VT Demo Reel Trailer
April 2011
Dear Clients and Friends,
As some of you know, I have pared VideoTakes down to the core to minimize the responsibilities of a small business owner and maximize my work as an independent filmmaker.
CEO Chris Palmer remains on board to continue to help us find partners and funding for important environmental films. The rest of VideoTakes’ phenomenal team has moved on to new opportunities.
I also want to spend more time as an adjunct professor and associate director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking (CEF) at American University, which Chris founded and directs. I recently was named AU’s outstanding adjunct for 2011, and now want to prove myself worthy of such an honor.
I look forward to continuing my relationship with all of you, whether it is business or social.
All my best,
Sandy Cannon-Brown
Founder and President
VideoTakes, Inc.
Latest News
Henry A. Wallace: An Uncommon Man
Now Available on Amazon.com
Arlington, VA, May 2011 – Henry A. Wallace: An Uncommon Man, a film tribute to an extraordinary American, premiered at the National Portrait Gallery in March and now is available on Amazon.com.
The 57-minute film by Joan D. Murray and VideoTakes, Inc., tells the remarkable story of a man who was expected to continue as vice-president into FDR’s fourth term and succeed him as president. Why that didn’t happen fills this documentary with high drama.
VideoTakes Receives Gold Award for Program Promo
Washington, DC, November 2010 – TIVA awarded a Gold Award to VideoTakes for a promo/open for Henry A. Wallace, An Uncommon Man, a film tribute to the brilliant and complex man who commercialized hybrid corn and served as Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“A TIVA award has special meaning because it comes from our peers in the Mid-Atlantic region,” said Sandy Cannon-Brown, president of VideoTakes.
Joan D. Murray was the Executive Producer and Creative Director for the promo. Sandy Cannon-Brown wrote and produced it, and Matt Nagy edited using archival footage. The music, Fanfare for the Common Man, by Aaron Copland, was inspired by a speech by Henry Wallace.
VideoTakes, Inc, Celebrates its 25th Anniversary
Arlington, VA, October 2010 – For 25 years, VideoTakes, Inc. has helped clients effectively communicate critical messages to target audiences.
President Sandy Cannon-Brown founded the media production company on October 31, 1985. The Children’s Miracle Network broadcast (15 years), PSAs honoring African-Americans (12 years), and numerous videos about renewable energy (25 years) are among the company’s award-winning campaigns.
Since 2005, when wildlife filmmaker Chris Palmer joined the firm as CEO, VideoTakes has welcomed many more environmental groups as clients and emerged as a national leader in environmental filmmaking.
“Our commitment to environmental and social media grows stronger every year,” Cannon-Brown said. “The longer we’re in business, the more we understand the power of media to change the world.”
Book Excerpt from VideoTakes' CEO
Washington, DC, September 2010 – VideoTakes invites you to read this recent article in the Washington Post about VideoTakes' CEO Chris Palmer and his book, Shooting in the Wild. Palmer, who exposes the unnatural side of nature filmmaking, has produced more than 300 hours of environmental programming over the past three decades.
VideoTakes' DP on the Today Show
Washington, DC, September 2010 – Director of Photography Catherine Zimmerman, who is working with VideoTakes on a film about the U.S. Botanic Garden, was featured on the Today Show in a segment profiling people who are reinventing themselves after the age of 50. Zimmerman, an expert on meadow design, recently published her first book, Urban & Suburban Meadows, Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces. You can watch the Today Show video at the AARP Website.