When people think of media production and development, most think of New York and Los Angeles. However, Michael Pearson and Steve Steketee of
Shutterwerks Media look at that paradigm differently. In their minds, it’s ‘why not here?’
“With the ability to transfer media through the web, and share or work virtually...I don’t think there is any reason for why not West Michigan, any more than Houston or Indianapolis,” Pearson explains. It is this principal that allowed Shutterwerks to open for business in downtown Grand Rapids earlier this year.
“I actively left Chicago to come back to work in Grand Rapids,” Steketee says. “There’s a lot of great people doing this stuff.”
With a collective 35 years experience in media development and management, Pearson and Steketee have each run the gamut and are now able to focus on their own specialties. While “media” is a very broad term, Pearson and Steketee’s experience is rooted more in corporate media production, while offering a full suite of services for their clients. Said Shutterwerks clients have been as diverse as Dow Chemical, Gilda’s Club and The Civic Theatre.
“We like continuing to work with these people,” Pearson says.
While it would be accurate to say that both Pearson and Steketee are filmmakers, you’re not likely to see their work at Celebration Cinema. As stated, their work is much more geared towards the corporate world, and is much more likely to be shown at a quarterly board meeting or trade show. However, a perusing of the Shutterwerks website will grant viewers a sampling of their diverse catalog of work. One such example is a roughly five-minute short film for the West Michigan Water Security Consortium. This clip is designed to show the viewer what might be the response to an emergency in the Michigan waterways.
What makes Pearson and Steketee able to work so well together -- aside from having done so in various freelance capacities for the better part of five years -- are their respective skill sets within the pre- and post-production processes.
Pearson explained that Shutterwerks is set up very intentionally to play off the two partner’s strengths. “We designed our company to say ‘here’s the pre-production and the production end of it. Here’s the writing of the script. Here’s the creative part of the process. Here’s the post-production part that [Steketee] manages. The animation, graphics and editing.”
Being a two-person partnership, there is a major aspect missing: the actual making of the film. This is a part that both Pearson and Steketee feel plays right into their hands, being in West Michigan.
“[W]e also hire out the middle-section...gaffers, grips, director of photography,” Pearson says. “[In] our community, film and video production has probably been one of the leaders in using freelance [workers]. That’s how we designed this company to work.”
At Shutterwerks Media, not even one year old, the principals are a bit skeptical to say exactly what their hopes and dreams for their business are. However, they are each actively working their extensive networks and further planning their growth model.
“We anticipate growing,” Pearson says. “It could be in the front end -- producers, writers, the project management side of it. Or it could be graphics and animation.”
“We’re actively working with some agencies in town right now because we can walk in and provide a service that has to do with video or media. But also, we like being part of a larger team,” Steketee adds.
As hospitals continue to appear to grow in the area and software companies and other new industries pop up occasionally, it seems reasonable to think Shutterwerks Media is in a good spot -- especially when one factors in the large pool of talented, creative people in West Michigan.
Pearson likes to explain that the “Shutter” in their name is kind of a nod to old film cameras, and how it is that appreciation for the fundamental art of film making that keeps them going. “We want to bring that love, that passion, that appreciation for the art to our clients.” They also give all guests to their downtown office a DVD off their wall. This reporter chose Total Recall.
Nick Manes is a freelance writer based in Grand Rapids. His work has appeared in Rapid Growth Media, Revue Magazine and other publications. He occasionally blogs at NickManes.com. He twitters quite frequently at @nickmanes1.