We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gio Toninelo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gio, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

We make videos that matter (insert trademark symbol here). That’s what we seek to accomplish with every project. I believe, we as filmmakers, have a responsibility for what we create, what projects we give birth to, and what lessons we leave behind. We have amazing tools to help the world and it’s important to use these tools correctly. We love telling stories that connect people beyond race, nationality, and beliefs. And we strive to make films that touch people and help to awaken hearts. Storytelling is our obligation to the future. Give something of meaning to our audience by inspiring, engaging, and educating them with a story, even if it’s through marketing. We want our films and videos to influence the world in some positive way. That’s the least we can do.

Gio, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since transitioning from graphic design more than a decade ago, I have worked non-stop in the world of film and video as a director and cinematographer. I’ve been always on the lookout for challenging and thought provoking stories to tell. Today, I’m the head creative at Rocket House Pictures, a Denver based video production company that handles all aspects of digital video, from concept to dynamic post production editing and delivery. By combining high-quality video production values of large video companies with the speed and efficiency of a smaller company, Rocket House focuses on product quality, project cost and deliverable timeliness. My years of experience in the industry have taught me how to work within budgets and deadlines without ever compromising the integrity of a video. My work at Rocket House Pictures exists between advertising and original content. We proudly make videos that show the good, and also the reality of our world. Whether we’re making a short commercial or a long-form documentary, working with a Fortune 500 company, non-profit or a local musician, we create videos that are accessible, engaging and inspiring. Some of our more notable clients are Pepsico, the Boys & Girls Clubs, Yext, Crocs and the Colorado State Government. It is a huge privilege to do this job and I absolutely love it.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

It’s hard to talk about this without sounding like a salesman… (haha). The first rule of doing business is to build and maintain a good reputation. By exceeding our client’s expectations, they will always remember the experience of working with us. And because people are naturally inclined to reward positive actions, our clients will eventually tell everyone how great our videos are. That’s the power of word-of-mouth marketing: do (or make) good things and good will come back to you.

Other things that help are:

• We offer our videos at a reasonable price,
• We have a quick turnaround,
• We are friendly and helpful,
• We have the right tools and knowledge to deliver your project.

How you treat your employees or subcontractors is also very important. It’s always good business (and kind) to pay your staff well. It will also helps you establish a reputation as an honest, decent, and fair business.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Several years ago, we were offered the opportunity to bid on a project for the Colorado State Capitol. At the time Rocket House Pictures was still a fairly new company with a very short history in creating documentaries. But we knew we could do the job well and it was a great opportunity for us to show our skills to a much larger audience. In order to land the job, we had to devise a plan to beat our more experienced competitors without sacrificing the cost. Instead of submitting a boring price quote, we decided to create an interactive estimate that not only included timelines and schedules, but an entire film treatment. It was a bold laborious undertaking with no guarantees. I can’t really get into details about our method here, but needless to say, we got hired. The result was a 30min. documentary that outlines the 3 year process of restoring the Colorado House and Senate Chambers to their original 1905 historic appearance. Thinking back, the time I spent inside the State Capitol with a camera on my shoulder seem more significant than any other in my career. I feel extremely proud to have documented our State’s history. It was truly a remarkable experience. The project went to win the Audience Award for Best Short Doc at the Intendence Film Festival in 2017. To this day, give or take a few changes, we still use the same interactive estimate model to acquire new customers. It goes to show that sometimes success begins at the extra mile.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rockethousepictures.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmcolorado
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockethousepictures
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocket-house-pictures
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/filmdenver
• Other:
  Blog: https://www.rockethousenews.com
  Personal: http://giotoninelo.com

Image Credits
J. Legrand & M. Joseph