Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Handel.
Hi Scott, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
It all started in Newark, OH from very humble beginnings. I started working in TV production as a high school student back in the late ’80s, long before YouTube, TikTok or any of this stuff was really cool. In fact, I was probably the furthest thing from cool. But outside of having some interest in video, I found out that I could skip study halls and get transferred to my high school’s “TV Center” where I could hang with other kids that were just as weird as me. Oddly enough I am the guy who found his passion early on and it’s stayed with me to this day. I worked in production through college and eventually went freelance and was able to earn a stable living. In 2001 I decided to invest in some equipment, and I invested $30K in a camera package by taking out a home equity loan. By 2010 I had expanded that to about 15 cameras and variety of other support gear. That was also the year I hired my 1st employee. In 2014 we decided to buy a building and open a “studio” facility that featured many client amenities in addition to being a utilitarian space that most studios offered. Our team grew to about 15 visual engineers and we shifted focus to providing top-tier rental gear, studio spaces, and high-end solutions to solve complex production challenges. Our team was the team you wanted to create those one-of-a-kind shots that would make your jaw drop. In recent years we have continued to invest in technologies that are generally only found in markets like New York and LA. These include the Bolt Cinebot and investments in virtual production LED walls. This year we have expanded to a 2nd studios location in Louisville Kentucky, and we are excited to see where the journey takes us from here!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I often tell people that my journey feels like watching a glacier. At the time things seem like they are moving at a painfully slow pace, but with some perspective, I can look back and see how much of the landscape we have changed. Overall, I have been very lucky, and I have been fortunate to find some amazing folks to join our team early on. Our strength has always been our people. The challenges have always been financial. We work in a very capital-hungry industry and our clients demand the best. Serving a midsize market like Columbus, it becomes hard to always develop the size and volume of projects needed to support our capital investments. But somehow (with lots and lots of work) it continues to work out!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At OHD Studios we are all about empowering our clients and the creative community to create the most compelling content and images. We provide bleeding-edge tools and technologies, amazing creative studio spaces, and a collection of the most creative and talented visual engineers to help bring our client’s visions to life. It’s our people that really make the difference and we hear it from our clients every day about how much talent, dedication passion our folks have for the work. We create images and messages that help the brand we work for stand apart from the rest. We listen to clients so that we understand the story they want to tell and then come up with unique was to telling that story that customers can engage with. Our clients know we have their backs and that’s why they come back year after year. We won’t let them fail!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I like to think that I am somewhat smart, but there are a lot of smart folks out there that will never work as hard as I will. I am relentless and Hellbent on seceding on any path I choose to commit to. That is core to the OHD Studios culture. We love a good challenge, and we see it through to the end. Aside from that, it’s all about relationships. We are invested in our clients, and we want them to succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ohdstudios.com
- Instagram: @ohd.studios
- Facebook: @ohd.studios
- Linkedin: OHD Studios
- Twitter: @ohdstudios
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ohd.studios
- Other: https://vimeo.com/ohdstudios
