Telling the Many Stories of SVA

Up until the pandemic hit, Gouse Films had been very busy working with various programs at the School of Visual Arts.

It all started with an alumni series for the Summer Residency in Illustration and Visual Storytelling.

Individual residencies got their dedicated videos as well. Here’s the one for Documentary Filmmaking.

But the biggest challenge came when the prestigious MFA Fine Arts program gave Gouse Films a carte blanche to create a series of student, faculty, and alumni profiles. Here’s the program’s landing page, featuring the MFA Fine Arts Stories.

How to Steal a Chair

Between 2015-2017, Gouse Films produced its first feature-length documentary, How to Steal a Chair.

A meditation on passion and lost dreams, the film has had international success through festivals, theatrical and home video distribution, as well as special screenings in museums and universities.

Visit the film’s website for more info and screening options.

A Unique Jewelry Story

An American importer of jewelry asked us for help to communicate their main selling point: "We bring you truly unique jewelry from all over the world."

Gouse Films traveled to Greece and told the story of an inspired couple that has never made the same jewelry piece twice.

Capturing the Essence of Photoville

Photoville is the largest annual photographic event in New York City and a must on the international photographic calendar: 400 visual artists, 80 curatorial partners, more than 60 simultaneous exhibitions and scores of talks and 

workshops in a modular venue built from re-purposed shipping containers.  

Add to that the world-class backdrop of Brooklyn Bridge Park and 80,000 people immersed and interacting for two weeks and you have a stunning event.  But the most important achievement of the organizers is that Photoville is free.

Maintaining Photoville's standards requires a tremendous amount of year-round outreach and fundraising and the organizers asked Gouse Films to create a video that they could build their campaigns around.

Greg Seltzer composed the track, Doug Johnson worked his sound mixing magic and the Photoville graphic is, of course, by Viktor Koen.

Click here for the Summer 2015 version of the video.

A Digital Filmmaker Walks Into a Still Life Photo Studio...

Noho Productions is an industry leader in the exacting world of still life photography.  If a top photographer is shooting for a household name consumer brand or a high-end publication, chances are it's happening in this storied NYC rental studio.

Despite their track record of aggressive print advertising, the folks at Noho had never before communicated with their clients through digital video.  So when they recently decided to take the plunge, they joined forces with Gouse Films.

The challenge was to announce the launch of a radically new service, while re-enforcing Noho’s established, values-based image.  Working closely with the company's key personnel, we dug deep and found an honest narrative that captures Noho’s vision.  And imagining the Noho experience through the eyes of a photographer, we created a branded look that reflects the clients’ sophisticated aesthetic. 

Kudos to Gouse Films' friends Greg & Andrew Seltzer (music) and Hiroaki Sasa (motion graphics) for their inspired contributions.

You can watch our two videos here and here.

To Build Strong Children Helps Ken Morris Earn the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism

Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., whose story is told in our short documentary To Build Strong Children, was selected as one of the 2014 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Women’s eNews, a prestigious nonprofit news service covering women’s issues and providing women's perspectives on public policy. The list honors leaders who are "dramatically changing what the future holds for this generation of emerging women."

Morris was the first man ever to be included in the 21 Leaders list and was presented with the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism “for his creation of an anti-sex trafficking documentary and related educational programming and curriculum.”

Gouse Films Doc Screens at Sacramento International Film Festival

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To Build Strong Children, a short documentary we created on behalf of VS.: Confronting Modern Slavery in America, screened at the 2014 Sacramento International Film Festival.

The film is about one man's efforts to prevent human trafficking by turning young students into modern day abolitionists.

A pro bono initiative of the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, VS. seeks to share new ideas and best practices, empowering people on the front lines of the battle against human trafficking.

Watch the film here.

Creating Branded Content Before Branded Content Was a Thing

Between 2011-2014, before “broadband” and “social” became drivers of the marketing ecosystem, Konstantinos saw an opportunity in a Wall Street law firm that was determined to redefine itself after the 2008 crisis.

Becoming what was probably the first in-house filmmaker at a major law firm, he launched the Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft video outfit, tasked with creating outward-facing as well as internal content.

Working with top management and across firm constituencies, Konstantinos provided creative vision in Communicating Success, capturing the Essence of a Company, and integrating video as a tool for In-Depth Narratives.