On the Company Move to Seattle and the Name Change

Last year, 2022, was an amazing year for Dovetail Filmworks. From capturing the story of a distillery out in Dayton, Oregon, to getting artist bios for mural paintings in downtown Portland, to documenting the launch of the Broadway Rose Theatre in Tigard, this year was full of diverse productions with amazing people. We produced a multi-hour video series, an educational podcast with a university, a half-dozen live broadcasts and remote shoots, and, of course, many customer testimonials in multiple states. Integral to all of this was having the opportunity to work with organizations like the Tualatin Chamber of Commerce; they helped me connect with the community and get Dovetail’s name out there.

It has been an immensely rewarding journey to get to know the people behind these companies and to help them succeed through video content creation. I will be continuing this journey in Seattle, Washington with the creation of Sandpiper Media Group LLC, the next stage of Dovetail Filmworks LLC.

Why the move?

Toward the end of 2022, my partner accepted a job offer for a wonderful company located in Seattle. This decision did not come easily. Some of the thoughts we had were, “Do we stay in Portland and work remotely? Do we move up to Washington, start fresh, and be closer to family? What will happen to Dovetail with the move?” In the end, we chose Seattle because of its proximity to family. The decision also meant I had to restructure the company in Washington and shift it away from Oregon.

Why the name change?

‍Throughout the year, I had been thinking about potentially changing Dovetail’s name to just Dovetail or Dovetail Video to avoid associations with the film production industry. One of the frequent comments I received was that my company was a film production company, as in one that produces films for the motion picture industry. To be clear, Dovetail is corporate and has been corporate from the beginning.

The big move put pressure on not just this name change idea but also on a change in the company’s mission. What do I want Dovetail to be about? I had begun reading the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey at around the same time I was thinking about the name change, and it was Covey’s discussion on company mission statements that led me to decide that, yes, I want to align the company's name and its mission with my personal mission.

My own mission includes a dedication to positively impacting the environment. With that mission element in focus, I can leverage my experience running a video production company to create a new video production company dedicated to strengthening the growth of companies that positively impact the environment.

This is Sandpiper Media Group LLC DBA Sandpiper Video.

Sandpiper Video's Mission Statement:

1. To help companies that positively impact the environment grow and succeed in their endeavors through the creation of video content.
2. To serve to have clients for life.
3. To tell the most engaging, emotional, and life-renewing stories that we can. 
   

Part 1 contains the core mission. Part 2 speaks to the desire to offer the best possible customer service, a level of care toward clients that ensures they will be clients for the life of the business. And Part 3 gets into the video content itself. Sandpiper Video is about great video content; content that stirs emotion, encourages action, and can offer life-renewing, uplifting change to viewers.

If you’d like to be a part of this journey, reach out! I’m currently building a network of crew in the Washington area and contacting potential beta clients. 

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Happy New Year!

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All the best,

Evan

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