Rock Creek just wrapped another studio shoot in which we created a mock news report for a National Defense University security exercise.  Here you can see a couple of images of our film production studio — the first showing the space and crew during a rehearsal and the second a screen-shot from the program itself.  Our main studio floor is large, but it offers options that can extend the space even further, as you see here.

Here’s a shot of Carlyncia Peck in front of the camera (with Steve Ray in the background) during a rehearsal; the crew is Jake Mosholder, Steve Agnew, Jonathan Cohen, Donny Aros, and Barbara York (l -r).

And here’s a resulting screen shot with Carlyncia Peck ( and Steve Ray, Rebecca Hyde, and Albert Keys in the background).

Rock Creek Productions’ independent documentary film Peace Through Education: Stealing the Light http://www.peacethrougheducationfilm.com was recently picked up by North Carolina’s Center for Public Television this week.

A timely story about the challenges of illiteracy and building educational infrastructure in one of the most conflict-torn areas in Afghanistan, this film demonstrates the power of education in creating civil society. We will be sure to post an update once we know the broadcast schedule.

In response to several requests for information on our new video production studio, we’ve put together a comp sheet of several of the different “looks” we’ve created. With our main space at 45’x30’ with 16′ ceilings, we can do much more, but we’ve only been operating for a fairly short time, and so almost everything is still out there in front of us. But we can build set walls and props or make use of existing office-type spaces, shoot in front of seamless or green screen backgrounds. The possibilities are fairly endless, so why don’t you try us out, see what we can do for you and your clients?

We just wrapped on two shoots for National Defense University (NDU) security exercises. In support of each exercise, Rock Creek created a couple of mock news and briefing videos combining green screen chromakey sets and live sets where reporters and experts described elements of the ’emergencies.’ For each exercise, we created a national news-style anchor desk (green screen), and three live sets, all in a single day in our spacious studio. Combined we heard from anchors from two national news organizations, field reporters in representations of NATO Headquarters in Brussels and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, we interviewed experts at a think-tank and in an engineering office, and we received intelligence briefings from military and civilian spokesmen.

Talent: Alex Suarez

Our large main space (45’x30′) enables us to set and shoot in several areas and directions, which makes changing over from set to set easy and efficient. Here’s a simple National Security Council briefing set. Apple boxes and fishing line included.

For another shoot for CTEC Corp. and the Defense Acquisition University, we used existing elements within our studio to create an office set with depth beyond the walls. This program provided advanced instruction on quality assurance graphical charts and featured a whiteboard that we later populated in post with text and graphics. Employing a doorway dolly on tracks we added visual interest to the scenes through motion.

This shot has Jake Mosholder and actor Alex Suarez behind and in front of the camera, respectively. Seems like Jake was abandoned by the rest of the crew.

In this project, shot in our Herndon, VA, video production studio over a white limbo backdrop, make-up artist Michele Mundell performed her magic on actor Mark August, who started the day with a head of wild hair and a full beard and, after passing through the middle ages, the industrial revolution, and World War II, ended up looking quite presentable in the modern day.

This project was also for CTEC Corp. and the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and discussed the evolution of Quality Assurance in manufacturing and what it means to be a Quality Assurance Specialist. We shot over the course of three days in our studio on our Panasonic HPX-3700 Varicam. Mark performed well with a heavy load of teleprompted copy. Early client reviews included, “absolutely awesome” and “those videos captivate and make you want to listen to what is being said” and “great job!”

Rock Creek’s inaugural production in our new studio space was for CTEC Corporation in support of their contract to the Defense Acquisition University or DAU. We designed and built a garage-style workshop and used it as a backdrop for teaching Quality Assurance Specialists about the function of a variety of specialized tools such as micrometers and calipers and gages.

This photo shows Martin Spitznagel of CTEC discussing the next shot with talent Sonia Debreczeni. Jake Mosholder of Rock Creek is standing by on camera.

This shoot required nine days in the studio, lots of education on the proper use of many precision tools, and was judged a success by everyone involved! Also shouldering half the acting load was Brian Ashby.

In early April, Rock Creek acquired studio space to support a variety of video production needs of our clients here in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. It’s great space, with a primary “studio” being 45’x30’ with 16’-high ceilings.

Here’s a panorama from a shoot providing a sense of scale.

It’s a full-service video production studio, with plenty of space for set construction, private offices, make-up, greenrooms, and a kitchen.

You and your clients would look great in here, too!

We talked about it for a long time, threw around ideas, made small changes here and there, but late last year, after a company retreat in Asheville, (and after unintentionally heading backwards down a waterfall on a “bonding” whitewater rafting trip) something clicked (or our brains were jarred into it) and we decided that it was time for a change. Let’s do this. Let’s re-brand Rock Creek.

What began was a journey of self-discovery. Who is Rock Creek? What sets us apart? And what are the core strengths that we bring to our client’s projects?

We focused in on two complimentary attributes: We are filmmakers first and we bring a sense of fun and enjoyment to the process of production.  “Filmmakers First” has been our unofficial motto for some time and it rings true to who we are as a company and as individuals, and it illustrates our commitment to push for the highest quality on every project.  And a sense of fun you ask?  Well it’s really a contagious passion and enthusiasm that infects our cast, crew and clients.

These attributes express who we are and we wanted to combine both of these sides of Rock Creek’s personality, the playful energy and the creative professional, and showcase it in a simple, effective way that demonstrates our vision and values.

We think you’ll see the true passion we have for cinematic storytelling come alive through our new website and the projects we feature. So take some time and check it out.

Let us know what you think by sending us a message on FB, Twitter or email. And please, share it with your friends and colleagues and most importantly let us know how Rock Creek can help you tell your story.

All the best from the Rock Creek Team,

— Steve, Tim, Rachell, Craig, Aimie and Jake