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Our Story
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At the heart of Oswego Creative, there are many different talents, perspectives, and interests. This allows us to wear many hats and bring a unique, expert mindset to the world of video production, marketing, and advertising. In addition to their skills, all of these people have helped to write the Oswego Creative story. A story that begins all the way back in 1978...
1978
Bob Mizke and Bert Gurule meet at Channel 7 news.
Bob meets Bert. Bert meets Bob. Long story short, the two get married. After working as an anchor, reporter, producer, and writer at Channel 7 News, they quit their jobs and decide to venture into the advertising/video production world.
Bob and Bert decide to follow their dream of starting a business.
1987
From 1981 to 1987, Bob was a vice president for a large, national ad agency (they were in over 100 markets around the country). Not only did Bob provide clients with innovative, creative solutions, he also learned about advertising and how to run a business. He calls this time his Ph.D. course in business.
1989
Oswego Creative is officially born.
Oswego Creative survives the early years.
Oswego Creative started without any start-up money or investors. The dynamic husband and wife duo knew that a company wouldn’t grow into something huge overnight; it had to happen organically. Their goal was to start with one client and do the best they could for them.
That grew into two clients, and three, four, etc. They grew by word of mouth and by doing good work, not with a sales department. They took care of people, did a good job, and outperformed expectations. Budgets were tight. Date night meant trips down the taco bar line and making one beer last as long as possible during happy hour.
In addition to raising three daughters, Bob and Bert now had a brand new start-up to run. Just sayin’, Oswego Creative was a start-up before start-ups were a thing.
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One of their major goals when starting Oswego Creative was to have the freedom to take care of their family and extend that freedom to their employees. Bob and Bert sought people who cared about their company, and, well, after that the rest took care of itself.
1994
2006
First major hires are made.
In the beginning, Oswego Creative was just Bob, Bert, and their vision. They worked with some of the finest freelance talent in the industry but purposefully kept the operation lean to allow the business to get off the ground. It was important to them that Oswego Creative be a boutique agency where everyone was important.
With the addition of several large national accounts, Bob and Bert realized that the operation needed additional full-time resources in order to continue to deliver for their clients.
Dominic Giarratano is hired as Oswego's first Producer.
One of the challenges facing Oswego Creative at this time was that there was more work than Bob could produce on his own. In order to meet the demands of Oswego Creative's growing client base, Oswego needed a team of talented producers that could produce at the level of excellence that Bob had established.
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Dominic was the first member of this talented stable of producers. In addition to his producing duties, Dom also provided Oswego Creative with a dynamic, professional, on-screen and voiceover talent. Oswego quickly leveraged Dom's on-screen abilities; he became the on-screen "face" of several Oswego clients.
Oswego Creative expands its business and creative teams.
2008
With the business continuing to grow, Oswego Creative moved into offices located right above The Capital Grill in historic downtown Golden, Colorado. This location not only placed Oswego right in the middle of the action, but it also provided Oswego with its first fully dedicated green screen studio and edit suite. Both provided the company with new and innovative ways to support their clients' ever-growing needs.
Michael Stephan joins Oswego as an editor as the Edit Department is born.
When most people think about video production they naturally gravitate to the camera side. What is often overlooked is what happens once the camera stops filming. Post-production and editing are equally important in the developing of high-quality video executions.
As clients' needs and expectations grew, having Oswego continue to use freelance editors wasn't feasible any longer. We needed editors that were dedicated to Oswego projects. Although Mike was initially brought in as a freelancer, Bob and Bert quickly realized the talent Mike possessed and hired him as a core member of the editing team. As Oswego has continued to grow, so has Mike. In addition to being the senior editor at Oswego Creative, Mike is now head of the department as Director of Post-Production.
2009
Oswego's back of the house is strengthened with two new hires.
On the surface, the business of video production can seem quite glamorous. The lights, the cameras, the action, many see what we do at Oswego Creative as being just like Hollywood. But just as they called it "The Movie Business," Oswego Creative isn't just creative, there is a team that makes sure the business of running a business gets done. As Oswego grew, so did the need to build the team to make sure the business of the company continued to run smoothly.
Anna Giron joins Oswego to help organize and run the business.
They say the devil is in the details. If that is the case then Anna joined Oswego to be our devil. With an ever-growing client base and more and more complex projects, there was a need for help with all of the back of the house functions.
Anna brought to Oswego years of experience as an office manager and now supports Bert with everything from accounts receivable, accounts payable, human resources, legal matters and anything else that is needed for the day-to-day operations of the office.
A family member joins the Oswego family to make sure we all get to where we need to go.
A number of Oswego's clients are based outside of Colorado which means that most of the Oswego teams spends as much time out of the office as they do in it. These trips often require traveling to out of the way destinations with convoluted travel plans. With more and more trips to plan, Oswego required someone that could focus on making sure we got to the right place at the right time. Oswego didn't have to look very far to fill this need. Bob and Bert's daughter and wife of Dominic, Kathryn Giarratano joined Oswego as travel manager to oversee all aspects of travel associated with client projects.
Oswego Creative's newest home is a home they own.
2013
In 2013 Oswego Creative moved to 1000 10th St. in Golden, a location that was built specifically to Oswego's unique business needs. After numerous fits and starts, the building was finally completed and the Oswego Creative team moved into its new home. This location featured an expanded edit suite, project viewing area, and fully equipped green screen studio.
2015
As Oswego Creative's business evolved so did the Oswego team.
There have been tremendous technological advances over the past few years and Oswego Creative has responded to these changes by adding new talent and capabilities that allow us to better serve our clients by providing them innovative solutions.
Production and Post-Production both get a boost with the addition of Josh Steichen.
At Oswego, we all wear multiple hats. But it is rare to add a person that is talented in two areas that dramatically support the creative process. Josh originally joined the Oswego team as an editor and on most days this is what you can find him doing. In addition to greatly enhancing the post-production product, Josh is equally talented behind the camera. Josh is the definition of a dual threat and a key cog in all aspects of the production process.
Technology changes drive the creation of a whole new function at Oswego Creative.
For most of Oswego's history the primary focus has been video, and for most of that history TV and videotapes were really the only way that people could consume video content. That all changed with the advent of the Internet and the rise of digital marketing. Now video content is being consumed everywhere and at any time. Oswego was at the forefront of these changes with the development of some of the first video driven websites. These constant technology changes have required that Oswego stay on the cutting edge, branch out, and add a dedicated digital marketing functions.
Laura Walsh joined Oswego Creative to provide not only Oswego and its clients with a dedicated resource that understands the ins and outs of SEO, social media management, online advertising, blogging, SEM, and website management. She has become the driving force behind Oswego's growing a digital footprint and the creation of the Digital Marketing team.
Oswego Creative gets a new home, adds talent behind the camera and adds a leader from within.
2017
In 2017, Bob and Bert came to the realization that Oswego's business had changed and the location no longer fit the company needs like it did back in 2013. As much as the location on 10th Street represented the culmination of a professional goal, the need for a studio was in decline, and Oswego needed a space that was designed to facilitate and inspire creativity. In May of 2017, the latest chapter of the Oswego story was written with the move to the 405 Urban St. location.
Adam Ducharme brings years of experience and a talented eye behind the camera.
Oswego Creative, at its core, has been and will continue to be a visually driven company. Our work is almost exclusively judged by the eye. That means in order to provide our clients with the best video executions we need to have one of the best behind the camera. Oswego Creative found a person like that with the hiring of Adam.
As Director of Photography for Oswego Creative, Adam is in charge of all of the principle photography that Oswego Creative produces. He comes from a background in the film industry and has shot documentary, travel, narrative, and industrial content. He now brings his considerable talents to the Oswego family.
The Oswego Creative Digital Marketing Team grows.
Mallory Radney, who started as a digital marketing intern and quickly became an integral part of the Oswego family, is hired full time as the Digital Marketing Coordinator.
Dominic Giarratano is named Executive Producer to lead production today and into tomorrow.
Over the past 30 years, Bob and Bert have seen a lot of changes in the industry and with Oswego Creative. One thing that hasn't changed is at the end of the day, Oswego Creative is just trying to build trust with its clients and provide them with the best possible finished product. To continue to fulfill that mission now and in the future, Bob and Bert promoted Dominic Giarratano to the role of Executive Producer.
Since he joined the Oswego team in 2006, Dom has been a driving force in the evolution and growth of not only production but in the advancement of the business. As the visionary behind the development of Private Club Films, Oswego Creative's division focused on the private club and resort business, Dom has directed the business and product in exciting new directions.
As Executive Producer, Dom will continue to drive the organization forward while still supporting the needs of our clients, but now he will also be responsible for pushing the internal production process and resources making sure that Oswego Creative continues to provide the absolute best for its clients.
Oswego Creative adds two new producers and a videographer.
2018
We are extremely proud of the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the people that make up the team at Oswego Creative. With a growing roster of clients and projects, Oswego Creative started 2018 by adding two extremely talented producers and a videographer/editor to our lineup.
Mark Verver started his production career in Austin, TX. Mark began his career as a handheld camera operator and technical director for a local sports arena. After four years in live sports, he joined an Austin based agency focusing on the production of digital, commercial, and social media video content for a wide range of clients. After 6 years of learning and growing as a producer, he ventured out to start his own production company. Mark brings to Oswego Creative not only his experience not only as a Producer but also his experience as an Account Manager.
With video as our most important creative asset, the addition of Austin Day as videographer and editor was welcome. Originally from Ohio, Austin took his talents west to work as a cinematographer and editor in several mountains towns before moving to the front range to join our team.
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