Based in Tulsa, Okla., Signal Factory is a brand & creative studio blending high end art, design and technology for wildly ambitious brands, agencies and in-house teams. They specialize in the fields of design, 3D, animation and moving imagery.
Can you tell us how and why you started your business?
We started Signal Factory in 2010 amid a season of change in the industry and in our own careers. We launched it on our own with a healthy collection of loyal clients and friends supporting us with a goal of focusing on high quality output and delivery. Fifteen years later, we’ve been honored to work with some of the biggest brands in the nation and continue to do so from right here in Tulsa.
What services do you provide within the film/music industry?
We provide full production support on the live action side from cinematography to producing and crewing. We also are a full post house offering edit, color, animation and vfx capabilities. On the advertising side, we provide full campaign and marketing support.
How has your company grown to meet the needs of Oklahoma’s film and/or music industries over the last 3-5 years?
We’ve grown our in-house team to 18 full-time employees, as well as teamed up with many Oklahoma companies. We keep dollars in state and flowing to Oklahoma talent and crews.
What are the benefits of basing your company’s operations in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma has a unique position of having national capabilities in a central location, but with a much lower cost of living and operating. It’s a win-win for businesses operating at a high level for nationwide clientele.
What would you consider your business’s greatest accomplishment to date?
Continued growth of our work and building a fantastic team of fun, amazingly talented people. We’ve always maintained profitability and healthy debt-free growth every year we’ve been in business, save Covid. Also, getting to work on Nike was a nice life goal as well for us creative types.
Are there any recent successes your company would like to highlight related to work within the Oklahoma film and music industries?
We recently teamed up on a fun Amazon x Nike project, as well as a national campaign for Hitachi. Also recent was a national product launch video for Easton (the baseball bat company).
What are you working on now/next?
We always maintain a steady log of work with our consistent agency and brand clients that we act as Agency of Record for. Lots of campaigns, commercial work, brand films and pitches are also in pre-production or production right now. We’re also dipping our toes in the water on the narrative feature side of things in collaboration with Danny Boy O’Connor (House of Pain / Outsiders House Museum).
What is your goal/vision for the future of your company?
To maintain a healthy team that loves what we get to do together every day: to team up and collaborate with great clients that love what we get to build together. As well as continue to grow the company so everyone benefits from its growth and future.
What advice do you have for others who are considering starting a film or music business in Oklahoma?
Learn and perfect the craft. Having skills without practical application in the form of experience is just theory. You need time in the trenches to fully develop your own style, techniques and gain crucial knowledge from others that have come before you. Also, be a good person. The world doesn’t need more egos.
What opportunities do you believe await Oklahoma’s film industry in the future?
Oklahoma is primed to become a strong primary destination for the industry. The natural talent base here is a hidden gem that is only just now beginning to be uncovered. Oklahoma truly can compete on a quality and creative level with anyone in the U.S., and as more of our story leaks out, more will come.
Each featured individual or business is given the provided questions to answer in their own voice. Other than formatting and grammar, the answers are personal to each featured voice, and are not provided by the Oklahoma Film + Music Office.
