Category Archives: News

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.

Our 50th Annual Super Bowl Party

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Just kidding!  No, it’s not our 50th annual Super Bowl Party, but we will be celebrating Super Bowl 50 in grand style like we have the past five years.  In spite of the Vikings failing once again to make a special appearance, we expect it to be a rip roaring good time.

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Of course we’ll have our famous chili cook-off and other great tailgating fare.  The back studio will be loaded with fun stuff for the kids, including the bounce house. Don’t forget our always fun photo booth, games, and prizes.

This year our silent auctions will be supporting the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, a great organization that works to end child abuse and neglect and create strong, healthy families.  Anyone wishing to help us support this great cause is asked to bring an item or two for our door collection. Critical need items are baby food, diapers, wipes, and laundry detergent.  You may (download) full donation wish list.  *Please note they can only accept new items by law.

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

2015 Project Highlights –

Bill Bartlett Embraces the Cold!  Exterior Shots in Extreme Conditions

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From his mild mannered and gracious disposition, you‘d never guess that Bill Bartlett is G1’s go to guy when we need a tenacious, unshakable shooter with some spectacular photography (and meteorological) skills.

Again proving that there is no such thing as ordinary in his photography, Bill tackled dynamic “landscape” images for Guardian Energy throughout the Midwest.  Fingers numb in blasting arctic winds and below zero temps,  Bill managed to snap awe inspiring shots during early morning and late evening hours to maximize the existing interior/exterior facility lighting and dramatic sky scenes.

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As if the weather and early hours, weren’t enough, Bill was hoisted high on a scaffolding precariously waiting to catch just the right angle and lighting for the perfect shot.  And, as you can see from the photos, Bill scoffed at the conditions and pulled out some amazing shots in spite of it all.

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Who doesn’t love a cute animal photo? Gamut One Studios’ Greg Kamin taps his ‘animal’ side to capture the shots.

Social media sites are constantly flooded with cute, funny and sweet pet photos that keep us smiling, make us laugh aloud or at least give us a break from our daily doldrums.

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Which is why it is always a treat for Gamut One Studios to shoot  both four legged friends and human subjects for Patterson Companies, a market leading dental and animal health company based in St. Paul, MN.

While those adorable and hilarious social media pet photos are a blast for blowing off real work, professional images of animals are a whole ‘nother game of fetch.  After working with Patterson Companies’ animal health division for over 15 years, our own resident animal whisperer/photographer, Greg Kamin, is a master at capturing images that convey the quality and professionalism Patterson delivers for their customers.

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While on location in Chandler, Arizona, Greg photographed Andrea Stickland DVM, the staff, and a host of fuzzy felines and canines for Patterson Vet magazine.  Sounds like cuddly good fun but, did we forget to mention the iguana?

 

Dewey Koshenina’s Take on Video:  Did You Just Ship Your Prospect an $80,000 proposal?

Consider the infinite number of times each and every day that videos are seen on You Tube, Vimeo and other channels around the world.  What would it cost to reach those same viewers with a printed and shipped version of the same content? $80,000? $100K? Fortunately, Gamut One Studios’ videographer extraordinaire, Dewey Koshenina has a better way to reach your prospects.

With a recent video shoot at Meier Tool, a manufacturing facility in Anoka, Dewey and his team were able to communicate more than just the capabilities of the company.  With passionate Meier employee interviews and cleverly captured facility shots, G1 produced a video that showcased the company’s culture and its number one asset— its people and the pride they take in their work. In addition to visually featuring Meier’s people, culture and capabilities in a succinct and effective video, nobody had to spend $80K to send the message.

And, for the record, Gamut One Studios has produced stunning, high end videos as well as cost-efficient ones, too, but we’ve yet to be Oscar-nominated or bill $80K for one video.  Of course, we are open to either option!

Dodging Darts & Drones: How Jeff Schmieg’s ‘Dad’ Experience helped to Corral the Chaos on the Hovertech FX shoot.

When Marketing Architects brought their Hovertech FX shoot to Gamut One Studios, we knew Jeff’s calm, cool and collected manner would be the perfect match for capturing the action with a gaggle of boys shooting dart guns and piloting drones throughout our studio.

 

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Sure enough, the multi-day shoot for Marketing Architect’s newly launched retail website, was both crazy and fun.  Jeff proved once and again that his keen photographer’s eye and ‘child management’ skills worked well together to capture both the boys’ bona fide grins and rapid pace of flying darts and drones!

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Then, taking a full 360, Jeff completely changed up the studio’s wild and crazy atmosphere to set the stage for Marketing Architects’ Bright Eyes shoot featuring adorable ‘bright-eyed’ stuffed animals and sweet little girls. Lights were dimmed and dreamy bedroom sets in candy colored pastels made for some incredibly cute photos of girls and their Bright Eyes stuffed animals.

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Just like the Boy Scouts are always prepared and the National Guard is always ready, always there, experienced Dads like Jeff make extraordinary photographers!

The Big 5!

Gamut One Studio’s celebrates its 5th Anniversary today.  It’s been another great year full of fun, challenging projects and great clients to work with.  We just wanted to take a moment to enjoy a little cake and appreciate what a great crew we have to work with.  Special thanks to our friends and clients who keep us constantly on the move and our families who put up with our constant motion.  Here’s to another 5!


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XLIX G1 – 5th Annual Super Bowl Party Recap

The 5th installment of our annual Super Bowl party was another great success. Guests stomped off the snow and shook away the cold as they flooded into Gamut One Studios on Super Bowl Sunday, greeted by the welcoming aromas of chili cooking and brats being grilled.

 

Chili-gate? The Patriots and Seahawks put on a good show, but the contest of contention was to see who will wear the Chili Cook-Off Champion ring this year. Tensions were high and smack talk abound, to see if Greg Kamin could pull off a three-peat with his crockpot of goodness. Guests huddled and debated while carefully tasting each chili and anonymously voting Dewey’s White Chicken Chili to victory. Becky Schmieg received high accolades for her almost-too-pretty-to-eat Patriot and SeaHawk themed cookies. Barb Koshenina holds her rein as Queen of the Cookie, as she once again treated guests to her scrumptiously-addicting chocolate-chunk cookies. Diets were not on the invite list.

Personal Foul! Shockingly, the most penalty flags were thrown during G1’s typically calm silent auction as the adorable Stuffies created bidding pandemonium! With just five cuddly stuffed animals to bid on and a disparate number of cute kids with their doting parents – begging and bribing was the name of the game. One super star mom finally plunked down an exceptionally generous bid to claim both victory and a peaceful drive home!

Of course, the tears and cheers were all in good fun as the silent auction benefitted Gamut’s charity of choice this year, Soles4Souls, a global not-for-profit institution dedicated to fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty. Once again we were amazed by the generosity of our guests with the silent auction tables, VIP seating auctions, and cash donations, totaling close to $900. Not to mention, guests brought in pair after pair of new and gently used shoes to fill our lobby – 230 pairs in all!! Thank goodness the delicious smell of chili cooking subdued the foot locker ‘fragrance’!

Many thanks to our friends and clients who donated their products and services for our silent auction. It is because of your help that we were able to raise the amount of funds we did. Thank you: Marketing Architects, Droolin’ Moose, Frost River, 3M, Wagner Spraytech, and Wild Wings.

Announcing XLIX G1 – 5th Annual Super Bowl Party

High fives everyone! Super Bowl 49 is right around the corner and we hope you’ll join us again.  Last year Mr. Manning and the Broncos failed to show up as the Seahawks sacked their way to an easy win.  Our crowd at Gamut One Studios still had a fantastic time.

Again, we’ll have the big game projected in HD on our 35 ft. cove wall. The back studio will be loaded with fun for the kids and of course, great food, beer and our famous chili cook-off.  Greg was a repeat champion last year with his Poblano Peppers and Beef chili.  The question now is can anyone knock him off?

We hope everyone will help us support this year’s charity, Soles4Souls, by donating their gently used shoes. If your shoes are too stinky to donate, we’ll have some great silent auction items and raffles to help make a difference.

Help our preparations with a RSVP on our party page.  Doors open at 3pm. We look forward to seeing everyone again!

Share the Joy of the Holiday Season

Each year Gamut One Studios chooses a charity to support and feature in our holiday card. The 2014 card was created by Greg Kamin to help raise awareness and donations for Soles4Souls.

Soles4Souls is a global not-for-profit institution
dedicated to fighting the devastating impact
and perpetuation of poverty.
The organization advances its anti-poverty
mission by collecting new and used shoes.

Read more about their life-changing programs at: http://soles4souls.org/

The shoe drive will conclude on Feb. 1st, at our 5th annual Super Bowl Party. You will have the opportunity to join us for the party and drop off your donations. Don’t wait till then if you want to clean up your closets and drop off your donation during this season of giving. Adult and children sizes welcome.

From all of us at Gamut One Studios, we wish you and your family a season filled with joy – Joy to share with all!

Red Hot Trucking!!

Smokin’ hot!  And, our red-headed model is equally sizzling!  We know, not everyone oohs and ahhs over a Cummins ISX15 550 HP Diesel Eaton Fuller RTLO1891B 18 speed so to create a little flair, Gamut One’s Dewey Koshenina and the team at Zip’s Truck Equipment, glammed it up with some eye-candy images to enhance Zip’s new website re-design.

It’s always fun photographing dazzling models in a sea of dramatic smoke, but getting your boots dirty out in the field shooting the Zip’s fleet in action is even more exciting!  Zip’s was looking for more stylized images, so Dewey and the team opted to photograph the trucks in a variety of outdoor light on location at an airfield near the Zip’s facility.

Using separately photographed background locations, the trucks and backgrounds were composited to create drama and action.

With a little additional lighting and a lot of patience, Zip’s headquarters becomes the iconic facility that New Hampton, IA residents and Zip’s customers are very familiar with.

Steel and glass can be tricky to photograph indoors or out. However, when properly executed, lighting can heighten the quality of a shot to evoke a high end feel. Mission accomplished!!

Finally, our model and one of Zip’s spectacular trucks walk the carpet to visually create the sentiment that customer service and quality are what set Zip’s apart and ahead…an esteemed mode that Gamut One fully employs as well!!

Big Game, Big Hearts! – XLVIIIG1

If the Broncos could only have played with HALF as much heart as our guests showed at the 4th Annual G1 Super Bowl party, they may have had a chance against the Seahawks.

XLVIII-G1 Super Bowl Party (2014) from Gamut One on Vimeo.

The generosity showed by our guests was truly amazing. With the silent auction tables, VIP seating auctions, and cash donations, the total raised for the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf was $908. In addition to this, our guests brought over 30 bags of food donations!

We want to wish many thanks to our friends and clients who donated their products and services for our silent auction. It was because of your help that we were able to raise the amount of funds we did. Thank you: Wild Wings, Mindware, Droolin’ Moose, Skyline Stadiums, Train Me Tom,  and Frost River.

Yes, the Broncos were trampled by the Seahawks 43-8 in Super Bowl 48. The Seahawks came to play and play big – just like the 75 or more kids who rushed into Gamut One Stadium’s fun zone.

The G1 Super Bowl is where a kid can be a kid, Ok so someone else has that tagline, but it fits here. It fits well.

Our studio B kids’ zone is always a big hit with our 36’ obstacle course, basketball shoot out, and touchdown pass challenge. This year we added a new G1 signature bean bag toss and the graffiti wall.

Kids don’t try this at HOME! Really. Many grabbed the Sharpies by the neck and took to the graffiti wall. “Go Seahawks”, “Broncos”, “Sponge Bob”, “I love Cathy”… whatever your message, we offered 160 sq. ft. of white space to let the creative juices flow.

The 30 foot HD screen and amped up sound in the studio never disappoints, unlike the Broncos attempt to put points on the board.

Greg won the G1 Chili Cook Off  for the 2nd year in a row. He left the jalapeno brats in Wisconsin this time and opted for a new recipe from his pepper arsenal: Poblanos! When asked about the recipe, he said, “I have to give some credit to Paige (his 14 yr. old daughter). She was my taste tester for the early experimentations of this recipe and helped me turn this into a winner!”

If you missed this year, be sure to plan ahead for the 5th annual event. At Gamut One Studios our mission is: to enjoy what we do, who we do it for, and produce the best images to create success for our clients.

The annual Super Bowl party is just an extension of our mission: we really enjoy to share this time with our clients, family of clients, and of course our friends and family.

 
 
 
 

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