Incubator Spotlight: Mark Leisher Productions

By Max Edelstein, B-CC High School

Video gives us a perspective that other art forms can’t. They have a unique ability to induce emotion and relay a message — whether through the storyline, character development, or point of view. There are many different aspects of cinematography including shooting, editing, and animation, but these all come together in a single finished product for the purpose of telling a story.

Mark Leisher was a snowboarder and entrepreneur in San Diego, California when he decided he wanted to get into the video business in 2000. He sold his business, went to film school, and moved to Bethesda to pursue his dream of being an independent cinematographer. In 2010, he joined Bethesda Green’s incubator as a one man show, focusing on projects related to the environment and sustainability which fit with Bethesda Green’s ideals and mission.

Mark quickly became a valuable media guy for Bethesda Green, and he formed many connections with people from other incubator companies by helping them gain exposure through video work. Mark accredits a good portion of his success to Bethesda Green, saying they “believed in the fact that he could be part of the organization” (Leisher), and gave him a shot. Continuing to partner with Bethesda Green today, Mark considers them a great first home, and a big boost in the process of starting Mark Leisher Productions.

But even with support from Bethesda Green, it wasn’t easy to get the new business up and running. To attract his first customers, Mark gave good breaks on cost. By figuring out the right starting price, he was able to judge the market and raise his prices as he felt more confident in his ability to compete with other businesses. For Leisher, it wasn’t about making profit in the beginning; it was about building sincerity and exposure and making sure that his name, going out the door with every product, was associated with his integrity. Putting only “sweat equity” into the company — meaning he didn’t have to borrow anything, Mark has been able to stand by his motto: Work begets work. He believes strongly that “when you do a good job, people will find out” (Leisher), and so far he has turned out to be right.

Today, Mark Leisher Productions (MLP) is a huge success. With the mission of becoming an “innovative company that pairs great content creation with smart marketing strategies to make the creative process fun, engaging, and simple” (MLP Website), MLP has emerged as a reliable, adaptive, and exciting partner for clients who want to market their companies in a new way. By hiring freelancers with different skill sets, Mark is able to tailor the abilities of his company to a diverse range of clients, from those looking for sports media to live streaming and event coverage.

Now based in a modern and spacious studio in the heart of Bethesda, MLP emphasizes client involvement and simplicity as important aspects of its business model. After a video has been shot, the client is invited to come in to the studio and work one on one with the editor to make any final tweaks. That’s one of the reasons they have the space. “Being in the creative world, you want to be in a cool space,” says Leisher. “In the creative business people hire you because they want to have fun” (Leisher). Client interaction is essential to the process because Mark develops a relationship with the client, who has a meaningful say in the final product.

MLP is hired by companies in a wide variety of fields, with a large range of resources and capacities. Mark’s ability to adapt his company’s capabilities to each and every one of his clients is what makes MLP unique, allowing him to reach clients that a standard videography company wouldn’t be able to access. Video and post production, animation, photography, drones, and virtual reality are just some of the expansive array of services offered.

The process of creating a video can be complex, but there is a general formula that Mark follows when he starts working with someone new. First, the clients idea for their video, whether general or specific, needs to be implemented. This typically involves writing a script and brainstorming ideas for how the material can be presented in an interactive and creative way. Next is the shooting, and this is the area where Mark really excels. Camera work has always been his forte, and his tendency to think ahead allows him to invent creative angles and perspectives for camera shots. Mark attributes this to the fact that he is very peripheral, and has the ability to “blend [himself] in with the action so that [he’s] on point to capture the shot” (Leisher). Point of view cameras and flying drones are often utilized as well to keep things interesting.

In the end, the amount of film taken during a shoot is usually five times what appears in the final product. The last steps are collaboration and completion. Mark enjoys involving his clients as much as possible, getting to know them and figuring out their views and opinions. New production software allows Mark to communicate with his clients remotely and make changes on the fly, increasing client participation and teamwork between the two parties. On the marketing side, the most important thing in a video is it’s “call to action”, something the viewer can ultimately take away and learn from. Mark takes great pride in seeing his projects go through this cycle of conception, production and delivery.

One of the first companies to give MLP a guaranteed monthly job was Polar 3D. Based in Cincinnati, Polar 3D makes polar-coordinate based desktop 3D printers designed for the classroom, with a mission to introduce and expand 3D printing in education to inspire students to think like entrepreneurs. Beyond making animated videos to explain the steps of 3D printing in a way that beginners could understand, MLP helped Polar 3D develop their brand and get the word out. They took over Polar 3D’s social media accounts, developed their logo, and helped them prepare for their official launch at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which was a great success.

Calvert Investments, a sustainable investment company based in Washington, DC, is another example of a company for which  MLP was able to provide unique services. Mark hired freelancers to build major client presentations on a regular basis for Calvert, putting together powerpoints that were engaging and informative for viewers. Being a retainer project, it represented a good opportunity for MLP to get involved with guaranteed income.

Mark is able to market his company efficiently, and gain great exposure through clients with whom he has an existing relationship. A great example of this is the Oneness Family School,

a Montessori school in Chevy Chase that values students’ personal growth just as much as a rigorous curriculum. By doing a new video series for the school every year, Mark has built up a great reputation with Oneness, and in return helped him get projects with other local schools.

But for Mark, it’s not all about the profit. He is committed to giving back to the community, frequently attempting to raise awareness of environmental issues, and producing a free video for a nonprofit organization each year. In fact, completely aside from MLP, Mark has co-founded Media4Green, an original sustainability filmmaking business that creates environmentally focused content with the goal of generating social buzz and awareness in the community.

In the future, Mark envisions MLP gaining more exposure and more clients, but he also wants to focus on his personal career as a filmmaker and what makes him happy: storytelling. Staying based in the environmental niche in the cinematography industry, he can see himself “making independent documentaries, features, and shorts” , and doing a “documentary in Antarctica on sustainability” (Leisher). Whatever he does next, it will surely be as innovative and impactful as MLP has been, a trailblazing company in the video production and sustainability fields.

 

 

Sources

• Edelstein, Max, and Mark Leisher. “Interview with Mark Leisher.” 19 Mar. 2018.
• “Video Production and Marketing.” Mark Leisher Productions, Mark Leisher, markleisherproductions.com/.
• “Stories of Social Growth.” Media4Green, media4green.com/.
• “Mark Leisher Productions.” Vimeo, vimeo.com/markleisherproductions.
• “Mark Leisher Productions, LLC.” LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/company/mark-leisher-productions-peak-hd-llc/.
• Brown, Ryan. “Environmental Filmmaking – Interview with Mark Leisher.” media4green.Com, 22 Apr. 2016, media4green.com/2016/04/22/environmental-filmmaking-career-interview/.
• P., Susanna. “MLP Studio with Double Edit Suite.” Yelp.com, 5 May 2016, www.yelp.com/biz/mark-leisher-productions-bethesda.