We were lucky to catch up with Erin Beacom recently and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Sunburnt Studios is an idea that I found myself drawn to several times while on my journey to figure out what the right path was for me and my career. I found myself dabbling in other industries but nothing fulfilled me the way creating videos did. Time after time, I would always find my way back to creating videos between my other jobs. In 2020, I finally asked myself: what the hell am I doing? Why am I not just giving everything I’ve got to creating the life and job that I know brings me joy?

From that moment on, I focused on building Sunburnt Studios. Once committing to this path I was excited but still had so much to decide on from branding, to niche, to what was going to set us apart; a list that truly never ends. Of course some things I already knew from being in and around the industry for a while but others I had to test out before deciding on. I did know from the beginning that I wanted to take ownership of the damage owning a company can do to the world, so I found a company, Climate Neutral, who helps us measure and offset our carbon footprint entirely and plan to decrease future emissions. We have now been certified Climate Neutral for both 2020 and 2021, and we are committed to re-certify every year moving forward. I also knew that as I build this company I want myself and those who join this company to have a great work life balance and be offered all the benefits that make it easier to live the life you want.

My favorite videos to create are documentary styled videos, and that is something that people can see throughout all of Sunburnt Studios’ videos including event videos, commercials, weddings, & online course creation. We capture the honest, candid moments and highlight the passion behind the story being told. Every step of the way we work with our clients to ensure they know what is going on and have a say in how the story will be told. Video production is not an industry most people are involved in daily and it can be intimidating, so I make sure that everyone involved is comfortable and confident with the process and with us, your video production team.

Starting a company can be terrifying but anytime doubts make their way into my head they are quickly chased out by thoughts of the amazing shoots that I am able to be a part of and all the stories that I have had the honor to tell.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Over 8 years ago, I started working in the video industry. I worked on small, local community projects for the first year. Then I joined a local documentary team as one of their videographers & editors, and eventually was a co-director for the team. The time with that team is where I found my love for documentary filmmaking. From there, I began working on a few client projects in the US and internationally. Over the year that I was doing this, is when the first ideas and thoughts of Sunburnt Studios were being formed. I even started doing both video and graphic design work under the name of Sunburnt Studios. While doing this there was something that was not lining up, so I found a job in Antarctica for the next 15 months. This allowed me to take a break from both video and graphic design. Over this break is when I realized that the graphic design work wasn’t right for me. I participated in 2 film festivals on ice and started making the plans to restart Sunburnt Studios as solely a video production company. After my time on the ice, I moved to Lakewood, Colorado and started implementing the plans to make Sunburnt Studios a reality. On July 1st, 2020 Sunburnt Studios began.

Sunburnt Studios is an adventurous, creative video production studio located in Golden, Colorado. We use our documentary style to capture your stories. Frequently, we tell the stories of individuals and companies through the production of online courses, capturing events & weddings, and showcasing personalized aspects that make each person or companies story uniquely theirs.

There are flaws in the video industry just like any other industry. I still hear all the time how people that I work with have had poor previous experiences with video production or they are lost and have no idea where to even begin. Even before you book with Sunburnt Studios we will schedule a discovery call to see if we are the right fit for you and your video dreams. Then once you are ready to move forward, I make sure you are fully informed, comfortable, and confident at every step of the production experience. I set up shared online folders so clients can take their time with getting back to me and not feel like everything is emergent. If there is a shot in the draft video that you do not like, I will take it out no questions asked, we are making a video for you, not me! Also, in todays wild online atmosphere people need endless content, so I give my clients full rights to the footage shot on the day of production and ask them to fill out a usage agreement that gives them the power to say if and where Sunburnt Studios is allowed to post your final video. We know that video production is scary and intimidating so we aim to be your best friend that you trust to walk you through the project and keep you on path to creating a video better than you ever dreamed of.

I am most proud of some of the reviews and kind words that we have received after working with people. We have been told by clients: that after experiencing video with us they are never turning to another video team again, that they have never felt so comfortable and themselves in front of a camera before, that the process was so much easier than they ever expected it to be, and so many other great things. We truly do come to care for every client that we work with and feel like friends after the process is done.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I have always been able to connect with people on a face to face level so much quicker than through social media or through emails, so my best source of new clients is definitely in person meeting. Whenever someone reaches out with a project in mind I will try to set up either a video call or a coffee shop meetup. This allows you to ask me all the questions you have and for us both to feel out if we are a good fit for each other.

I make sure to carry business cards with me everywhere because no matter where you are if someone strikes up a conversation and you get to what each other does for a living, I have found that people are always looking for video production. These loose strings tend to lead to some pretty amazing shoots.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Each year, I send out small desk calendars with video stills from the previous year as the images for each month along with a handwritten note expressing how grateful I am that they were a part of the Sunburnt Studios story. I do also tend to stay in touch with several people that I have worked with in the past by now doing monthly coffee meetups or going for drinks. As, I said early I tend to leave projects being friends with the people I worked with and that is something that I am excited to carry on past the project.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sunburnt-studios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunburntstudiosfilms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SunburntStudiosFilms
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sunburnt-studios
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ntAXsVeMT35sY8A89tHvw
• Other: Pinterest: https://pin.it/4R4VWWR

Image Credits
Marissa Rae Meg Driscoll