Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Gill.
Hi Ben, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Oxenfree began as a simple motion graphics and video company, creating corporate videos for a massive healthcare organization. At first, it was awesome: steady work, steady pay. We weren’t the only ones either; tons of video work was being created all over the organization.
As the months went by, we realized that we had already hit a ceiling with the content we were creating. Everyone around us was creating the same cookie-cutter videos with no desire to push the envelope further. We saw clients mistreated. Insane quotes. Poor production value. Horrible turn arounds. That’s not the way we wanted to do business.
We decided then and there that we would never settle for the status quo. Oxenfree wanted to make videos that people actually needed and wanted to see. No more interviews with a standard list of questions, only conversations. No more figuring it out in the edit, only plans and purpose. We broke away from the corporate world, re-branding from Oxenfree Design to Oxenfree Film & Motion with a mission of coming alongside purpose-driven brands and helping them celebrate and demystify who they are and what they do through cinematic, story-driven branded content. Intentionality drives everything we do, communicating value to our clients every step of the way.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Looking back, there were these chapter markers of free portfolio work that we did to prove what we were capable of. That’s the catch-22 of filmmaking. You’ve got to show exactly what someone’s looking for before they realize that you can do that for them.
The challenge is: how do you get the portfolio piece to show off before someone gives you that chance to make it for real? For us, it’s nearly always a free portfolio project.
Because the production was free to the client, they often granted us near 100% creative control. We were able to plan a cinematic structure and design scenes that fit the story and looked the best for the camera. Then, we were able to showcase that work to potential clients and prove that we could be paid to do the same style of work for them and their business.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Oxenfree Film and Motion?
Oxenfree Film & Motion is an award-winning brand storytelling company that focuses on helping businesses demystify their brand and connect with their audiences through cinematic brand films & motion graphics. Our biggest frustration is when a brand we love is getting lost or ignored because they haven’t clarified and communicated their purpose. We want to help celebrate the impact of these brands with their team, customers, and community.
At Oxenfree, we love projects where we can embed ourselves within an organization and get a feel for their mantras and the authentic experiences of their customers, and then design a cinematic piece that’s either interview-driven or voiceover-driven. We’ve since worked with big brands such as Coca-Cola, CVS, Publix, Red Bull, & ESPN, as well as incredible small businesses, elevating authentic stories that capture the heartbeat of their brand and helping them share it with their audience.
What’s next?
We’re excited to get back to onset productions for our brand stories – We’re excited to be back in a new office space to collaborate with our internal team and clients.
We’re hosting Story Finding workshops in the space to help clients solve problems through video and involve them in the creative development of their video concepts.
The team is ever-growing with creative storytellers. Excited to travel again with a camera in our hands.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@oxenfree.film
- Website: www.oxenfree.film
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/oxenfree.film
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/OxenfreeFilmandMotion
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/oxenfreefm
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCZyKRa9cMlGUelabJiuKNCg
- Yelp: https://yelp.com/biz/oxenfree-film-and-motion-orlando
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@oxenfree.film
