What is this cold reach out?

My name is Cal Engel and I run a one man band production company out of the suburbs of Chicago.  For a LONG time I’ve felt like the corporate work I do doesn’t really mean anything.  Not that it’s not good work or the clients aren’t great, just that it doesn’t really serve a purpose.  So now I’m looking to talk to other artists and creatives and tell their stories in short form documentary style format so that people can be inspired by the journey you’ve been on.  I come from a creative family and it’s literally all I’ve known.  My dad is an artist, illustrator and toy designer who ran the team designing the Happy Meal toys for McDonal'd’s through the late 80’s into the 2000’s.  My mom is a seamstress and wonderful craftmaker.  I followed in my dad’s footsteps in the agency world before starting my own company (more on that below if you’re interested).

I just want to make something that tells more of a story. I love creative documentaries like Art & Copy, Helvetica, Rahms, Finding Vivian Maier, Abstract, and dozens more. But I don’t think there’s enough stories out there about the artist and creatives who are in their studios and spaces creating. Who grinded for years and years before the breaks came. Who’s stories will inspire other artists to keep doing the same.

That’s why I’m reaching out. I love your work and I think your story could inspire others to keep (or start) creating until they find what makes them happiest. I’d love to come to your workspace and tell that story, if you’ll have me?

Here’s some examples of my work…

I’ve had the a unique journey to get where I am today. I started out at an agency working on McDonald’s, until someone in our Atlanta office stole the high prize game pieces and was arrested. You may have heard about it on McMillion$ on HBO. After Simon Marketing, I built a video team at another agency called tms. We did work for clients like McDonald’s & Coca-Cola. Things were going great until one day when I got a call about a job I couldn’t pass up.

The Jonas Brothers were on the phone and I left tms to go tour the world as their photographer, capturing every moment of their day so the content can be used for promotion, books, documentaries, print, and more. When I got home from tour, I built an internal video team at an innovation agency called Maddock Douglas. I created content at Optimum Nutrition, taking them past their first million views on YouTube. And I worked at a company called Akoo that could be best described as MTV in mall food courts. We created content for the network with artists Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and more.

Then I started my own company, AV Collective, where I am responsible for all creative direction across a variety of clients. I built a one stop shop for all video and photo production needs, as a one man band. It’s been great and I’ve worked on brands like Amazon, McDonald’s, P&G, Mercedes, and dozens more. I’ve also captured content for artists like The Jonas Brothers, The Weeknd, Smashing Pumpkins, and more.

Now I’m looking to tell more authentic stories of other artists and creatives to inspire creatives young and old as we enter a strange new world of what it even means to create.

A half day of your time is all I ask of you. In an ideal situation, this is what the time would look like…

• Hour one - Arrive, check things out and setup.

  • I’m one guy and I’ll be coming by solo. The setup will be minimal but the right gear to tell the story.

• Hour two - Film you doing your thing.

  • B-roll of you doing what you do so that we can cut it together with an interview.

• Hour three - An interview of you talking about your background, challenges, and successes.

• Hour four - Break down and head out.

From there I’ll make a 10-20 minute “mini-documentary” about your story. I’ll have a YouTube channel to share these with the world.