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Think Video Production Only Happens in California or New York? Think Colorado Instead.
When you think of video production, you probably imagine Hollywood or Times Square. It’s only natural to see Los Angeles and New York City as go-to video production hubs. L.A.’s where I got my start in video production. Over nine years of working as production assistant to production manager to producer. It’s where I learned the ropes. But I found my community in Colorado. It’s smaller and more niche and why I’ve fallen in love with the family-feel of local production. I hope you will too.
Why You Should Shoot Your Next Video Locally
Heinrich’s clients span the country, but we’re based in Denver. If we’re able to shoot and edit your video here, we can save you time and money, two things marketing executives never have enough of. The in-person interaction of being on location and even side-by-side with an editor in the edit bay cannot be replicated virtually.
We can also take a hybrid approach to save on time or costs. For example, we could work with a crew who is local to your business, fly out for the shoot and then complete the post-production here in Colorado. This helps us maximize your dollars by keeping the heart of the production local. We adapt based on your needs and what’s best for your project.
Why You Should Consider Colorado for Your Next Video Production
As I said earlier, Colorado’s video production community is like a family. It’s collaborative and generous, full of camaraderie you won’t find in larger production hubs where individuals and production companies can come across as cutthroat. In Colorado, we realize that there’s plenty of work to go around and someone else’s success isn’t our failure. The talent here is top notch and full of people who came from larger hub cities like me. We’ve only continued to enhance our skills and capabilities, and we’re helping each other to do that.
Because Colorado is such a beautiful state, we have so many shooting potentials, whether in nature or in the cities. Our climate means we can shoot in all four seasons, which opens even more creative avenues for storytelling. Our square state means exponential possibility for your video’s visuals.
Last, Colorado sits practically in the exact middle between four production hubs: L.A. on the West Coast to New York on the East Coast; Vancouver in the north and Louisiana in the south. That’s why so much talent has moved here and why we have state-of-the-art studios for green-screen production and animation.
Colorado-based Production Partners We Love
Our creative team has dreamed up just about every kind of video that can possibly be made whether it’s two- or three-dimensional animation or a documentary-style profile and everything in between. We collaborate with local production partners to bring our ideas to life. Here are some of the local talents we work with and why we love them.
- Lumenati: The cool kids on the block who rock it every single time. Their in-house team of producers, editors, directors, and cinematographers are experienced, organized and a blast to work with. You can also get a custom tattoo from a licensed artist the next time you’re at their studio reviewing a video cut.
- Postmodern Company: Theproduction company who feels like family. They’re your one-stop shop made up of professionals who know the business inside and out. Their studio in RiNo is outfitted with an audio recording studio so you can bring your VO and SFX dreams to life with some of the best audio engineers in Denver.
- Friends of Mine: These guys are pros in the field of motion of design. Jeremy and Adam are simultaneously hardworking and easy going. They helped bring our 2023 video campaign, One for the Road, to life for Wyoming Department of Transportation.
- Flying Giant Productions: A husband-and-wife team who learned production in New York City. Mel is a female director and director of photography who is well respected and singular in everything she does.
- Honest Films: A long-time video partner of Heinrich thanks to their kindness coupled with creativity. They help us to bring many of our animations to life.
Best Practices for Local Video Production
First, having a working knowledge of video production is critical. Inside major hubs, video production is just part of that city’s culture—people just know more, even those who don’t directly work in the video industry. Outside those hubs, however, the working knowledge is much lower, and that’s OK. That’s what your agency is for. When you get into video projects for the first time, there’s a steep learning curve. There’s so much that goes into making even a 15-second video: storyboards, talent, music, locations, heavy machinery, multiple crews. There’s a lot to be mindful of—it’s not as simple as using your phone—which is why having the right agency partner is so important. As the director of video production, it’s my job to ensure clients know how video works, and video production is like a four-dimensional puzzle in space and time.
Next, do what’s right for your specific video project. At Heinrich that means doing what’s in the best interest of our clients and the creative approach. Every video is different. Maybe that means filming on a smartphone. The cameras and capabilities get better all the time. Still, a great video producer will take it to the next level and make sure the subject is mic’d properly to capture the best sound. Maybe we’re shooting something original or creating animated illustrations with recorded audio. We always come back to what’s best for the client and the work.
Something that’s easy to overlook is safety, but it’s essential. Video production can be a dangerous job— there’s heavy machinery, electricity, cords everywhere, long hours, back-to-back days—it’s all too easy to get hurt when people get sleepy or hot or an accident happens. Producers keep everyone safe, well fed and rested. It’s a key part of setting up the production right from the start.
Heinrich’s Approach
We believe in supporting our local talent and economy. It’s why we continue to advocate for state film tax incentives to both support our local production companies and freelance filmmakers and spur economic activity. Film production doesn’t just support the film industry, it supports caterers, drivers, construction, you name it. These film projects can generate millions of dollars in revenue for the state and create jobs too. We’ve lost out on major projects to neighboring states like Arizona, Utah and Wyoming because our incentives as so small. That’s why I’ve picketed at the state capitol and why I’ll continue to keep this goal close to my heart.
We’re also a kind and collaborative partner to our clients and our production vendors. For example, I worked in video production as a freelancer, so I understand where our freelancers come from. Our agency treats people with fairness and kindness while keeping our clients’ best interests in mind. Another example of our kindness in action was during the pandemic, which suddenly halted a majority local video production. We signed the Creator Alliance, a statewide initiative to keep agency and brand video production local. It meant a lot to the community and to me personally.
See It to Believe It
This reel gives you a quick round up of our projects overall in healthcare, finance, retail, government and more. We have so many amazing video projects I could talk about, so I’ll just mention a few of my recent favorites and give you a deeper dive.
We worked with Humana and our production partner Lumenati to feature the stories of three members: Linda, Georgette and Margo. We pulled back the curtain on the production at the beginning of the video, which added an extra layer of intimacy with the viewer. You see the crew adjusting mics and helping the members get settled. Then we get to know these women and how Humana and their agents helped connect them to doctors who really understand, listen and care for them as people—not just as patients.
Kroger holiday gift card spots
I love how fun these holiday spots are with their word play and animations. Our creative director, Rob McPhee, creates the majority of the visuals and illustrations himself. “Smokin’ hot” with a smoker grill for Father’s Day. With heart-shaped drones and hot air balloons, love is literally in the air for Valentine’s Day. Steaming cups of cocoa, coffee, cider and the notorious pumpkin spice latte make fall feel cozy.
Wyoming Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving (GCID)
Our creative team came up a campaign for the Wyoming GCID this summer built around double meanings of familiar phrases often associated with drinking and drugs like One for the Road, Killer Combo and Bottoms Up. The ads feature three-dimensional animation by Friends of Mine that puts the viewer in the driver’s seat to show the natural consequences of driving impaired—blurred vision, swerving on the road, red and blue flashing police lights, a rollover crash. We designed this show-don’t-tell approach for the strong-willed, independent thinkers of Wyoming instead of finger wagging them.
Whether you’re trying to tell individual stories, spread some cheer or save lives, we’ll help you craft a video that packs a punch creatively and commercially. We don’t just make cool videos; we make videos that advance your goals and objectives. Because we’re born for business.