Far Horizon Studio
Far Horizon Studio partners Elizabeth Gabel and Ralph Keyser have joined forces with two California transplants whose roots are deep in the Direct Response Television industry to offer a number of expert, accessible and affordable options to clients large and small. Marti Wolf and Teddy Parker, who each relocated from Southern California where they built successful careers in direct response television, are joining Far Horizon Studios to bring additional experience and expertise to the production company.
The expanded team offers a variety of marketing and production services to companies and entrepreneurs who are now bringing, or plan to bring, products to market through a direct response campaign, offering them experience and expertise in both the marketing and production side of the business.
The group offers an alternative to high-priced productions for projects that may not require major budgets to achieve success, and particularly for elements such as testimonial development, product demonstration and training films, and out-of-the-ordinary B-roll.
Companies and individuals who utilize direct response television to market products and services have a new option available in Albuquerque, chosen the #1 location for filming by Movie Maker Magazine in a national survey published in early 2010. In that survey, Los Angeles was positioned as #2. In the fall of 2009 New Mexico was also listed as #3 for film production by Variety Magazine.
The film and television production industries have learned what television advertisers will soon learn: New Mexico is filled with talented professionals who play at the highest levels—top-grossing films, top-rate television shows—and whose experience and expertise can be available to the direct response industry at savings over many production venues. Add in New Mexico’s 25 percent tax rebate program for even more dollar savings. The result: highly professional results and a better bottom line.
With extensive experience and ties to the thriving film and television industry in Albuquerque and New Mexico, Far Horizon partner Elizabeth Gabel is an award-winning producer of commercials, documentaries and educational materials. She received a Telly for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s anti-DWI PSA, “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose,” and the Luminaria Award for her leadership in the New Mexico Film Industry. Considered the leading casting director in New Mexico, she has worked on a number of major films.
Ralph Keyser is an experienced cinematographer and visual storyteller who has worked with moving images since he shot his first work on 8mm film when he was a teenager. He has worked as a cinematographer on a wide variety of media projects including commercials, public service announcements, industrial, documentary, and narrative films. In addition to work for Far Horizon Studio, Ralph has photographed material for PBS, TNT, CBS, Oxygen, and many independent production companies. These projects have ended up on big projection screens, broadcast television, web sites, mobile phones, and more.
The partners offer an array of production services from story development to final editing, including their own production studio.
After a long and successful career in the corporate world of the Fortune 500, Marti Wolf, whose instinct for indentifying the unique properties of a product or service are finely honed, joined a tiny startup company that had just produced its first hit infomercial. While with Kent & Spiegel Direct, she was a key player in the production and launch of several major hits that went worldwide. Her decades of experience in developing business and marketing strategies for a wide range of companies makes her a valuable part of this team. She currently crafts public relations and promotional campaigns and provides strategic planning and marketing services to Albuquerque area clients.
Teddy Parker has produced direct response commercials for clients ranging from the Fortune 500 to small entrepreneurs with a great idea. Her industry knowledge and connections have been valuable tools in creating this new strategy for growth, and her ability to produce effective selling tools for a wide variety of product categories makes her a key part of the new venture. Parker’s extensive client list includes AAA, Jenny Craig, Sanyo, Oreck, T-Fal, Honeywell, Cuisinart, Hooked on Phonics, Sears, Motorola, Sharper Image and a host of other companies. Her intuitive sense of how to communicate product benefits has made her a much sought after advisor to many firms.
Adding to the talent mix is Bruce Somers, an experienced director of successful DRTV programs for clients such as Procter & Gamble, VISA, Hamilton Beach, and Microsoft (to name a few). Somers and his company, Sincbox has been directly attributable to more than $1 billion of measurable revenue over the past two decades. Los Angeles-based Somers will act as DRTV / Brand Response director on a variety of projects.
In addition to developing and producing infomercials and television spots, the team is also offering product analysis and positioning, scriptwriting, testimonial development, demonstration and instructional videos, motivational and training videos, original music scores and analysis of existing commercials that have not been successful. They will refer clients to established service providers in the DRTV industry to offer an array of post-production, product launch and campaign management expertise and services.
The Far Horizon Studio team is well aware that many clients will have their own favorites in several areas of production, and can be completely flexible in regards to working with other professionals to achieve the highest level of performance. Clients will find that the team is able to deliver on projects large and small, and those interested in saving money on high-quality work and achieving success should give us a call to see just how Albuquerque wound up at the top of the list of best places to film.
304 Washington Street SE