News
trailhead expands westward
September 3, 2008
Trailhead Productions, LLC is pleased to announce our newest project with Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. Trailhead will be creating three website videos that highlight the services available through the JFCS Emergency Assistance Fund. "We're thrilled to be working with the oldest social service agency west of the Mississippi River, a nonprofit resource with a stellar reputation for providing care to those in need," said Trailhead President Michael Schwartz. "This project reinforces our committment to working with nonprofit agencies, and providing them with state of the art media production services." This latest project extends the Trailhead presence nationwide, adding California projects to our corporate work in Arizona, and our nationwide consulting work for media professionals.
Trailhead continues work with holocaust committee
july 12, 2008
Trailhead Productions, LLC will once again be working with the Birmingham Holocaust Education Committee on a series of oral history projects with Holocaust Survivors. This is the second phase of an ongoing project, with the goal of interviewing every Survivor in the state of Alabama. BHEC members Mitzi Levin and Becky Seitel have been creating powerful paintings and photographs that portray events in the lives of the Survivors. The oral histories are designed to supplement these pieces, with an eventual goal of creating a local archive for potential use in educational institutions and traveling exhibitions.
trailhead screens completed film
february 3, 2008
Trailhead Productions, LLC has finished post production on the documentary "Temple Beth-El, A Centennial Celebration" for Birmingham synagogue Temple Beth-El. The 45 minute movie gives a sweeping overview of the synagogue's 100 year history in birmingham, and includes never before viewed historical photos, recently uncovered archival music and newly uncovered stories about congregant's involvement in the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. "This project has been a year long labor of love," says Trailhead President Michael Schwartz. "It's been a fascinating journey into a unique part of Birmingham history." The movie which includes interviews with almost four dozen subjects with ties dating back to almost the turn of the last century, began production in November of 2006. Copies of the movie will soon be available for purchase through Temple Beth-El.
trailhead finishes training video for csi scaffolding
december 3, 2007
Trailhead Productions, LLC has finished post-production on a training video for Los Angeles based CSI Scaffolding. The video, which was cut with both English and Spanish audio and graphics will be a valuable asset for CSI as part of their training procedures. Trailhead acted as the finishing studio for this project, creating the graphics package and special effects, sweetening audio, and finalizing color correction and underscores.
more online news stories from trailhead
october 23, 2007
Drawing on more than a decade's experience in television journalism, Trailhead Productions is again proud to be working with another leader in the Birmingham community to produce quality news stories for online distribution. Trailhead Productions and Colatt Jewish Family Services are working together to highlight the vital services provided by CJFS. The first story is now online at the Trailhead site, and will be mirrored on the CJFS site shortly. "Telling stories like this is the best part about this business," says Trailhead president Michael Schwartz. "As someone with a background in news, it's always a joy to find the best stories that aren't being told, and to give those stories a chance to find an audience."
trailhead producing event coverage for over-the-mountain democrats
october 09, 2007
The political season is underway, and Trailhead Productions, LLC is embarking on a series of new projects with Birmingham based political group Over-the-Mountain Democrats. First on the agenda is the recent panel discussion on Faith and Politics on the campus of Samford University. The event will be produced on-site by Trailhead and edited for streaming viewing on both the Trailhead and the Over-the-Mountain Democrats websites. "We're very excited to be expanding our line of services to include event coverage," said Trailhead president Michael Schwartz. "Affordable solutions for both taped and live event coverage is a primary goal for us as we move into an exciting 2008." Trailhead is also on board to produce the October 16 panel discussion on potential Alabama constitutional reform efforts. The discussion will take place at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
trailhead and total baseball begin production on dvd series
september 18 , 2007
Trailhead Productions, LLC is beginning production this month on a series of instructional videos for Birmingham based Total Baseball, LLC, a leading provider of baseball training and skills improvement for all ages. "This is an exciting project for us because the concept is tightly integrated with our expanded strategy of providing quality content through both our clients and our new digital content distribution network," said Trailhead president Michael Schwartz. As new videos are produced for distribution by Total Baseball, Trailhead Productions' online learning site, "The Commons" will be the point of purchase page for downloadable versions of the lessons produced over the course of production. Look to see this digital content available for download in the fall of 2007.
new trailhead site is now online
june 29, 2007
Trailhead Productions, LLC is proud to announce the relaunch of the company's website. The website, designed by Birmingham, Alabama based Man in the Maze Marketing, highlights the company's core areas of expertise: corporate services, broadcaster services, athlete services, and a new online store for downloadable digital content. "The relaunch will help Trailhead maintain a strong presence in a competitive industry, and provides a new home for our customers who want to stay ahead of the technology curve," said Trailhead President Michael Schwartz.
Trailhead on board for next Kenyon Plastering Inc. project
April 07, 2007
The warm weather is on the way, and Trailhead Productions, LLC is helping Kenyon Plastering Inc. make sure they have the best information for their employees. Trailhead is again acting as the finishing studio for Kenyon's policies and procedures training videos. The current assignment is to make sure the company's policies for working in the heat are easy to explain and understand. Trailhead will be creating the graphics package, coordinating the musical score, finalizing color correction, sweetening audio and mastering the final DVD output. Trailhead has been the finishing studio for every video produced by Kenyon Plastering, Inc.
Trailhead Wraps Promotional Video presented at Birmingham Home Show
March 08, 2007
Trailhead Productions, LLC has wrapped production on a promotional video for Birmingham based MARCAS SYSTEMS, Inc. that will be presented on a continuous loop at the Birmingham Home Show on March 8-11, 2007. The video highlights a new service that prevents mildew and mold from growing in existing homes and offices, as well as homes and offices still under construction. "We were very excited to work on this project, because the client needed a very quick turnaround, and we're always eager to show off our ability to produce quality video productions on an abbreviated schedule, which in this case was less than a week and a half from concept to deliverables," said Michael Schwartz, Trailhead founder and President. "We were able deliver this project on time and on budget, and we look forward to working with David Billings again." David Billings is the owner of MARCAS SYSTEMS, Inc and is also the host of the Home 101 show on Birmingham radio station 101.1 FM The Source.
To see the video Trailhead produced, click here
Trailhead Productions to produce 2007 documentary
November 10, 2006
Trailhead Productions, LLC is pleased to announce that the company will be the official production and post-produciton unit for Birmingham, Alabama synagogue Temple Beth-El as it undertakes its 2007 Centennial Celebration. The project, with the working title "Centennial Celebration" will be a 30 minute documentary focusing on the vibrant and crucial role played by the Temple Beth-El congregation over the course of the last 100 years. Shooting will commence on November 19, 2006 with various production dates scheduled throughout 2007. "We're thrilled to be undertaking this project," says Trailhead owner and founder Michael Schwartz. "Temple Beth-El has a rich history in the Birmingham community and documenting the role its members have played and continue to play in promoting faith and values in our community is an exciting opportunity."
A presentation date is scheduled for December 31, 2007.
November 1, 2006
Trailhead Productions, formerly a sole proprietorship, has been converted to a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). After strong growth in the post-production and career development sectors, owner and founder Michael Schwartz is adding production capabilities to the company's existing services. The new status gives Trailhead Productions greater freedom and agility in taking on larger corporate projects, including expanded on-location shooting and documentary production.
March 23, 2006
Trailhead Productions is rolling out a fresh website design in order to better meet the needs of it's growing and changing client base. The new design features easier navigation tools and an added emphasis on our growing broadcast consultation services. There are new links with expanded information about our new podcast as well as expanded opportunities for parties interested in advertising on the Trailhead site. Traffic information is available on request.
March 20, 2006
Trailhead Productions, producer of "BackTime: The Podcast for Television Journalists" is experiencing steady growth in subscriber rates, downloads and clickthrough rates for this new podcast. Launched in January, BackTime is now averaging more than 250 hits each day, resulting in average daily downloads of between 100 and 150 unique items. Traffic to the Trailhead website has tripled since the launch of the show.
February 24, 2006
Trailhead Productions has entered into a strategic alliance with Visual Image consultant Diane Harris. Diane is a nationally recognized image consultant who has worked with broadcast personalities including Anderson Cooper and Diane Sawyer, and is one of the acknowledged experts in the field of on-air image consultation. Trailhead Productions will be assigned post-productions work designed to maximize the resumé tapes of Diane's clients. This is the second such partnership Trailhead has developed, having produced client tapes for Broadcaster Marketing Services since 2005.
January 13, 2006
Trailhead Productions is pleased to announce the launch of its new podcast, "BackTime: The Podcast for Television Journalists," as part of its services available to broadcast professionals. BackTime is a free podcast that serves up interviews with the men and women who work in television news, with an emphasis on skills improvement and job hunting strategies. The shows, which average 30 minutes in length, are hosted by Trailhead owner Michael Schwartz.