Life & Work with Jim Fogarty of Downtown Warren, Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Fogarty.

Hi Jim, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2001, after a short festival run and an Ohio college tour for my directorial debut feature, and helping secure a State Senate victory for then unknown, Tim Ryan, I founded 2 Ticks & The Dog Productions Inc. and began producing content full time as a visual artist and content creator. This year, 2 Ticks & The Dog Productions, Inc, celebrates its 25th year in business. In the years since its founding, 2 Ticks has grown from a boutique creative shop into a trusted regional partner for commercial television advertising, handling film and video production, media buying, and political media consulting. In addition to content production for advertising needs, I’ve also written and produced jingles, original music, short and long format promotional videos and documentaries. I’ve continued to stay active in the independent film arena as well. As an actor and producer, I am currently in production on upcoming feature film “Sunny Sixteen.” See more here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1716825/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like every artist and human being, I have faced various struggles, personal loss, and professional set backs, but I strive to focus on what’s been overcome and the many lessons that help make us wiser. I feel that because 2 Ticks adopted a remote working model a decade before we were forced to, we were able to adapt naturally and stay nimble during challenging times. We’ve always tried to embrace new tech and stay as far ahead of the curve as possible. At the turn of the century, we were one of the first Ohio production companies to shoot on digital video commercially, one of the first to use remote controlled aerial photography before drones were even on the market, and now with the many concerns and challenges over AI we’ve slowly and evenly added techniques to enhance our work not necessarily to create it. I’ve never believed the tools make the artist, but rather functional tools allow competent artists to innovate, grow, and to continually develop.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
There’s an old Osmond song “I’m a little bit country… a little bit rock and roll?” That’s how I feel. I’m a jack of all trades not a master, but I’m constantly pursuing the paths to maybe become one some day in something. Over a long career of growing up behind the camera directing I feel I’ve recently become accustomed to also being in front of it, and am finding more fun and less nerves performing as talent on stage or screen. It’s a lot of fun. Somedays I can’t believe I get paid to do some of the things I’ve been fortunate to be apart of. For the better part of a quarter century I’ve been creating film and television content but it took me a long time to feel comfortable saying I’m a writer or filmmaker or an actor or musician, Even at fifty there’s still sometimes an imposter syndrome but I think that just comes with the territory and always trying to keep grounded. I’ve been lucky to have been apart of some award winning projects and some great wins for clients but I try not just chase the juice of a win, or the success a finished project. I just try to be grateful to still be a part of the creative process and just enjoy the ride.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Warren, Ohio has always carried itself with a kind of working‑class elegance — the kind that beams of proud history and doesn’t have to be loud, but is always unmistakably strong. Our downtown streets carry the weight of a city built by factories and shaped by it’s music, sports, and sheer determination — every brick holding a story, every block breathing with the history that forged us, making us stronger together. You see it in the way people recognize each other, in the way conversations spill out of the shops and cafés, people holding doors for each other in the quiet commerce happening between neighbors who’ve built trust over decades.

What I struggle with are the moments when that rhythm gets drowned out — when the noise, the hurry, the self‑interest start to smudge the edges of what makes this place special. A city stays strong when people carry pride in their block, when respect isn’t an afterthought but a habit. Without that, even the most beautiful place can start to fade at the edges. But when we honor each other, when we show up for the community the way it’s shown up for us, the whole city comes back into focus and her people thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.2Ticksandthedog.com
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/2TicksandTheDog
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@2TicksAndTheDog