Foodist Films

from page 1 and it’s a place that’s close to the city but also has access to nature on the Mississippi River bluffs,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to digging in and continuing to build on this corner to make the building part of the community in every way we can.”

Foodist Films creates marketing videos that help food businesses educate their customers and promote their brand. The agency’s 9-member team does everything from filming and editing to cooking and hand modeling. Simple product videos can be created in as little as 10 days, while videos using sophisticated editing techniques take longer. After a video is created, Foodist helps promote it online and through social media, and gathers audience metrics.

The owners made significant changes to the building. They removed the drop-panel ceiling and laminate flooring, restored the original hardwood flooring, built walls to create filming spaces, upgraded the HVAC system and installed fiber optic internet. Most recently, they secured a grant through the Neighborhood Development Alliance to install solar panels on the roof.

“We have a kitchen where we can film and we also have a back room that was specifically designed to be a perfect place to film tabletop videos,” said Ray. “We also have this green space that’s attached to the property and we’re trying to figure out how we want to turn that lot into a garden plot so we can grow more of the food we use in our videos. We have a few fruit trees out there [right now]. We also have some raspberry bushes and some raised beds.”

Ray and Connett founded the company in 2016 while living on a farm in Texas. They met as recent college graduates while working for the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile that travels across the country. After that gig they spent two years traveling across the United States and Europe doing video and audio podcasting for small food-related businesses. Connett said they were inspired to start making cooking videos after seeing Buzzfeed Tasty recipe videos, which caught fire on social media at the time.

In 2017, they decided to open a studio but had difficulty finding a proper space near their home. It was then that Ray, a native of Mahtomedi, Minn., persuaded Connett, who hails from Georgia, to move to Minnesota, which has a well-established art and food scene. They left the heat and wideopen spaces of Texas and re- located to the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. Quickly outgrowing that space, they moved that same year to the back of an antique store on University Avenue. In 2018, they moved yet again to an artist studio in Lowertown. Finally, last April they closed on their new studio and moved in.

“Steve thought it [Minnesota] would be a better place for us to really launch our business,” said Connett. “We decided to test it out for a summer. We came up here and it has actually turned into six years now. As soon as we moved here it just seemed

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For more information on Foodist Films, visit foodist films.com.

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