If there’s one thing our founder, Max Bentley is an expert on - other than storytelling, of course - it’s balance.
After emerging as an entrepreneur to create Bentley Media while also a full-time student pursuing a bachelor’s degree, he has since grown the business to its modern level of success, shifting that balance to exist between creativity and logic, expression and pragmatism.
"After 4 years in the production business, my biggest lesson has been that great filmmaking involves the ongoing reconciliation of good art and good business,” he says. “Our new yin-yang logo reflects this balance.... There's a little bit of art in the business, and there's a little bit of business in the art."
This approach appears to have paid off. In the past four years alone, Bentley Media has seen an increase in sales of 6,700%, and is on track to see even more in the coming year. Plus, we were recently named as finalists for both the 2018 and 2019 Forsyth County Business of the Year Award.
One recent example in which this balance was crucial was during the production of a promotional film for Quantum National Bank, a locally-based bank with branches in Suwanee, Milton, and Buckhead.
Throughout production, circumstances relating to both the financials of the film and the creative vision of the project required hands-on attention by Max. For instance, out of respect for its customers, Quantum did not want to close its doors to the public during shooting. To accommodate, Bentley Media suggested using minimal crew and equipment during the day, and filming scenes involving heavy equipment after hours.
The result? The shots still told Quantum’s story, we found the most cost-effective way to navigate their requirements, and we delivered a film with high production value.
Throughout filming, both Bentley Media and Quantum were faced with a series of choices that, inevitably, every business faces at some point: can we effectively express what we need to say while staying within the confines of our budget, of our capabilities?
With the right support, we think finding the balance of business and art can be done. In fact, we know it. The video production professionals at Bentley Media prove it every time we step onto a set, every time we get that positive feedback after the final product.
Our new logo captures this conceptual pillar on which Bentley Media was built, and serves not only as a reminder to potential clients that this harmony is integral to our operation, but it reminds us as a company. Striking balance between art and rationale is our promise to you. Let us prove it.