BATTERY JOURNAL PRODUCTIONS INC.
WHO WE ARE
We Are Masters of the Well Crafted Question + Skilled Documentarians
We are an independent non profit film and video production company specializing in documentaries about contemporary art and culture.
Battery Journal is dedicated to creating the highest quality documentaries for artists, galleries, museums, universities, collectors, curators and their audiences. Combining over 30 years of experience in the fields of art writing, art history pedagogy, imaging services, and videography, our team creates powerful video documentaries about the art world.
VIDEO DOCUMENTARY + MARKETING SERVICES
Brand Consulting, Marketing Consulting, Public Relations, Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Content Strategy, Brand Marketing, Writing, Copywriting
Public engagement, visual culture, architecture, design, art,
Battery Journal Productions offers comprehensive video documentary services for artists, galleries and institutions. Experts at storytelling, our team is focused on understanding your goals and objectives and telling your story in the most compelling, comprehensive way. We incorporate state of the art technology and media, including virtual tours, time-lapse videos, image capture, animations, and custom soundtracks designed to help clients create powerful, emotional engagements with today's sophisticated global audiences.
OUR PHILOSOPHY + MISSION
Battery Journal and Tom Powel are innovators in the fields of image services, content creation, and documentary filmmaking. Battery Journal’s mission is to inspire and educate audiences around the world with thought-provoking videos about contemporary art and culture. We offer video and photography coverage for exhibitions, opening nights, studio visits, artist documentaries about their work, and dialogues with artists, curators, collectors and critics. Battery Journal Productions is the go-to place to learn first-hand from some of the most important thinkers and cultural producers of our time. A nonprofit organization, dedicated to promoting a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.
Battery Journal provides unparalleled access to the arts and the artist’s voice, using the power of digital media to introduce millions of people to contemporary art. For over three decades Battery Journal and Tom Powel Imaging have been changing the paradigm for art documentation and art education, with innovative in depth approaches to documenting and presenting the creative process. Battery Journal produces educational resources and professional development programs; annual public programming; an online publication featuring guest contributors; and a comprehensive website and educational archive at Batteryjournal.org
Video Packages + Pricing for High impact Promotional Materials
Our pricing is based on time and complexity. Additions such as graphics, animations, music, and multiple location shoots are additional.
We offer Silver, Gold, Platinum + Custom A La Carte Packages
SILVER
15 MIN VIDEO
Video doc.
Shoot
Post production
Editing
Sound
Graphics
Stills
Trailer
Sound bites
$2500-3000
GOLD
20 MIN
Video doc.
Post production
Editing
Sound
Graphics
Stills
Trailer
Sound bites
$3500-4000
PLATINUM
30-60 MIN
Video doc.
Post production
Editing
Sound
Graphics
Stills
Trailer
Sound bites
$5,000-10,000
60-120 MINUTES Feature length film
Video doc.
Post production
Editing
Sound
Graphics
Stills
Trailer
Sound bites
$15,000 - 35,000 +
Preproduction work includes
Production schedule
Research
Shot list
Script questions for dialogue
Visit location scout
Video sketch
Conversations in advance of shoots
Shoot days
Post production includes
Paper edit
Original score
Editing rough, final, and fine edits
Fine, final edit of documentary
Teasers for social media
Promotional graphics
Directors Cut
WHAT DOES THE PROCESS INCLUDE?
Meeting to discuss objectives
Brainstorming and storyboarding
Creative directions
Production management
Scheduling
Locations and logistics
Research and script
Understanding our client's needs
Filming/videography
Musical score development
Media enrichments (animations, virtual reality)
Shot list, script, directing writing, and questions,
Studio visits
Artist quotes
Description of the art
Conceptual and formal analysis of art
Editing
Promotional Materials
TYPES OF WORK WE DO
Trailers/Short Videos
Trailers to help you meet key communication needs: Event Teasers, VIP Invites, Announcements, Press Releases.
Exhibition Videos
Documenting the exhibition
Conversations with artists and curators
Public engagement and outreach
Education
Entertainment
Opening Night
Special Events coverage for fundraisers, donor dinners, galas
Mini and Feature length Documentaries, Interviews, Dialogues, Video Walkthroughs
Introducing artists to audiences and collectors
In the artist's words
Documents of shows video walkthroughs and VR tours
Interviews with artists
Artists dialogues
Curators dialogues
Patrons living with the work
Public reception
Public outreach and education
Anna Ehrsam Producer, Director, Founder Battery Journal Productions
Ehrsam graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a Bachelors in fine art and from Yale University with a Masters degree in fine art. At Yale she studied art history, art theory and sculpture as well as filmmaking and videography with the documentarian Carol Scully, protégé of filmmaker Ken Burns. At the School of Visual Arts, she worked with artist Matthew Barney on his films, and produced and directed her own performance art videos. As a New York based interdisciplinary artist, writer, patented inventor, art historian and documentary filmmaker, she uses documentary to expand her art historical scholarship and her own art. Ehrsam produces and directs the documentary series Art World; a series of interviews, conversations, studio visits and gallery visits with contemporary artists, curators, critics and gallerists. She is also the host and moderator of the Battery Journal Salon Series which features conversations with artists, scholars and cultural producers. Ehrsam is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Battery Journal, a new publication that features writing about art and culture, and she is a featured guest and moderator for the International Sculpture Center. As a documentary filmmaker, she has been producing and directing videos for over two decades and studying with accomplished artists and filmmakers. She creates intimate portraits of contemporary artists through dialogues, images, and documentaries. The interdisciplinary nature of her work as an academic and artist allows for an expansive vision and an in depth exploration of art and culture. In addition, Anna holds a number of scientific and robotic patents related to technology and environmental sustainability. She is passionate about making and implementing technologies to help humanity live in a more sustainable and harmonious way. Her feature length films include; Manfred Mohr; Cubic Limit, Michael Zansky; ZONE, Katherine Bradford; Friends and Lovers, Rodney Dickson; Studio Dialogues, Michael Rees; The Grounds for Sculpture Site and Para-Site
Tom Powel Executive Director
MENTORED BY HIS FATHER who was an inventor, an engineer, and an ardent collector of cameras and luxury vintage cars, Tom had the opportunity to cultivate his skills, indulge his creativity, and embrace the value of new technology from a young age. From the moment his father gave him his first Leica, Tom was hooked on the craft. After receiving his BFA in photography, painting and economics, Tom went on to study at the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. In 1986, spotting an opportunity to utilize his unique mix of talents, Tom founded his own company with the aim of raising the craft of photographing fine art to a new level of quality, making it his central mission to create images as accurate, beautiful and true to the essence of the artwork itself. For 35 years, Tom's proprietary techniques of craft, stringent quality control practices and embracing of state-of-the-art technology have ensured that the images he delivers set the standard in quality.
Ryan DaWalt Videographer, Editor, Content Development
DaWalt produces interactive web-based video content and curriculum designed and developed for the New York City Board of Education, and has created an ongoing series of interactive art education videos. He has taught his art and technology curriculum to all ages. He is building an education network as a humanitarian initiative to provide art education, funding, and content to economically challenged communities. Through this initiative he is providing ongoing educational resources in the form of web-based lesson plans, a patent-pending curriculum, and outreach. An innovator in the field of web-based art, educational and interactive content for students of all ages and needs, Ryan DaWalt is a lifelong educator who has been teaching for over 20 years. DaWalt works with all ages and the other abled. DaWalt creates video documents for artists, galleries, and curators and provides editing and videography services for Battery Journal Productions INC.
Jack Engdall
Videographer, Sound Producer, Editor for Battery Journal - Battery Journal Productions INC. and Humanimal INC. Engdall is an award-winning visual artist; musician, writer, director, actor, and producer based in New York City and New Jersey. As a multimedia artist, Engdall works in an interdisciplinary way across multiple platforms combining sound, music, performance, film, video, and graphic design. His creative output includes albums, films, film scores, performances and events. Engdall learned the craft of video production running a public-broadcast television channel for several years. He honed his skills as an editor and cameraperson by recording and editing segments, hosting events, planning programs, and sound productions. His work has been acclaimed and included in film festivals. Currently he is developing a surrealist talk show, recording albums and working on documentary films.
Megan Schmidt
Photographer for Battery Journal Productions INC. Meg Schmidt, affectionately known as Cupcake Meg, first used baked goods as an avenue to fund humanitarian work she began overseas between 2009 and 2012 while attending Hampton University. Countless hours spent in the kitchen mixing original recipes cultivated a relationship with food beyond the stand mixer and oven. In an effort to independently market her product, an organic connection to the visual aspect of baking gave life to Meg's self-taught talent of photography.
These days, Meg shoots everything from portraits, to food and products. She’s greatly inspired by her city, her peers, natural landscapes, and the authenticity and stories of every day people. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York where she is studying fine-arts, freelancing and raising her son Max.