In this installment of “Behind the Lens”, Flylords was able to sit down with the mind’s behind Live the Stream: The Story of Joe Humphreys, Nomadic Studio.
Flylords: Who is Nomadic Studio? What are you known for and how did the studio begin?
Nomadic: Nomadic Studio is a Washington DC-based, design-driven production company and design agency specializing in motion design, live-action and branded content for film, television, social media, and marketing across all platforms. It was founded and operates under Creative Directors Lucas Bell and Paul Cantor and Executive Producer, Meigan Bell. Their clients and projects include Amazon, House of Marley, NFL, ESPN, Discovery Networks, National Geographic and many more.
Nomadic Studio was founded in 2010 after Lucas and Paul spent years working for agencies like Imaginary Forces, The Mill, and Superfad in NYC, LA and Seattle. As a writer, producer, EP and editor for a variety of television series on almost every major network, Meigan brings a strong story element to the team’s impeccable designs. Today, Nomadic studio is known for creating engaging and innovative content, designs and live-action for advertising campaigns, brands and films.
Flylords: Is there a certain kind of media Nomadic specializes in?
Nomadic: We specialize in outdoor content – including our most recent production the feature documentary, Live The Stream: The Story of Joe Humphreys, which won several awards including 2019 Film of the Year and Best Story at the Drake Magazine Awards at IFTD 2019, Best Adventure Film and an Audience Award at the 2018 Breckenridge Film Festival, Best Documentary and Audience Choice Awards at Reading Film Festival and is now available to buy on iTunes and livethestreamfilm.com.
Flylords: How does Live The Stream stand apart from your other work?
Nomadic: Live The Stream is Nomadic Studio’s first independent film production. It’s also the directorial debut for Lucas and Meigan Bell. We had complete creative control over every aspect of the film and it utilized our combined set of talents from Lucas’ designs and cinematography to Meigan’s writing, producing and editing. It was the most footage we have ever had to consider in edit with close to 25 TB of footage after initial production.
Flylords: What was the inspiration for Live The Stream? How did you come up with the idea for the documentary?
Nomadic: As outdoor enthusiasts who love watching documentaries, we were inspired by films like 180 Degrees South, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and View From A Blue Moon. After a fly fishing trip in New Zealand, Lucas and Meigan decided to search for a documentary subject that would expose the power of living a life outside while also advocating for greater conservation efforts.
Lucas met Joe Humphreys while at Penn State University in 2002 and thought Joe’s life story would connect with an eager outdoor audience. Lucas and Meigan pitched the idea of a documentary to Joe and he agreed. After Meigan met Joe, they knew his life story checked all of the boxes and soon they were shooting their first feature film. We began filming in May 2015 when Joe was 86 years old. He is now 91 and going strong!
Flylords: How big was your crew? How many people were part of the production and how long did it take to complete?
Nomadic: Our crew was a lean, multi-resourceful, extremely talented team. The core team consisted of Lucas, Meigan, and Alexander Gasowski (Producer) but we also were fortunate to have the help of cinematographers, Colleen Laffey and Chris Sellers, as well, for a few weeks of production. The core team wore multiple hats and had many roles in all aspects from pre-production, film production, post production, distribution, film screenings, marketing, running social channels, PR outreach, film tour, global release marketing and ad campaign. We initially thought we’d follow Joe Humphreys for six months and the production turned into 3.5 years. It was our job to accurately tell Joe’s life story so we had to extend production to cover important events that would eventually edit into the perfect description of Joe. Our combined industry experience and passion to share Joe’s life story was the driving force in bringing Live The Stream to audiences. It was a huge undertaking but extremely rewarding.
Flylords: What were your goals for the film? Did you hit your goals?
Nomadic: Our goal was to tell an engaging and inspiring story, that wasn’t just a fly fishing film. We wanted to create an inspiring character driven story that inspired fly fishers and non-flyfishers alike. When we hear things like: “I went to see this film with my boyfriend and with little interest in fly fishing, was totally blown away by it!” – that’s when we know we succeeded.
We believe stories like Joe Humphreys’ emphasize the power of being outdoors and the need for environmental awareness are especially important in today’s climate to reach a global audience and we were able to get it out to so many people thanks to digital and streaming platforms and social media. We still hope that a streaming company such as Netflix will allow us to reach an even bigger audience.
Flylords: What are Nomadic’s new goals or upcoming projects? When/where can we see more of your work?
Nomadic: After Live The Stream had a successful festival and screening tour we were acquired by Gravitas Ventures. Getting distribution as independent filmmakers is huge and we were thrilled. Live The Stream was released on November 5th worldwide across platforms like iTunes, Amazon,and so many more. The feedback has been amazing and at one point Live The Stream was trending in the Top Docs and Top Sports movies on iTunes and Amazon.
Since the film’s release, Nomadic Studio has been busy on many client-based projects and has been considering several documentary pitches that could be the next perfect fit for our team. We live for the outdoors and would love to continue making outdoor content but we’re really looking for the next inspiring story to tell and welcome all ideas.
We would love to work with other outdoor brands and companies from a content-creation and brand-building standpoint. We love to work on projects and campaigns that utilize all of our talents – from design to live-action to audience building and social strategy.
Flylords: How would someone contact you guys to collaborate on a project?
Nomadic: You can check out our work at www.thenomadic.com or email us at hello@thenomadic.com. We are always happy to connect and collaborate on new projects.
Make sure to go check out Nomadic studios at their website or their social media, and also make sure to go watch Live the Stream, now available on iTunes, Amazon , and DVD and Blue Ray!
Photos courtesy of Nomadic Studio and BlackMountain Cinema
Live the Stream: the Story of Humphreys, Wins Best Movie at the 2019 Drake Flyfishing Video Awards
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://flylordsmag.com/behind-the-lens-nomadic-studio/&media=https://flylordsmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/multi-shot.jpeg&description=In this installment of "Behind the Lens", Flylords was able to sit down with the mind's behind Live the Stream: The Story of Joe Humphreys, Nomadic Studio. ){kind=link}