Tell us about your organization. How big is your team? Where are you based? What is your organization’s specialty in the film and video space?
We’re a Pittsburgh team of two, and we’ll pretty much shoot anything that comes our way. But some of our favorite projects are the short documentaries we make just for fun. A couple of those have even picked up some awards, including a Gold Telly People’s Choice Award this year for another documentary.
Why do you do what you do? Was there a transformative moment that solidified your career choice, your org’s success, or your commitment to storytelling?
Honestly, I think we do it because we just really like telling stories. We’ve always been drawn to the people behind the business, event, or idea, and there’s something really cool about taking someone’s story and turning it into something people actually want to watch.
Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?
Under the Hood: A Dirt Track Story is a short documentary we made about a local dirt track driver and what goes into racing at that level. We wanted to show more than just cars flying around the track. We wanted to tell the story of the person behind the wheel, the work, the money, and the passion that goes into doing it. It was a really fun project because we got to make something we genuinely wanted to watch and just focus on telling a good story. The fact that it ended up winning a Silver Telly Award was pretty awesome.
Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?
Definitely keep the right gear around to get the dust out of your camera. That track had so much dirt flying through the air that I’m pretty sure I’m still finding dirt inside my camera body. We cleaned everything as best we could that night, but somehow it just kept showing up.
What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?
The biggest challenge was definitely being a crew of two during a full night of racing. Everything moves so fast, and we only had one night to get everything we needed. We were constantly bouncing around trying to figure out where we needed to be next while also trying to get as many different shots and looks as possible. There wasn’t really much time to overthink anything, so we just had to communicate, make quick decisions, and roll with whatever was happening. It was pretty chaotic, but that’s also what made it fun.
What are you most proud of about this piece? What is the most memorable response you got from this work?
I think we’re most proud of the fact that it actually came together at all. We shot all of the B-roll in one night and honestly had no idea exactly what we were going to get or what the final story was going to be. It was kind of a last-minute idea that we decided to run with, so the fact that we were able to turn it into something that won a Telly Award was pretty crazy. It definitely made us feel like maybe our last-minute ideas aren’t always so bad.
You won a Telly Award for this piece. Why is recognition important for you, your team or your work?
It’s pretty cool because most of the stuff we make has our clients’ names on it, which is great, but this one has our name on it from the start. So winning a Telly Award for it is a pretty awesome feeling and kind of shows that we can make some really cool stuff when we’re just doing our own thing. It’s also nice to have something we can point to and say, “Hey, we made this.”
Tell us what you’re up to! If there’s a new project, launch, or milestone you’d like us to celebrate with you, let us know, and we might share it with our community.
We’ve been trying to make more of our own stuff lately, mostly these little social posts we call “Movie Mode,” where we take random everyday stuff around the house and try to make it look way cooler than it actually is. We don’t get a ton of time to make them, but they’ve been a fun excuse to try out new gear, mess around, and just make something for ourselves. We also just launched our YouTube channel, so now we’re working on growing that and seeing where it goes.
