During the latter half of the 1960’s, David Richter Sr. began capturing silent 8MM films of his family. It was a passion which translated into hundreds of creative treasures. His son, Jeremy Richter, has continued that tradition through Richter Studios and the vibrant Chicago video production scene for the past twenty years. One of the main differences between these two types of motion picture efforts has been the son’s addition of sound through music, sound fx and voice narration.
Recently, Richter Studios created a testimonial film for Voices.com. The groundbreaking creative services firm represents over 200,000 voice actors, making it the largest online destination for the industry. The testimonial film touches upon the long film tradition within the Richter family and how Richter Studios eventually began utilizing Voices.com as the web began to mature. For many years, the process of recording voice talent was a very cumbersome, time-consuming process and this testimonial film created by Richter Studios elaborates on this experience.
Richter Studios Testimonial Film for Voices.com
“We have many great creative partners at Richter Studios but few rise the level of convenience and efficiency that Voices.com provides,” stated CEO Jeremy Richter. “It’s a transformational service and we use it practically every day for corporate videos, animations and commercials. When you have experienced firsthand how limiting it used to be to record and work with voice talent, it’s wonderful to have access to such a great service. Now, we can audition and cast talent in a few hours, not days, and we have access to a robust portfolio featuring great talent from around the world.”
Staff members from the Voices.com headquarters in London, Ontario watch a preview of the film.
Some of the motion pictures that were captured by David Richter Sr. briefly appear in the testimonial film. “We worked with Video Conversion Experts, an outstanding firm from Arizona to digitize and bring my father’s 8MM films back to life and at an incredible viewing resolution,” Jeremy Richter stated. “It simply amazes me that, over 50 years ago, my father was actually shooting 2K resolution motion pictures.”
Nowadays, the team at Richter Studios films at a standard 4K resolution (4,096 x 2,160) but has recently transitioned to 8K resolution (8,192 x 4,320) for select projects. “I’m very proud to say that we’ve mastered the art of beautiful still and motion imagery,” observed Richter. “The stuff my father captured was very organic, with no planning for specialized lighting and other production tweaks that make such a big difference. Although his films are truly magical to watch, it does require an active imagination because there is no sound.”
A few frames from the digitized 8MM films converted to 2K (2,048 x 1,556) resolution
“When the footage captured by Richter Studios is married with the trademark speed and creative excellence provided by Voices.com, the results often impress our diverse range of clients,” said Richter. To date, the company has utilized the Voices.com service on almost 200 voice over projects and enlisted over a dozen international voice talents. “This is why we wanted to create a testimonial film for Voices.com. They are a critical component of our business and their service has made a substantial impact on our creative process.”
“Jeremy did a beautiful job sharing his company’s story and our role in its continued success,” said Stephanie Ciccarelli, Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer at Voices.com. “We’re touched to know that our platform has become part of Richter Studios’ way of life and their pursuit of creating meaningful work that moves people.”
2017 marks the 20th anniversary of Richter Studios. The company has managed over 3,000 productions, 10,000+ videos and has won over 50 international awards, including the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards in Cannes, France in 2016. Widely regarded as pioneers in digital cinema, Richter Studios first opened its doors for business in June of 1997 when it created one of the first-ever desktop videos at a resolution of 320×240 for the McClier Corporation. The company now has extensive experience filming up to 8K resolution and creates a range of video content for it clients, including commercials, brand films, explainer videos, corporate videos, interviews/testimonials and animations. Richter Studios is also approved to legally flying drones for commercial use and has coordinated extensive nationwide and global video productions for its clients, filming on location in over 45 states and 12 countries.
