and more.
Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?
Your Next Trip is our new interstitial travel series designed for transient audiences—think airports, in-flight entertainment, hotel lobbies, and rideshare screens. We built it from more than a decade of award-winning travel filmmaking, repurposing and refreshing our extensive archive to create tight, visually rich episodes that inspire spontaneous travel ideas in just a few minutes.
The Telly Award recognizes the full series, which blends cinematic storytelling with quick-hit practical tips, giving travelers an engaging escape and actionable inspiration wherever they are.
What are you most proud of about this piece? What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?
Another fun fact is that because of this method, we were able to produce 50 episodes for less than $10k total. I’m most proud that Your Next Trip delivers broadcast-level quality while proving a sustainable production model. The biggest challenge was culling through all the archives. Although well organized, I it was a task that only I could do – because not only did I house it, but also needed to do QC along the way. Sorting through what was usable and what was not. So organizing and standardizing hundreds of hours of legacy footage shot on different cameras and formats. From there, the revisioning of script writing using AI – saved me the cost of hiring a producer. After training it with my criteria, I would feed it the old scripts, transcripts and even sometimes production itineraries. Once the scripts were done, vo’s were recorded and it was off the editors.
Because I had a budget I was working with, I realized that I could expedite the edits quicker by hiring multiple editors at the same time. So at some point I have up to four different editors at one time editing episodes. Another time consuming obstacle was the onboarding of editors. I needed to interview and verify they edited to match the style of the episodes. And because I was hiring a bunch of freelancers, that required a bit more micromanaging.
Do you have any advice to other filmmakers based on your career or your team’s approach to work?
Plan for longevity. Shoot evergreen content and archive it well—you’ll thank yourself later when you can repurpose footage into new projects. Build a workflow that balances quality with efficiency, and don’t be afraid to lean on new tools like AI for scripting or organization if they serve the story. Most of all, protect your voice and point of view; that’s what makes your work stand out years down the line.
Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?
A fun twist in producing Your Next Trip is that much of it was built from our own travel film archive spanning more than a decade. We sifted through hundreds of hours of footage from past shoots around the world, then re-edited and re-scripted it to fit the tight, high-impact format needed for airport, in-flight, and hotel screens. It proved that thoughtful production strategies – like filming evergreen content always – can make the upfront investments of work, time, and budgets – get plenty of ROI for years to come.
Tell us about the most memorable response you got from this work.
Industry peers who understood the scale of repurposing were genuinely impressed that we turned a decade of footage into a polished 50-episode series on such a lean budget. From the audience side, the feedback I hear most is that Your Next Trip feels instantly useful—they recognize it as tourism-driven content with clear takeaways and inspiration they can act on.
Complete this sentence: ‘Great video storytelling is…’
… something that makes you feel – provoking reaction from all 5 senses. Yes, even taste and smell. In one of our documentaries, one of the feedback was “I never wanted pickles so much in my life. I could taste them from the screen.” Great video stories stick with the audience.
