Texas Producer takes home Lone Star Emmy for Visit Fort Worth
Clayton Coblentz, left, and Brandon Schwindt of Texas Producer. (Courtesy photo | Texas Producer)
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Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.
Company: Texas Producer
Started in 2018 by Clayton Coblentz and Brandon Schwindt, Texas Producer is a video production company specializing in corporate marketing, animation, original content and event video production for businesses, organizations and brands.
Contact Information
@texasproducer on social media
817-907-4810
Coblentz and Schwindt submitted their responses to the Fort Worth Report’s questions about their business. The answers have been edited for length, grammar and clarity.
Tell us about your company, and how it came together.
The company name originated in 2010 as a way for Clayton Coblentz to produce freelance projects while working as a senior leader at other production companies in the DFW area. In 2016, Texas Producer began offering production services and, in 2018, the business incorporated as a full-service video production company, adding Brandon Schwindt as a founding partner. Coblentz and Schwindt originally met at the former Studios 121 in 2013, where the former was director of production and the latter was an editor and animator. Both were members of the core creative team developing projects.
What makes what you do unique or different from other organizations?
Our biggest differentiator is the creativity of our ideas and the implementation of that in our storytelling. All production companies use the same tools, for the most part, but we believe it’s the creative execution of art, story and use of technology that really engages viewers. We also make it easy for clients to work with us by being collaborators, rather than bystanders. Everyone is fascinated by the production process, and we make it a fun and enjoyable experience that brings clients back again and again. We also operate at a professional level with high production quality offered at a competitive value.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting your own business?
The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that it takes perseverance to grow your business. Also, it takes the ability to admit you don’t know everything and seek out continuing education. In the creative industry, it is a collaborative process that takes a team of individuals to create truly amazing work.
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
Our favorite part of production is collaborating with other people. Truly great ideas are never realized through a single individual. Participating in the creative process to see an idea come to life and connect with an audience is what really excites us.
How did you fund your company?
The business soft-launched in 2016 when we secured our first project involving the U.S. CEO of one of the Big 4 professional services accounting firms worldwide. In 2018, after we incorporated, we pitched a corporate video series to the same client that produced six 15- to 20-minute episodes to creatively promote their leadership and key messaging to their employees. This helped fund the next stage of company growth. In 2021, we participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program (10KSB), which is a concentrated business intensive program for small business owners to help identify growth opportunities and increase staff. After 10KSB, we went through the complicated process of trying to secure a loan and a line of credit to help fund our five-year financial projections. We went through the application process with at least 10 financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, CDFIs, et cetera, before we finally were able to secure a term loan and a line of credit with Guaranty Bank.
Anything else you’d like to share or mention?
Over the past five years, the company has hired over 60 part-time staff and contractors, contributing over half a million dollars into the local economy.
Since 2019, Texas Producer has been developing and pitching television series based on local Fort Worth personalities and talent to national networks in order to grow original content production from within our community. We have an established, highly talented production community in Fort Worth, spanning dozens of businesses, that we believe is worth promoting.
Currently, we are producing our second short film, which will feature the use of newly developed AI-generated animation technology.
We’ve received two bronze Telly Awards, two Emmy nominations and a 2023 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Branded Content. Earlier this month, we received a Lone Star Emmy for our video “Collective Effervescence,” done for Visit Fort Worth’s annual breakfast in February.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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