WILLOW FILM COMPANY
MOVING PICTURES TO MOVE PEOPLE
We are a video production Company on a mission to tell meaningful stories and make a difference in the world.
What we do
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Creative Video Direction
Creative ideas are the backbone of a project. We are creatives at heart and bring our experience and expertise to develop the best scripts and tell the best stories right off the bat.
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Live video production
We take care of everything from securing the best locations, scheduling talent, and gathering crew and equipment, we have you covered. We then take all that we captured and edit together the story that moves each viewer.
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Crew and equipment
Don’t need full-service production? We also provide crew and equipment for your shoot to ensure it’s a success.
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Post production
The story always comes together in post making it one of the most important stages of the filmmaking journey. We provide post services including editing, graphic animation, sound design and color grading for all types of productions.
FEATURED WORK
magellan “one-in-a-million”
from passion to pro fishing
Cam and Will are friends who have an overpowering passion for fishing. They have competed in circuits around Texas and outside the state. It’s not an easy journey, but going pro in fishing is a one-in-a-million opportunity. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and takes discipline and resilience. In their success, Cam and Will are aiming at pro fishing and have it in their sights. So what is it going to take for them to go pro? That’s what I sought to capture in this mini-doc.
uzin utz “what’s in a bag”
Uzin Utz has a legacy of developing flooring compounds and cements for over 100 years that have been used in commercial and residential building projects all around the world. We were tasked to produce a “brand anthem” film alongside His Grace Productions to tell the story of all that goes into a bag of leveling cement and what that means for each contractor that partners with them at each job site. Find out what it means to rely on a bag of Uzin Utz self-leveling cement.
Returning - Mission Waco Brand Film
We partnered with Mission Waco to tell the story of Christian, a man who found himself homeless after a destructive addiction to drugs, and the events that led to his recovery journey. Join Christian as he takes the crew to the different parts of Mission Waco that changed his life.
the boy in the fire (short film)
In Ggaba, Uganda, a young boy recalls his memory of a traumatic experience after which he received help from a local medical clinic. Based on a true story.
Africa Renewal Ministries is a non-profit in Ggaba, Uganda that works to plant churches, train leaders, connect children with sponsors, and develop transformational leaders in Uganda and throughout the world. One of the ways they further their vision is through medical care. Wentz Medical Center is a micro-hospital and treats 50-90 patients a day. With the need for healthcare surpassing the facility capacity, it is time for Wentz Medical Center to build a new facility capable of treating the patients needing care.
We partnered with ARM to write, shoot, and edit this short film designed to inspire others to partner with Wentz Medical Center and build their new facility.
keen - research & the entrepreneurial mindset
We partnered with the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network in Wisconsin to produce educational and entertaining videos for undergraduate students exploring various topics and opportunities in the vast world of higher education research. KEEN is a partnership of more than 55 colleges and universities across the United States. The schools in the Network focus on one mission: To reach all undergraduate engineering students with an entrepreneurial mindset (EM) so they can create personal, economic, and societal value through a lifetime of meaningful work.
Our goal with these videos was to target undergraduate-aged students and introduce them to the world of research in a fun, comedic, and engaging way.
Production Agency - Willow Film Company
Written and Directed by Mark Retzloff
Produced by Hayley Wateska
Produced by Will Aker
Starring Dakota Harp, Charlie Buck,
original documentary short ‘a syrup tradition’
We produced this short documentary telling the story about a dying practice; cooking sugar cane syrup. The syrup, made in Grant, Louisiana by Grant Christmas Tree Farm, has been a practice passed down from generation to generation. Watch the story of how sugar cane syrup is made. Filmed by Will Aker. Starring Gray Anderson from Grant Christmas Tree Farm, Grant, Louisiana.
rusty’s story
During an uneventful weekend, Rusty’s life took a dramatic turn as he faced a sudden health crisis. Rushed to the ER, he was swiftly diagnosed with a condition requiring a pacemaker. The expert team at Ascension Providence performed the critical procedure with remarkable speed.
Miraculously, Rusty was back on his feet and returned to work within an astonishing 48 hours, all thanks to the rapid response and exceptional care provided by the medical professionals. This inspiring story of quick recovery and advanced medical intervention is a testament to the power of prompt, quality healthcare. Listen to Rusty as he talks about his experience.
beuerlein angus ranch
Trevor is an Angus rancher, a husband and father, and a dedicated community member. Trevor is passionate about business, taking care of cattle, and having influence in his community. With the challenges that have come from increasing prices for ranchers and farmers, Trevor has been struggling to maintain his ranch while at the same time devoting time and money to his community. Watch and see how Trevor navigates the current challenges and still chooses to give back even when it’s hard.
anti-human trafficking PSA.
Unbound is an organization that works to end human trafficking in the local community and around the world. We partnered with them to produce this campaign of PSAs designed to reach over a million people.
A tribute to survivors
We partnered with UnboundNow, an anti-trafficking organization, to create an artistic dance piece that demonstrated the struggle that survivors face when they find freedom from their circumstances. UnboundNow is a global organization that not only works to free victims from the evils of trafficking but also works with the survivors on their path toward full healing. This piece was created for a fundraising event but shared with the world.
Dancer: Hannah Requa IG:@hannahrequa
Produced and Directed by Will Aker
Produced by Willow Film Company
Produced by Sadie Morelli
Starring Bella Ramos, Miguel Limones, Jake McGhee
They call me “B” - Bernard Rapoport Legacy video
Bernard Rapoport is a man who was a wave-maker in business and in philanthropy. This video was produced to honor his legacy in the Waco, TX community and beyond.
Flower’s Story
Flower was a vulnerable child in the countryside of Uganda. Growing up in a difficult child home with limited resources and education, she didn’t have much hope for her future. Then she got a sponsor. Watch Flower’s story as she journeys through her story being transformed into a Christ-like leader through the opportunities that came from Africa Renewal Ministries.
mary’s story - interwell health
Interwell Health is a company that believes in kidney health intervention well before kidney failure, when there is still opportunity to improve quality of life and health outcomes while keeping costs in check. We had the incredible opportunity to capture the story of a patient, Mary, who’s kidney disease outcome was drastically improved with the help that Interwell provided. Watch and hear Mary’s story for yourself.
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE hillcrest Women’s & childrens
We partnered with Baylor Scott & White to produce a social media advertisement for their state of the art services and facility at Hillcrest Medical Center in Waco, TX.
Want to see more of our work?
What our customers say
“I've worked with Will on numerous projects at this point and he's over delivered on every project. He's organized, versatile, a great communicator and most importantly has an incredible artistic eye. I'm always thrilled to work with him on projects because he makes it such a smooth process - with excellent results too. Could not recommend a better person for the job!”
— KD Freeman (Marketing Agency)
“We've used Willow Film Co for several videos for our organization and will definitely use them in the future! Will is great to work with, helps walk you through the process, and is extremely creative and skilled.
He created our global video sharing the impact of Unbound's anti-human trafficking work around the world. It's amazing how powerful a video can be to share both passion and information. The video has a prominent place on our website, and we've proudly shared it with all of our supporters, knowing that each person who views it will become more educated on human trafficking and inspired to take part in the fight!”
— Natalie M. (non-profit)
“My organization filmed a total of five videos with Will and he is fantastic to work with. His product is super high-quality and very thoughtful. Will is responsive and easy to work with and has always delivered more than I expected.”
— Natalie R. (non-profit)
“Our creative and events team enjoyed partnering with Will on many projects in 2019, 2020, and now in 2021. He is organized, timely, thoughtful and helps you as a customer to think BIG picture and also about the small details. He was super kind with many last minute changes. Thank you Will and team for a great end product and great experience!”
— Mandy A. (education)
“We’ve done 2 promo videos and 1 webpage video with Will. From understanding our vision, planning the shot list, capturing the video, arranging for narration, editing, and then polishing the final product, Will was creative, professional, timely, efficient, and extremely responsive to feedback. Our final products exceeded our (high) expectations. His group is an absolute pleasure to work with and will get all our repeat business!”
— Mike H. (business)
“It was incredible working with Willow Film CO. He was great at executing our vision for the video we wanted. He was so creative and knowledgeable about how to execute our ideas. Super flexible and really fun to work with. Highly recommend.”
— Paul S. (non-profit)
Need a crew for your production?
If you have your production ready to go but just need the crew and equipment to make it happen, we can take care of you. We have an arsenal of RED cameras, lights, grip and electric equipment as well as contact information for gaffers, grips, sound, camera assistants, PAs, etc. Don’t hesitate to reach out.