As Thanksgiving season is upon us, we pause to focus on that for which we are grateful. At the Steven James Media Group, we have a collective gratitude for the opportunities we have to practice our various crafts – producing projects, creating content, capturing still and moving images, branding businesses, crafting a commercial or creative piece. There is a true sense of satisfaction found in contributing our particular talents to achieve our overall objectives, while understanding that we must work as part of a team.
While we have worked with each other for a long time, each project brings a new set of challenges, and the way we worked together on a previous one may not be – most often is not – the same way we must approach the next. There are new circumstances, new locations, new clients, new ideas on almost every job. It brings a subtle sense of adventure to each project we undertake, and while that may not seem like a significant factor at first glance, it keeps us challenged, inspired, and striving to excel. It is a vital part of what we do, one of the main reasons we have chosen careers in media, and for it we are truly thankful.
Looking back over the course of 2024, we see the range of stories we’ve helped to tell. We recall lives we may have helped impact in a positive way. We often have the luxury of playing back the video we produced or the campaign we created, seeing the finished product that much more often than not brings us a sense of pride and satisfaction. And for every moment we may watch on screen, we recall the behind-the-scenes exchanges – the laughs, the tensions, the successes and – now and again – the near-disasters. For each project we complete that may look to the world like a two-minute video, it may be a two-month odyssey for our clients and our team.
At the beginning of the year, we spent a week in Washington, DC recording impressive representatives from counties across America who provide vital services to the public as well as the 3.6 million county workers throughout the nation. Soon upon our return, we had the privilege of doing a filmmaking seminar for a troop of Girl Scout Cadets from Canandaigua, NY. Not only did we review aspects of writing and producing a script, by the end of the day the young ladies had directed, acted in, recorded, and edited a production. They were engaged and excited – and their enthusiasm left us with the very strong feeling that some would continue this pursuit as a passion or a profession.
Spring had our team on the road to St. Louis, El Paso, and Greensboro, NC working on a video project for frontline workers supporting those who deal with addiction. It was a humbling honor to capture the stories of these dedicated humanitarians. In the summer, we scratched our creative itch by producing a show for the 2024 Rochester Fringe Festival, and we celebrated an absolutely beautiful wedding as one of our SJMG family members walked down the aisle. Soon thereafter, the video team flew to Guatemala to capture the selfless and life-changing work of medical professionals who perform cleft palate and Microtia surgery for children.
In between these events and adventures, we created many other videos and helped produce experiences that celebrated anniversaries, recognized milestones, and told the stories of a wide variety of clients – some new to the local landscape and others that have long-made a national imprint. We are grateful for the opportunities we have been afforded for an up-close look and a behind-the-scenes perspective of dedicated, determined, dynamic groups & individuals doing challenging work, joyful work, meaningful work.
From the Steven James Media team to yours, Happy Thanksgiving 2024.
