You believe in being exceptional.
You’ve set high standards for your brand — your video storytelling should reflect them.
Sure, DIY video has its place ...
but not on your homepage or at your annual event.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
You get up each morning and go to work so you can make an impact, not just a paycheck.
In fact, if someone told you to do the bare minimum ... you’d rather not do it at all.
(We can relate.)
As a video marketing agency, we help brands & causes win their audience’s attention & dollar with visually stunning narrative video.
The purpose-driven clients we work with deserve to share their stories in powerful & effective ways.
Unfortunately, it’s all-too-easy to cut corners (and budgets) when everyone has a camera in their pocket. But, shoddy video cheapens the causes it represents. At the rate at which our society now consumes video content, we believe that if you don’t create videos the right way, about the right people, your audience will simply tune them out.
We tell stories of conscientious, hard-working brands
so they can capture the hearts of the people they serve.
We know you need a trusted partner to connect your organization with the customers, clients, and donors who will keep it alive—our video marketing services do just that.
A Trusted Partner in Your Cause
Storyteller Studios - Video Marketing Agency
Walker Dial
Production Assistant
Payton McCabe
Producer, Director
Eli Ommen
Cinematographer, Editor, VFX
Kevin Christensen
Producer, Director
Chris Costello
Producer, Director
Josh Hester
Founder, Executive Producer
Lydia Stuemke
Production Manager
Meet the Storyteller Studios Team
Part philosophy, part engineering, part psychology, part nerd.
JOSH HESTER
Founder, Executive Producer
In 2013, Josh started Storyteller Studios in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, to leverage the power of documentary-style storytelling for brands.
On paper, he’s a Regional Emmy®-winning video producer with 20+ years of experience creating compelling corporate films, television commercials, and online marketing videos for companies and causes. In person, he’s a history nerd, a thoughtful leader, and a big-time advocate of turning boring videos into cinematic storytelling opportunities.
He holds a BA in Film & Video Production from Columbia College Chicago, and an MA in Communication from the University of Illinois.
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LYDIA
STUEMKE
LYDIA STUEMKE
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Lydia first joined the Storyteller team in the fall of 2018 and today serves our clients as our detail-oriented & eagle-eyed Production Manager.
An accomplished filmmaker herself, she is here to coach our clients throughout the production process with ease. She has three dogs—Wuppy, Jack, and Potato—that she loves as much as her husband and three kids. Lydia doesn’t do coffee, but can’t survive the day without her iced chai from that one place with the green cups.
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KEVIN
CHRISTENSEN
KEVIN CHRISTENSEN
Producer, Director
Kevin is a Regional Emmy®-winning video producer from Fullerton, California, with over 15 years of experience in documentary filmmaking, travel and tourism projects, and corporate video.
Before joining Storyteller in 2020, Kevin created nature, history, and tourism films for the national parks. A true student of cinema, he draws daily inspiration from his favorite directors’ work—and, yes, he can actually pronounce all their names correctly. Raised in Papua New Guinea, Kevin might miss a few of your 90s pop culture references, but he’ll more than make up for it with stories from the other side of the world.
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CHRIS
COSTELLO
CHRIS COSTELLO
Producer, Director
Chris is a Regional Emmy®-winning video producer
(four-time nominee).
Chris has experience spanning corporate film, television commercials, online marketing videos, and independent projects (ask him about Rally). A skilled and patient mentor to his teammates, Chris brings a steady hand and years of insight to every project. He holds a BA in Visual Communication from the University of Illinois and has been with Storyteller since 2015.
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PAYTON McCABE
PAYTON McCABE
Producer, Director
Payton is a graduate of The Los Angeles Film School where she earned a BS in Digital Filmmaking
(with honors because
of course).
Payton joined Storyteller in 2019, and she’s since become our humble, ever-encouraging heart—also known as the “Mother of Dragons™” for her pet bearded dragon, Remi. Outside of work, she produces music and performance videos that are impressive in their own right. She calls herself the “personality hire,” but the truth is, if you're a “Payton Person,” you're our kind of people. And if you’re not? Well… get off our lawn.
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ELI OMMEN
ELI OMMEN
Cinematographer, Editor, Visual Effects
Eli joined Storyteller in June of 2022 as a graduate of Webster University in St. Louis where he earned a BA in Film, Television, and Video Production.
When Eli was eleven, he found his grandfather’s Canon AE-1 and started taking photographs. Ten years later, he made waves with his visual effects-heavy short film, Planet IX. (Oh, and he's also an Eagle Scout!)
Got a technical challenge? A carpentry puzzle? Really, anything? Put Eli on it—he’ll solve it and actually thank you for the challenge. We don’t know how he does it, but we’re glad he’s on our side.
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WALKER DIAL
WALKER DIAL
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Walker is a versatile talent with a vision
for concert photography and an Instagram worth the follow.
His experience behind the lens brings a creative edge to every project, capturing moments with authenticity and style. On any Storyteller set, he’s right where he’s needed—serving as key grip, 1st AC, audio recordist, and more. Far beyond the typical Production Assistant, Walker brings adaptability and focus, making him an essential part of every project and a trusted road trip companion. Also, if Midwest emo had a Ph.D. program, Walker would have earned it—with stripes on it.
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FROM OUR CLIENTS:
The imagery speaks for itself. We have received rave reviews internally and externally on the videos they produced.
"We were excited to find and work with Storyteller Studios, and we were thrilled with the final product.
From scheduling, to shooting, to working through edits, and receiving the final product, Storyteller Studios is very easy to work with and told the story beautifully."
Mike Orton
– Farm Credit Illinois
our clients...
01
… do what they do because they care about their work
02
… think broadly and deeply about their impact
03
… hire a video team because they recognize the value of storytelling within their organization
Our Services
Read through the different ways you can work with our video marketing agency, then reach out to get the conversation going.
Watch Our Work
Take a peek at some of our latest work in our video marketing portfolio.
