Madonna Ability Alliance | Omaha event photographers

Aaron Zavitz January 16, 2025

Omaha event photographers can’t help but get wrapped up in the energy of the event. The cause. The joy. The amazing people. thinkMOTION has the opportunity to work with some amazing clients and that is exactly what the Madonna Ability Alliance is! Good people who are inspiring! This is their mission in their own words:

Our vision is for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and autism, to maximize their God-given potential and thrive as fully included members of the communities in which they learn, work and live.

What the good people do at Madonna is truly mind boggling. The opportunities that they bring to this marginalized group of humans is truly amazing and everyone should know about it. I’m a little biased of course. The founder of Madonna, Sister Sister Mary Evangeline, was very good to my brother-in-law, so there is a bit of a soft spot in our hearts for Madonna! So we as Omaha event photographers we’re overjoyed when we were asked to create, not only a video for the gala, but also take photos of the gala. We love this! The gala was hosted by Channel 6 News John Nicely, who was a total class act. Fun. Auctions and drinks…what more do you need out of a gala?!

The slogan of the gala was ‘Coming Home’ which referred to a lot of things. First, it’s a homey place. When you watch through the doors of Madonna and meet the good people there, it feels like home. AND, they have a new location. An amazing new building was built to give Madonna a fresh look, offering amazing amenities to the people with intellectual disabilities and autism to fully discover their true selves! Check out their new building on 71st and Dodge, it’s a brand new home for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Go good!

Madonna Ability Alliance

15 Jan 2025

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Brinshore Development | Nebraska video production

Aaron Zavitz January 15, 2025

Many times, as a Nebraska video production company, we get to work with organization that is bringing change, real change. And not only to just Omaha, but opening the possibilities to Nebraska as well. The great people at Brinshore, a development company in Chicago, hired us to create a short documentary of this very special project in North Omaha.

This collaboration of organizations has created a newly developed area of North Omaha that is truly impressive. Giving a new life to the landscape and its people, the Highlander District is now a safe, beautiful and vibrant section of town.

Brinshore talks about the end result on their website by saying, “At completion, the development will contain nearly 450 units of new mixed-income, energy-efficient housing in a variety of design styles and product types from studios to 7-bedroom units. The development also includes new infrastructure, playgrounds, retail storefronts, and community space. All of the units, regardless of whether they are deeply affordable, or market rate are randomly interspersed and indistinguishable from each other so that quality does not relate to the rent that someone can afford to pay.’

The mayor of Omaha joined in the fun as well, ““This public-private partnership is significantly changing the quality of life for hundreds of families who wish to live and raise families in these neighborhoods,” said Mayor Jean Stothert. “We are fulfilling our commitment to affordable housing, and access to education, jobs and health services. It’s an example of how we change and adapt to community needs.”

We were fortunate as Nebraska video production company to interview the partnerships, the residents, and a truly special treat of being able to speak to the elderly that lived in the retirement community.

Along with my co-horts Marc Longbrake and Patrick McNally, we were honored to be a small part in spreading the word of this amazing feat of collaboration.

Filming in front of windows. Done! And it look amazing. Thank you ND filters!

Brinshore Development

Purpose Built Communities

Seventy5North

Omaha Housing Authority

12 Jan 2025

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Marble Technologies | Omaha branding content

Aaron Zavitz January 12, 2025

Marble contacted us to enhance their Omaha branding content on their new website. Having a website background is one of the most effective ways to immediately catch your potential customers attention. Just as with our website, it’s the first thing your customers see and draws them in further to your website. I love that in WordPress templates the website background is called the Hero image or video. It’s such a perfect description because the Hero shot is that iconic shot in a movie that can visually set the tone of the motion picture. You’re company is no different!

And the Hero for Marble is…meat. Meat being sorted into boxes.

Marble technologies is rapidly successful start up. They build AI and food-grade hardware to reduce labor, improve product quality, and reduce waste in meat processing. We had just a good time filming at the Greater Omaha meat processing plant just well…filming meat. And yes, for this Omaha branding content we did attach our DJI Action Cam to a piece of very large meat!

We’re always thinking of the best ways to tell the story of your company. And if that means taping a camera to meat…that’s what we will do!

Marble Technologies

thinkMOTION website background

08 Jan 2025

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John Koufos | Nebraska Reentry 2030

Aaron Zavitz January 8, 2025

Nebraska Reentry 2030 is a national initiative for inmates exiting the prison system. We had no idea this existed! This why we love our job as Nebraska videographers. We are hired by some pretty cool people doing amazing things. And we have the opportunity to tell just a fragment of the story. Nebraska Department of Correctional Services hosted a summit for its’ partners and the community to discuss Reentry 2030. They also hosted the dynamic John Koufos who hired us to the highlight this momentous event for Nebraska Reentry 2030.

John Koufos

John’s story is amazing and a true ‘phoenix rising out of the ashes’ story. He was once a high profile attorney and, at the same time, an alcoholic. At the height of his success as an attorney he hit ‘rock bottom’ when he almost killed someone in a drunk driving accident. He went to prison where he went through a dramatic personal transformation. After his release he began fighting for prison reform! Since his release he’s worked with Washington and worked to transform correctional policy with the administrations of Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. A true success story and I was honored to have a little part in spreading the word of Nebraska’s part in Reentry 2030.

Nebraska Videographers

We are always humbled as Nebraska videographers when we have these opportunities to highlight the achievements of our state. Achievements that otherwise go unnoticed. These events make us see another view point of a population that is largely passed over and treated poorly because of bad decisions in their past.

It was great working with John whose generosity and sincerity is infectious.

And here’s something else about John I didn’t know that I want to look more into:

John produced and hosted Retaining Talent, a second chance hiring and retention training/documentary. Retaining Talent was filmed all across Florida and Washington, D.C., with businesses that hire people with criminal records, government officials, law enforcement, corporate and banking leaders, and at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Learn more about John

Visit Nebraska Department of Correctional Services

Learn more about Reentry 2030

06 Jan 2025

Aaron Zavitz Healthcare Permalink

R7DHRE | Omaha medical video

Aaron Zavitz January 6, 2025

When a company calls and asks if we are an Omaha medical video production team and after we say, ‘yes’ and they say that it’s going to be a radiation exercise…well…celebration starts to happen. Our good friends in the Global Center for Health Security are in involved with the Region 7 Disaster Health Response Ecosystem. In my opinion, anything that has the word ‘ecosystem’ in it has to be cool!

The work of these organizations is awe-inspiring and heroic, which is probably why this healthcare video took on a cinematic tone. This Omaha medical video was a collaboration of some of the finest disaster response organizations out there.

The Scenario

The Council Bluffs Fire Department (CBFD), in partnership with the 71st Civil Support Team (CST) and the Iowa Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) radiation control program, hosted an intensive functional training exercise. This exercise aimed to practice CST deployment to support the CBFD in responding to a clandestine lab and radiological incident. During the scenario, teams set up decontamination and entry procedures and donned personal protective equipment (PPE) to enter and evaluate the simulated hazardous environment. The seamless integration of the CBFD and CST allowed them to leverage their respective assets, effectively managing the scene and ensuring public safety. Medical officers and Iowa HHS briefings provided essential guidance on managing potential radiation or chemical exposures, offering real-time learning experiences. This dynamic training scenario not only provided invaluable hands-on experience but also fostered essential collaboration between the CBFD, CST, and Iowa HHS radiological response personnel. Exercises such as these demonstrate the importance of readiness and teamwork in handling complex hazardous materials and radiological incidents, ensuring all teams are prepared to face any unknown threats with confidence and precision.

Our job as an Omaha medical video production team was to capture in video and photography the process by which these partners search a building to find the radiation source. A true honor.

Links

Region 7 Disaster Health Response Ecosystem

Council Bluffs Fire Department

Iowa Health and Human Services

For more videos like check out other work with Global Center for Health Security:

Global Center for Health Security | Puerto Rico | Nebraska Videographer

04 Jan 2025

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Opera Omaha | Omaha Photographer

Aaron Zavitz January 4, 2025

Remembering warmer times as an Omaha photographer! Actually, maybe it was TOO warm! This is one of my favorite programs out there. Opera Omaha hosts ‘Opera to Go’ every summer and it’s really quite special. Their slogan is ‘Delivering snackable opera bites to your community’. And that’s exactly what they are. No tickets. No fees. These are like little opera pop ups. You never know where they will be. This one popped up at the Florence Mills Farmer’s Market in North Omaha. There were sunhats, opera and let’s not forget the bubbles. Kids always love the bubble machine! These events are perfect for the music enthusiast who wants to dabble a little with Opera. An amuse-bouche of opera music if you will. I love it. I love using my Omaha photographer skills for the good people at Opera Omaha!

‘Since October of 2020 Opera To Go has popped up in many places across the metro area including Brown Park, the Highlander Community Lawn, Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, Countryside Village Shopping Center, Lake Zorinsky, Capital Cigar Lounge, Turner Park, at events like the Florence Mill Farmers’ Market, the Papillion Farmers’ Market, Porchfest Omaha, and with our community partners Gotta Be Me and Learning Community Center of South Omaha.’ – Opera Omaha

I’m so honored to be able to capture these little morsels of delight and important to see organizations taking risks and getting themselves out in the community. Opera can be a hard sell but by making it super approachable makes it truly something very special. thinkMotion | Omaha photographer

Opera Omaha

Opera to Go

Opera Omaha Opera to Go | Omaha Event Photography

04 Jan 2025

Aaron Zavitz Video Permalink

thinkMOTION | Omaha video services

Aaron Zavitz January 4, 2025

What’s new with Omaha video services for thinkMOTION for 2025 you ask??!!

Well, we always offer high-quality, creative, affordable video production filming and editing services, but…

Did you know that we do this too????

– Customer Testimonials? I think every single company is looking for social media content or video to put up on their website. This is just one Omaha video services we can do for your incredible business. We can film your customers talking about you and your services on location at your business or at our studio.

Your customers shape the success of your business so now it’s time to get them on camera to tell the world WHY?!!!

Guide your potential customers to what other people have experienced with your businesses vision or product and guide them to purchasing decisions whether it’s a product or an idea.

Testimonials provide an unbiased, authentic perspective from real users.

Humanize your brand. In a world of deep fakes, AI, social media memes, there really is nothing better than real people, saying real things.

– Headshots, it’s video AND photography! Headshots for yourself, your team or your whole corporation, we’ve got affordable options to keep your headshots relevant to your needs this year. Casual outdoors or formal indoors.

It’s a New Year for new portrait or headshot for your company website, LinkedIn, Facebook, and {insert desired social media platform here 🙂 ]

An outdated headshot can create a disconnect between how you present yourself online and in real life.

A headshot that accurately represents you helps build trust with customers and companies.

– Corporate Culture Videos! Serious, fun, and everything any between. Let us help foster your corporate atmosphere through video.

A company’s culture is often as important as the products or services you provide!

You want to attract the best talent to your company, let the video show them something beyond the job description. Introduce them to how cool you are!

– Social Media reels or short form videos. We can help enhance your brand online with creative content.

-Filming or Editing only. Of course we are a full-service video production company, but if you just need one or the other, let us assist that part of your needs.

We look forward to helping you put your video desires out this coming year!

Front Page

04 Jan 2025

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Great Plains Theater Commons | Omaha conference Videos

Aaron Zavitz January 4, 2025

We’re addicted to making these Omaha conference videos EVERY YEAR!!! This week long theatre conference, a new play festival, is a yearly highlight! We love the work the Great Plains Theatre Commons is going for the arts’ community throughout the year. They are bringing meaningful stories to the community year round…and…FREE! Hey, that sounds like us! Well, maybe not free, but we always seek to tell the meaningful stories of our clients. Playwrights use words, we use video!

You might think Omaha conference videos might be a tad boring? How can you make a week long conference seem exciting, you ask?! We’re always up for the challenge. We put our documentary style of filmmaking to work, almost observing to find creative ways to tell the story of the week. We use all these tools to visually tell the story: filming interviews, b-roll, steadicam, and even doing some timelapse and maybe some drone.

It is so thrilling to film writers, designers, directors and dramaturgs who come to together and make the GPTC and, its’ new play festival, a powerhouse of creativity that resonances through the country. Yes! From artist from the West and East coasts to everything in between, time and time again we hear how respected this conference is! GPTC uses our videos in a number of different ways. One, to spread the love of theatre making. Two, as a funding raising tool, both with donors and grants, to keep their good work going. We are always so honored to lend our creative talents to further their creative talents!

GPTC Home

Check out this article in America Theatre magazine written by Omaha’s own, Leo Biga:

New Plays, Good Food, Great Plains: A Proven Recipe

13 Jan 2024

Aaron Zavitz Healthcare Permalink

Nebraska Video Company | Global Center for Health Security

Aaron Zavitz January 13, 2024

A Nebraska video company doesn’t always have to film in Nebraska…we also get to go to Alaska! It never ceases to amazing me of all the good work that is being done Nebraska that reaches the entire country, albeit, the world. This project, piloted by UNMC, reaches as far as Uganda, Africa which I wasn’t a part of but still, truly cool. It’s been to the state of Washington to Puerto Rico to, finally, Alaska.

We’ve been working on a project for a couple of years with the UNMC team at the Global Center for Health Security working with CDC. The team is developing an exciting new product called the ISTARI which stands for The Isolation System for Treatment and Agile Response for High-Risk Infections. It’s a revolutionary portable negative pressure containment patient care system.

Essentially instead of doctors donning (an exciting word I’ve learned in all this) PPE, rather, the patient has PPE wrapped around them in a plastic tent. Doctors, nurses and loved ones can physically handle and care for the patient through plastic arms and a ‘hug suit’. They can do this without breaking airborne isolation and infecting those outside of the tent. Innovation at it’s best. Especially, it looks very cool and sci-fi and we love being apart of this!

And I know more about airborne pathogens than one civilian should know! But that’s what’s great about being a Nebraska video company.

The vast knowledge and stories that need to be told!

In September 2023, UNMC and Providence Sacred Heart & Children’s Hospital partnered with LifeMed Alaska and the Life Flight Network. They tested the ISTARI transport tent in ground and air movement of simulated patients presenting to local hospitals who required isolation care. Transport occurred over 3 exercise segments. Check out the video above to see the epic results!

Website background videos | Ghost Handwriter

Aaron Zavitz January 12, 2024

Website background videos have been pretty popular for a few years now and can really be a vital addition to your Omaha website design.

Why?

There is no better way to make your website, product or service stand out more then actually having your potential customer open your website and see visually what you have to offer. Simple. Cinematic. Website video backgrounds can really capture attention and invite your potential clients to dig deeper into your website. And like this video, they don’t have to take tons of time to film, making a background cost effective. We spent a couple of hours with Cam filming this adorable robot do it’s magic and then we sat down for a quick interview. Boom. Done.

In addition to the website background, check out the short promo we did!

In this case, we were so happy to partner with a long time collaborator to create Website background videos for a service that is new and truly remarkable. A robot that creates handwritten, personalized letters and cards. A marketing tool that can truly make a difference for customers. It takes innovative AI based solutions but yet puts that personal touch that all businesses want to create for their clients. There is really so many applications that I can think of that this robot can help with: political campaigns, donor thank you’s, marketing campaigns, wedding thank you’s…really the possibilities are endless. To see what this can do, you should visit Cam’s site and be impressed! https://ghosthandwriter.com/

Truly inventive.

We love learning about new innovative ideas and bringing companies services and products to life through film. Giving their brand a visual pop of color.

Contact Us

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John Koufos

Nebraska Videographers

The Scenario

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