Business

Made in the Suburbs: Voke Studios in Elgin

Posted August 06, 2023 1:00 am

Voke Studios

1205 Oakdale Dr. Elgin, IL 60123

(563) 320-4662

Industry: Film, Entertainment, and Advertising

Annual revenue: $500,000

Number of employees: 2

An interview with Gavin Buckland and Dustin Turner, co-founders at Voke Studios.

Q: Describe your company. What product(s) do you make and what are they used for?

A: (Gavin) Voke Studios is a full-service post production company offering editorial, 2D & 3D motion design, VFX, color and sound for the film, entertainment and advertising industries - so we make movies, documentaries and commercials.

The visual content we create is used for a variety of things. But ultimately it's meant to evoke an emotion that either entertains an audience or inspires them to take action. That action could be to help raise awareness about a certain problem in the world or it could be to buy a product that will solve some problem in the viewer's life.

Either way, compelling stories that inspire action don't just happen. They need to be cut, crafted and shaped. They need a team of people to take the time and elements that make a story great and bring them together in perfect harmony. Great stories have an extraordinary impact on our emotions. In a split second you can be transported from the couch to a jungle in a different continent or from a crowded train platform to the surface of another planet.

The storyteller is able to draw you in and make you feel as if you have experienced something first hand - your emotions tell you it's real and true even though you know it may not be. We often see storytelling as something intangible - as if great stories can only be born from gifted minds or blessed with Midas-like touch. But that's not true. Great stories are made, not born.

So that's why we exist. To bring stories to life. But not just any stories. Stories that make you feel something. Because the stories that make you feel something? You remember them. They make an impact.

Q: Describe the process of making your products

A: (Gavin) The process of making a movie happens in three stages: 1) Preproduction - this is where the story is first written, storyboarded, cast, etc. 2) Production - this is where the film or commercial is filmed 3) Post production - this is where we come in. We take the footage and edit it together.

We work closely with the producer and director to bring all the pieces together to bring the story to life. It's a famous idiom to call the film editor the "final director" as a movie really is made in the edit. Once the edit is locked, we'll then add any animation or VFX that the story requires, color grade the footage, add sound design as well as mix the sound for the planned distribution (e.g. web, social, movie theater or event space).

When these pieces are brought together it is referred to as "online edit." Once approved by all the stakeholders, the "final cut" is complete and sent out for distribution where it is viewed and enjoyed by the audience.

Q: Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?

A: (Gavin) We're working hard in the business and don't have much time to work on the business so we plan to hire a head of operations to create systems that make us more efficient and producers that can manage the projects, timelines and client relations.

We are always looking to bring on more creative talent as well: more editors, animators and VFX artists that are much more talented than ourselves to deliver the highest quality and most compelling work that our clients are currently coming to us for.

Q: Do you have enough space in your current facility or are you looking to expand/find a new facility?

A: (Gavin) We work remotely out of our home studios, as most of our clients are located around the nation, but as we grow our team, close collaboration will be key. So we plan on having a studio space to fit our growing team in the near future so that we can continue to make awesome work and meet the creative needs of our clients.

Q: What will your company's main challenges be in the next year?

A: (Gavin) Our main challenge will be finding the right people to join our team. We love what Jim Collin says in his book Good To Great: "The executives who ignited the transformation from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where we should take this bus. If you begin with "who" rather than "what," you can more easily adapt to a changing world."

Q: What's the hottest trend in your industry?

A: (Dustin) Using artificial intelligence in any part of your workflow is very hot right now. It's still so new and unexplored, but it seems like every day there's a new breakthrough on that frontier. The newest AI innovation I've seen is from Runway GEN-2, where you can generate videos with text prompts. There's also a growing number of plugins that allow you to generate 3D models from text prompts, which is just mind-blowing.

Q: Do you have a business mantra?

A: (Gavin) Post production is very technical. Editing, animation, and VFX is completed entirely with complex software. Because of that, those in post production can often focus too much on the technology and forget that filmmaking is an art, especially post production. It doesn't matter how great the technology is, if the story doesn't make people feel something, the project, at best, will be easily forgotten or at worst, be a complete failure.

We believe that technology is a vital tool to help us as artists achieve a creative vision, but the priority of creativity can't be lost in the technical process and complexity of software. It does go both ways, if brands and artists fail to keep up with innovation and technology, like all the work that is being done with artificial intelligence in the creator space, they are at risk of missing out on more impactful and efficient ways to create their stories and communicate their message.

So as far as what sets us apart from others in our industry, our mantra is that we "merge art and technology to bring stories to life."

Q: What is one interesting fact about your company that most people may not know?

A: (Dustin) Gavin and Dustin met in college in 2013, became dorm roommates, and have stood in each other's weddings. We've worked together closely for almost a decade, so creating this company feels very natural for us.

Q: What are the benefits to you of making your product(s) here in the Chicago suburbs?

A: (Dustin) Chicago has a thriving film scene and we're well connected with many of the local agencies and businesses. Although our work is mostly remote, there's still a strong connection that comes from proximity to our clients and collaborators.

Q: If you could make any product other than what you do make, what would it be?

A: (Dustin) Although never played, we've always been fascinated by Dungeons & Dragons. Lots of the work we do involves world creating which seems to be at the heart of role playing games. So probably a campaign for D&D, or a sci-fi board game.

Q: If you could pick someone famous to promote your product, who would it be?

A: (Dustin) Karen Gillan.

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