Christine Lockerby and Jeff Boedeker in front of the Orange Frame office. (Jonathan Spiers)
Bucking the current Scott’s Addition trend, a local film production company has exited the fast-growing neighborhood in favor of office space in the Fan.
Orange Frame, a 2-year-old firm that produces nonfiction films for museums and TV, recently moved its office to 205 N. Robinson St., filling a 900-square-foot space in a rowhouse that also houses nonprofit Virginia Housing Alliance and consulting firm HD Advisors.
The company, with four full-time employees and a fluctuating group of contractors, had outgrown the smaller space it was leasing in the Sound of Music Studios building at 1710 Altamont Ave. and spent three months searching local real estate listings before finding its Fan spot, director Jeff Boedeker said.
“With Scott’s Addition, we held out for a while. The inventory there is so low, unless you want a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to buy,” Boedeker said.
Boedeker started Orange Frame in early 2016 after moving to Richmond from New York City. An Atlanta native with a master’s degree in film production from Boston University, he took a liking to Richmond while producing a film for the Virginia Historical Society.
“I realized this city has what most big cities have to offer, and from a business standpoint, there is a lot of advertising production companies and a lot of one-man-band production companies, but there’s no production companies that are doing $300,000 nonfiction films,” he said. “Immediately I was like, that’s something we can offer this city, and we love it here, so we can call it home and set up shop.”
In that time, Orange Frame has produced films for such clients as National Geographic – its name is an homage to NatGeo’s yellow-frame logo – as well as the National Park Service, NASA, Smithsonian and The New York Times Magazine.
Locally, in addition to its film for VHS, work has included a recently released seven-video series for Virginia Tourism Corp. and American Evolution 2019 Commemoration called “Virginia to America,” highlighting themes and historical events of 1619 Virginia.
Boedeker said most of Orange Frame’s staff got their start at NatGeo, including production manager Christine Lockerby, a Richmond native who has been with Orange Frame since the start.
She and Boedeker said the firm focuses on high-budget films that are typically long-term projects, lasting a year or longer, and use new film technologies such as VR and 360-degree video.
“We find new ways of telling stories,” Boedeker said. “We shoot a lot in 360 with multiple cameras. We also mostly do the regular-style documentary filmmaking.”
Orange Frame signed a one-year lease for its Fan space, leaving open the possibility of moving again in a year to accommodate growth. He said the firm has six long-term projects lined up this year.
“A lot of these stories are under-told stories of ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary time who turn out to do great things,” Boedeker said. Recalling its video series for Virginia Tourism, he added: “We oftentimes reveal a very unexpected, surprising story about Virginia history that then can be communicated as American history.”
Orange Frame joins a growing group of video producers making moves in Richmond. In September, Motion Video relocated its headquarters from Fairfax to Manchester’s Aragon Coffee Building. Locally based Sprocket Media Works moved from Foushee Street to Fitzugh Avenue in May. And local ad firm Barber Martin Agency recently launched a video production division after moving its headquarters to Scott’s Addition.
Christine Lockerby and Jeff Boedeker in front of the Orange Frame office. (Jonathan Spiers)
Bucking the current Scott’s Addition trend, a local film production company has exited the fast-growing neighborhood in favor of office space in the Fan.
Orange Frame, a 2-year-old firm that produces nonfiction films for museums and TV, recently moved its office to 205 N. Robinson St., filling a 900-square-foot space in a rowhouse that also houses nonprofit Virginia Housing Alliance and consulting firm HD Advisors.
The company, with four full-time employees and a fluctuating group of contractors, had outgrown the smaller space it was leasing in the Sound of Music Studios building at 1710 Altamont Ave. and spent three months searching local real estate listings before finding its Fan spot, director Jeff Boedeker said.
“With Scott’s Addition, we held out for a while. The inventory there is so low, unless you want a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to buy,” Boedeker said.
Boedeker started Orange Frame in early 2016 after moving to Richmond from New York City. An Atlanta native with a master’s degree in film production from Boston University, he took a liking to Richmond while producing a film for the Virginia Historical Society.
“I realized this city has what most big cities have to offer, and from a business standpoint, there is a lot of advertising production companies and a lot of one-man-band production companies, but there’s no production companies that are doing $300,000 nonfiction films,” he said. “Immediately I was like, that’s something we can offer this city, and we love it here, so we can call it home and set up shop.”
In that time, Orange Frame has produced films for such clients as National Geographic – its name is an homage to NatGeo’s yellow-frame logo – as well as the National Park Service, NASA, Smithsonian and The New York Times Magazine.
Locally, in addition to its film for VHS, work has included a recently released seven-video series for Virginia Tourism Corp. and American Evolution 2019 Commemoration called “Virginia to America,” highlighting themes and historical events of 1619 Virginia.
Boedeker said most of Orange Frame’s staff got their start at NatGeo, including production manager Christine Lockerby, a Richmond native who has been with Orange Frame since the start.
She and Boedeker said the firm focuses on high-budget films that are typically long-term projects, lasting a year or longer, and use new film technologies such as VR and 360-degree video.
“We find new ways of telling stories,” Boedeker said. “We shoot a lot in 360 with multiple cameras. We also mostly do the regular-style documentary filmmaking.”
Orange Frame signed a one-year lease for its Fan space, leaving open the possibility of moving again in a year to accommodate growth. He said the firm has six long-term projects lined up this year.
“A lot of these stories are under-told stories of ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary time who turn out to do great things,” Boedeker said. Recalling its video series for Virginia Tourism, he added: “We oftentimes reveal a very unexpected, surprising story about Virginia history that then can be communicated as American history.”
Orange Frame joins a growing group of video producers making moves in Richmond. In September, Motion Video relocated its headquarters from Fairfax to Manchester’s Aragon Coffee Building. Locally based Sprocket Media Works moved from Foushee Street to Fitzugh Avenue in May. And local ad firm Barber Martin Agency recently launched a video production division after moving its headquarters to Scott’s Addition.