Marvin Windows – BTS Video

Ever wonder how big our space is here at Gamut One Studios?  Well, it’s big enough to build a small home in it. Bill Bartlett and crew proved this last summer on a unique photography project for Marvin Windows, if you build it, they will come.

Enjoy this quick Behind-The-Scenes video of the project that exceeded Marvin Windows’ “big” expectations.

Marvin Windows Set Build from Gamut One Studios on Vimeo.

Super Bowl 52 Party Guests Respond with Arms Wide Open

More than 200 guests joined the celebration at Gamut One Studios for Super Bowl 52 . Whether cheering for the Eagles or the Patriots, this can be a very divisive event; however, these fans were unified around one common goal: helping locals in need.

Gamut One Studios’ 8th annual Super Bowl party was a benefit event for Open Arms of Minnesota, a nonprofit that cooks and delivers free, nutritious meals to people living with life-threatening illnesses in the Twin Cities.

And with arms WIDE OPEN – the response from our amazing guests was like a big hug for the Twin Cities’ charity.  We collected over $2,000 for Open Arms of Minnesota, through purchase of silent auction items and cash donations. In addition to donations, our guests responded with literally shopping carts full of cereal to help overflow our cereal drive.

The gluten-free cereal drive was a huge success totaling 103 boxes of cereal and 15 bags of granola.

A special thanks goes out to all our corporate sponsors who donated items to our silent auction: Wild Wings, Frost River, Stevie Rays Improv, 3M, Swedish Comfort, Droolin’ Moose, Wooden Hill Brewing, Marketing Architects, Caribou Coffee and Heartfelt Gifts.

In addition to our kids’ zone with the inflatable obstacle course, basketball shoot-out, and football passing challenge, this year we had our very own 80s arcade with classic games like Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, and Dig Dug. Many from young and old enjoyed.


The annual chili cook-off contest is one of the most talked about offerings at our party, and the biggest question each year is who will take home the coveted Golden Chili Pepper Award?  This year we had 8 varieties of chili for our guests to sample and savor, with names like: “Butt Burner”, “Howlin’ Horseradish”, “Better with Bacon” and many more flavor-packed crock pots.

This year it went to Joe Monsoor for his “Sir Meats-a-lot” chili that hailed a trio of meats including beef, pork sausage, and corned beef brisket. This was Joe’s 2nd victory, after winning last year for a delicious chili made with duck.

When this writer asked Joe about his chances for a hat trick next year, Joe replied, “You know, last year I had the duck, this year it was the holy trinity of meat, and next year I may need to bring a buffalo!”

Joe has now secured his 2nd spot in the G1 Studios’ Chili Hall of Fame. When Greg Kamin, 3-time chili champion, was asked about Joe’s victory, Kamin only chuckled and said, “I don’t care if Joe brings buffalo, antelope, or elk next year, Joe’s time with the [Golden] Pepper is over!

As always, we love it when our guests have fun in the photo booth. This is a compilation of some of the best poses and great expressions. Enjoy!

©2018, Gamut One Studios, Inc.

8th Annual G1 Studios Super Bowl Party

Number Eight is going to be Great!

Could this be the year that the Minnesota Vikings play in U.S. Bank Stadium for Super Bowl 52? It just might happen!  Bring friends & family to tailgate, play games and of course, cheer on the team of your choice (Skol! Vikings!) as we watch and celebrate our home town Super Bowl.

Doors will be open at 3pm and we’ll have hot chili, cold beer and new this year, an 80’s style arcade room with a few of your favorite childhood video games.

This year we are proud to support Open Arms of Minnesota, a fantastic non-profit that delivers fresh, nutritious meals to people struggling with cancer, HIV and other life-threatening illnesses.  We’ll have some great silent auction items and a Gluten Free Cereal Drive.  We hope you will join us and bring a box or two to support the great work that Open Arms does in our community.

See the Gamut One crew in action at Open Arms

Find out more about  Open Arms of Minnesota

Please help us with preparations by reserving your spot here….  [ RSVP Here ]

 

Helpful info for our Gluten Free Cereal Drive…

Popular Gluten Free cereals:

  • General Mills’ Cheerios
  • Rice Chex
  • Corn Chex
  • Nature’s Path Corn Flakes
  • Assorted Nature’s Path Cereals
  • Puffed rice

Popular Gluten Free Granolas:

  • Bakery on Main Gluten-Free Granola
  • Boulder Granola
  • Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Granola
  • Udi’s Gluten-Free Granola

Gluten Free Oatmeal

  • Some oatmeal can contain trace amounts of gluten. Look for gluten-free labels.

 

A little recap of last year’s party.

Warm Holiday Wishes


As the holidays approach and 2017 winds to a close, we reflect on another successful year for Gamut One Studios and can’t help but to be thankful. We are thankful for the wonderful, talented group of people we’ve worked with for so long.  We are thankful for our friends and clients that continue to trust us to create great photography and video for their businesses. We’re especially thankful for the health and well being of our families.This year, that feeling of thankfulness has lead us to support Open Arms of Minnesota with a holiday donation in honor of our clients. Open Arms is a fantastic non-profit that delivers fresh, nutritious meals to people struggling with life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and HIV. We are grateful for the great work they are doing in our communities and thank you for your support of that mission.


Not wanting to stop there, we also rolled up our sleeves and donned the hair nets for an afternoon in November, to help Open Arms in their very busy kitchen. We peeled, chopped and packaged meals to help struggling families around the Twin Cities. For that afternoon, our G1 Crew managed to chop and peel over a 100 pounds of parsnips and onions, pack 80 sloppy joe meals, and 480 beef stroganoff meals. It was a busy and fulfilling afternoon for all. Bill and Bryce claimed that they shed tears of joy, not related to the onions. And yes, we came away with all our trigger fingers in tact.


Open Arms will also be our charity of choice for our 2018 Super Bowl Party.  We hope you’ll help us continue to support this wonderful organization doing such appreciated work. Stay tuned for more party info. soon.

All of us at Gamut One Studios wish you and your family a warm, and joyful holiday season and a prosperous new year.  We look forward to seeing you again in 2018.

No Selfies, please! Creating Great Corporate Portraits

Don’t get us wrong, even professional photographers love a good selfie, but when it comes to your career and reputation, a high-quality portrait is the smart choice.  And, since very few people actually like getting their picture taken, how does one get a great headshot?

With over 20 years of experience, Gamut One Studios’ four talented photographers offer unsurpassed expertise in getting the best business portrait.  To get started, we will review the subject’s desired headshot style, usage needs, their profession and their company brand to achieve the perfect professional look.  Additionally, our convenient Edina location allows for either in-studio or on-location packages that are easy to schedule and budget.

Subject Profession

Professions in fields such as law, finance, insurance and medical often seek out a more formal look to their portraits due to the high need for professionalism and trust in their positions. Creative industry employees need to go above and beyond in creating an eye-catching and current look that will suitably represent their company and line of work.  Casual portraits are often appealing to fields where a subject wants to appear open and relatable to his/her peers.

Corporate Brand Image

Your company may have a certain brand aesthetic that appeals to your industry and frequently the marketing materials or brand standards will dictate how formal or staged the head shots should be.

 

Business portraits

Corporate portrait photography by Gamut One Studios


In Studio or on Location
 
Some clients like the look and structure of photographing on an in-studio set while others want a specific location such as their corporate facility for the background.  Some commonly used head shot backgrounds are: 
  • Outdoors
  • Company building or facility
  • Soft focus background indoors or outdoors
  • Colored canvases and paper backdrops (in studio or on location)
  • Flat or textured walls
  • Company products in background
Poses, Cropping and Retouching
Usage of the image will dictate whether it should be a full length, half or close up shot but no matter what the pose, the subject needs to be relaxed or at least look relaxed for a quality portrait. Making sure your subject is ready and comfortable is very important for impressive portraits and a skilled photographer will know how to make the subject at ease. Gamut One Studios also offers professional hair & make up stylists’ services that can make a big difference in how the subject feels and can really bring out the best in each person. Additionally, our post production retouching services utilize a variety of adjustments that result in a natural and attractive portrait.

While not everyone likes getting their picture taken, when done right, it can be a powerful tool in creating a strong image for you and your company.  At Gamut One Studios, we always go above and beyond when creating your professional portrait…so much so that you may never want to use a selfie again!

 

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G1 raises the roof for Super Bowl 51

Highlights from our  7th Annual Super Bowl Party benefitting Children’s Home and Lutheran Social Services Adoption Support Fund

With six years of big game partying for charity under our belts, it was exciting to once again welcome our party regulars, (many who have attended all 7 years in a row!) and greet a group of first time party goers, too.  All the newness may have contributed to the crowning of a new chili king with Joe Monsoor (Cathy’s son) winning the coveted best chili award for his spicy sensation, New Delhi Chili with Chicken & Duck.  It was unusual that our repeat chili champion’s Dewey Koshenina or Greg Kamin didn’t win…but neither did Greg’s Packers. Ouch.

While the chili competition was heating up, the silent auction was also a scene of good natured competition for coveted items like Wild Hockey tickets, Droolin’ Moose chocolates and Frost River’s acclaimed bags. This year Gamut One’s charity partner was Children’s Home and Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota Adoption Support Fund, two wonderful organizations providing grants to families committing themselves to adopt children with known special needs, school- aged children and large sibling groups. These amazing charities are also near and dear to the hearts of our own, Bill Bartlett and his wife Therese as they are blessed to have grown their family through adoption.  To top it off, over $2,200 was raised for the charities from Gamut One’s Silent Auction, donations and premium seat program!  Thank you to our generous silent auction donors: Droolin’ Moose, 3M, Wild Wings, Loews Hotel, AmericInn, Swedish Comfort, Marketing Architects, Ryan, Hodgins & Associates CPAs and Frost River. Combined with the equally generous bidding and donations of our guests we are proud to have made a substantial contribution to the charity. THANK YOU.

In addition to the auction action and the mad rush for Barb’s famous cookies, or Jeff’s mom Becky’s scrumptious brownies, the ‘Kids’ Zone’ was the place to be.  With a full size bouncy house, crazy kid games, candy and whole lot of hoopla, the kids had as much fun as the adults.  To top it all off, there was no tears or tantrums during the auction bidding for the ever-popular Stuffies stuffed animals.  Crisis averted.

2017PhotoBoothPhotos from Gamut One on Vimeo.

For a good laugh and a peek at the party highlights check out our photo recap of the event with snaps from Gamut One’s trademark photo booth.

Lucky #7 – G1 Studios 7th Annual Super Bowl Party

Here we go again for Lucky #7.  It’s Super Bowl time and we are ready to party.  Yes, the Vikings got our hopes up early in the season and then ripped our hearts out, but hey we’ll get over it.  Maybe Greg will get lucky again with his Packers.

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Good times are sure to be had with our famous chili cook-off and other great tailgating fare. The “Kids’ Zone” of the studio is where all ages will have fun with the bounce house, playing games, winning prizes, getting creative on the graffiti wall, and making memories at the photo booth.

This year our silent auctions will be supporting the Children’s Home and Lutheran Social Services Adoption Support Fund.  Two wonderful organizations providing grants to families committing themselves to adopt children with known special needs, school- aged children and large sibling groups. Child-specific grants provide additional advocacy for children who wait because of their particular need.  Please visit them here for more information.

Doors open at 3pm and we hope you will join us.  Please be sure to RSVP so we can plan accordingly.  [RSVP Here]

Here’s a recap video from last year’s party.  Enjoy!

Meet Bryce – G1 Studios’ Newest Team Member

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Gamut One Studios is proud to introduce Bryce Kalal, our newest team member.  With our continued growth in video production, Bryce has taken on the role of video production assistant.  Bryce brings a unique set of experience to our team with creative writing, improv comedy and music production. We’ve already seen great work from him and appreciate all the positive feedback we’ve received from our clients since he started with us.

Gamut One Studios – Meet Bryce from Gamut One on Vimeo.

Handcrafted video for a handcrafted company

If you are one of the lucky ones, you are blessed with fond memories of swapping stories and tall tales around a crackling campfire after a camping, fishing or hiking adventure ‘Up North’. How then, in our busy lives surrounded by technology and the constant state of connectivity, can we find more of those simple and carefree times?

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Frost River, a Duluth MN based maker of hand crafted leather and canvas soft goods, gets to share these types of memories and tales every day with long time customers in their workshop and storefront on West Superior Street.  In order to bring the story of their company and its heritage products to others, long time partners Frost River and Gamut One Studios collaborated to produce a video that recounts the history of their company and its enduring, generation-proof soft goods.

Videographers, Dewey Koshenina and Jeff Schmieg couldn’t have been more perfect for the job.  From multiple wilderness locales, filming the true beauty of the land and the leather and canvas products in action to Frost River’s workshop, where Dewey and Jeff captured the Frost River artisans carefully crafting each piece into what would soon become a family’s cherished heirloom.

We invite you to relax with a fresh cup of coffee or a frosty mug of beer and experience the tale of Frost River as told through the eyes of Gamut One Studios. You will quickly see how something new can become a tradition-rich favorite, full of experience from generations past and present.

G1 Studios and Frost River from Gamut One on Vimeo.

Be sure to check out our friends at Frost River for yourself the next time you are in Duluth, MN.

2016 Super Bowl Party Recap

We’re All Winners Here

Football fans and fans of fun gathered Sunday, Feb. 7th at Gamut One Studios for our 6th Annual Super Bowl party blow out.  With the game blasted up onto our 35’ cove ‘screen’, a plethora of spicy and savory chilis, hot-off-the-grill brats, ice cold beverages and a super cool kids’ party space—the party offered fun for everyone!

The feel good time was about more than the pick up truck full of beer on our studio floor or the 9 varieties of chili — it was a night to help those in need.  Once again Gamut One Studios selected a local charity to benefit from the night. This year we supported The Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, that works to end child abuse and neglect and create strong, healthy families. They support families in crisis 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through a free, voluntary service.

Clients, friends and family generously donated items to create a stellar silent auction that along with donations, raised over $2,000 as well as a truck full of much needed nursery supplies!


Of course, it wouldn’t be a Super Bowl party without Gamut One Studios’ famous Chili Cook Off!  Greg Kamin’s Smoked Andouille Sausage and Beef Chili took top honors this year but whispers of the Imperial Pumpkin Chili and Chili Verde were heard to be close contenders.

Some sweaty, sugared-up younger party-goers also raised the roof in Studio B with a giant bounce house accompanied by carnival games, prizes and candy galore.  All in all, time enjoyed with family and friends while raising money for a good cause left both Bronco and Panther fans alike as the night’s big winners.

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A special thank you to Myron Wolf and Cathy Monsoor who put in a ton of extra work to get the studio ready and prepping the food, which is always fantastic.  We also wish to thank our friends at Wild Wings, Zoom Works, Hunters Reserve, Frost River and Swedish Comfort for their generous donations that helped make our silent auction another great success!

See your photos from the photo booth here.

See all the photos from the party here.