Instead of complaining about the Ohio University School of Visual Communication’s lack of “creative video-based outlets,” Max Rodriguez and Kyle Ackley turned their frustration into productivity — by starting a video-production company.
The two, who met in Germany, started their own video-production business just a year ago: CreMedia.
Since then, the business has become an official limited-liability company on campus.
“The dynamics have drastically changed,” Rodriguez said. “It just went from a bunch of dudes hanging out making videos to a full-fledged company.”
Rodriguez and Ackley, both seniors, formulated the idea of the company. The pair was soon joined by Brandon Logan and Pat Focke, two seniors studying video production.
“When we decided to start CreMedia, I don’t think we realized we were starting a company,” Ackley said. “Since then, CreMedia has become this company where you can learn great things and meet great people while trying not to get greased.”
The group began working with its own equipment, recording extreme-sporting events and music videos. Soon after, CreMedia moved to the OU Innovation Center.
The company now has eight employees and a varying number of interns.
“We just use technology really well and developed our own way of shooting with it,” Rodriguez said. “You never really hear about Athens when it comes to video, and we want to change that.”
CreMedia’s list of clientele includes local rapper Jéan P, Dave Rave, ROTC and Ecolibrium Solar. The group produces more than 40 videos a year.
“I don’t care how long it takes for them to edit a video because I know it’s going to be great,” Jéan P said. The group is working on its second Jéan P video.
Rodriguez said CreMedia’s youth actually works in its favor because it allows the four to create their own style. When a member learns a new technique, it’s added to the company’s proverbial bag of tricks.
“We’re young, and that attracts some companies in addition to the fact that we make great products,” Rodriguez said.
The rapid success of CreMedia continues to impress OU professors, including Frederick Lewis, a professor in the School of Media Arts and Studies, who has worked with the company on a variety of projects.
“There are very few opportunities for undergraduates to get a strong taste of the client-centered world that awaits them,” Lewis said. “It is incredibly rare to see a group of students create their own opportunities this way.”
CreMedia is known for not only its talents behind the lens but also its abilities in Web design, promotions and business branding. As a result, the small business has created many websites, including hashtaghiphop.com, and will be launching its redesigned website Monday.
“We just think people would get tired of the same old design year after year,” Ackley said. “So, our website is updated every year to show what we’ve learned in the past 12 months and remind everyone that we’re still here.”
As the company continues to expand and each member of the crew plans for the future, they have one goal in common: make CreMedia the best it can be and get more OU students involved.
“This business gives students a chance to see what the real world is like and help them enter into the professional world. We want to help students do that,” Logan said. “I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for CreMedia.”
No matter where the crew ends up, it’s evident that they’re making a splash in the video and media world; Sean “P Diddy” Combs tweeted their video of Machine Gun Kelly’s performance at 8Fest last year.
“My friends mentioned it to me, and when I saw it, I was just super excited and it didn’t seem real,” Rodriguez said. “We hadn’t really made a lot of videos yet, and we were already being recognized by a superstar, and from that point on, things just accelerated.”
lf328610@ohiou.edu
8 fest - Machine Gun Kelly "Midwest Side" (HD) from CreMedia on Vimeo.
