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    • 2 min read

We have a new reel!


GRAB AHOLD by Mike Ferrell


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We spend our lives crafting stories that are full of passion, beauty and adventure. As a creative content studio, we leverage that experience to help brands with their campaigns, non-scripted series, and films including some originals we have in development.


Our love of the outdoors is foundational to our storytelling style and approach. While our projects don't always incorporate nature or adventure, that experience brings a unique perspective and distinct skillset to our work.


We’re thrilled to share the new reel with you!


 

Diverse skills set us apart

Nick comes from the world of documentary and commercial filmmaking. He’s worked on big-budget projects with big crews to scrappy ones that brought him around the globe to chase athletes up mountains and across oceans to capture images that transcend language. Nick’s a storyteller through and through with the visual aesthetic of an artist and tactician of a surgeon.


My background is in marketing and journalism, allowing me to look at projects differently. I understand corporate jargon and the challenge marketing managers have with limited bandwidth and the need to appease multiple stakeholders. As a marketer, I love the challenge of getting the most out of each project. Full funnel stuff. As a journalist, I approach stories objectively to find truth and seek to understand different perspectives.

 

We love the process


Film production takes time, resources, and patience but our approach turns that beast into the fun creative endeavor it’s meant to be. We enjoy the entire process of creating. Even the tedious bits. We work on projects from ideation to post-production.


But a film, commercial, or campaign can only be great if people see it and interact with it. That's why we approach every project with distribution and impact at the top of our minds to help find the best home (or homes) for them.


Our ultimate goal is to tell powerful stories and help brands reach their audiences where they are.

 

Let's chat

We'd love to book some time with you to chat about how we can help bring your story or concept to life – and get the most out of it!


    • 3 min read

A Lot Can Change In 7 Months

Updated: Jan 5, 2023


2022 and Beyond by Mike Ferrell


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It’s been a while since our last newsletter, 7 months to be exact. A lot can change in a short period of time. We’ve kept our heads down and focused on our work through the global uncertainty and economic downturn of 2022. We want to thank the people in our corners for supporting us the past year. It means more than you could ever know. We’re pretty darn excited to share what we’ve been working on since we last emailed you.

 

We’ve changed.


Over the past several months we’ve been working on a rebrand. Why, you ask? The short answer. We’ve evolved and our mission is to continue evolving. Our new voice and style feels authentic to who we are as a company and humans. We’ve sharpened our focus on what we love to do – make documentary brand films, series, and commercials. We launched a brand new website!

 

We’re officially a collective

Nick and I cannot do this alone, nor do we want to. We’re fired up to introduce our team of journalists, art directors, marketers, writers, and musicians that make up the TopTop collective. What we have in common is the belief that anything is possible with the right team and an open mind.


Kelly Bernard is an art director, designer, and associate director that’s currently residing in Bend, Oregon. Kelly is the linchpin of our rebrand. We’re so thankful for her vision, artistic skills, and hard work to help bring our new brand to life. Kelly also designed Rally for Rangers' social media brand kit.


Dan Olsen is our preferred partner for post and is the Director of Operations for Unscripted Content at Cosmic Pictures in Salt Lake City, UT. Dan is a super-talented colorist and uses his unique ability to blend art and science to make post-production magic.


Jay Siebold is an audio producer and sound engineer based in Los Angeles, CA. He specializes in on-location music recordings as well as mixing and sound design for video, podcasts, and audio documentaries. He’s worked on several projects of ours. He’s working on a new album!


Niki Murphy is an editor and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work spans industries like fitness, lifestyle, food, automotive & tech. She directed our three-part series for Harley-Davidson, oh, and when she isn’t making stuff she rides dirt bikes and trains Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu!

 

Thankful to our partners.

We could not do what we do without our partners. A big thank you to the creative directors, producers, athletes, and marketing managers that believe in us and our work. We truly enjoy the entire process of making art and appreciate your trust and collaboration.


Here are a few projects that launched recently:


Stepping Out- Short Brand Film for Salomon TV

Three women set out to ski in the Alaska range for their first time. Serving as their own guides they were excited to arrive on the glacier and quickly humbled by the complex structure of the terrain.


Ode to the Bike Shop Commercial for Specialized

We created a commercial for Small Business Saturday to highlight Specialized's love of local bike shops.


Social Campaign for Rally for Rangers

This year we traveled to Peru, Mongolia, and Bhutan to make short videos and capture still imagery to help raise awareness and increase engagement for the nonprofit organization.


Free to Adventure Commercial for Dynafit

We were tasked to launch the new campaign featuring the new Free Series line and showcase a day skiing with friends can lead to great things.'s natural and cultural heritage.

 

We're starting a Substack

A Departure From Home will be a multimedia Substack that will include a mixture of personal essays, short stories, interviews, or digital shorts about traveling, filmmaking, and the pursuit of art. If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re on our distribution list.th Day! Please check out their profiles and consider donating. Thank you!

 



Nick put together a Spotify Playlist to help get us through the holidays and beyond.




    • 2 min read

It's Earth Day and we're going to Peru 🌎


SPRING 2022

by Mike Ferrell


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All I remember is people were running down the stairs of a flooding building and the planet was on fire. That’s the first memory of Earth Day that was seared into my brain by a video I watched in elementary school in Roseville, CA circa 1988. Well, it worked, I am passionate about protecting our planet and keeping it around for future generations.


But today we celebrate the Earth and next week Nick and I head to Peru for two weeks. I promise this relates to Earth Day!

 

Protecting National Parks

On the way to Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. Mongolia 2018. Photo by Phil Bond.


In 2018, I went to Mongolia to deliver a motorcycle to Erzat Pushatay, a Park Ranger at the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park on the Kazakhstan Mongolia border. Erzat is one of two rangers who’s been at the park from its inception in 1996. He's a government employee so wages aren’t high but that’s not why he does the work. He says, “I give the utmost significance to finding ways of promoting community participation in conservation of the glaciers and wildlife.” That's his mission.


Erzat patrols 183,000 acres of the harshest terrain Mongolia has to offer. He’s responsible for the highest peaks in the park–some of them more than 14,000 feet up–which means the winters are


tough. The Altai Tavan Bogd has under 15 rangers to support it and is five times larger than Yosemite National Park which has approximately 500 rangers.



These motorcycles change the lives of these rangers by giving them reliable transportation and the ability to spend more time with their family by decreasing time in the field.

 

This was a game-changer

Capturing the enormity that is Mongolia. 2018 photo by Phil Bond.


I knew my trip to Mongolia would change my life, I just didn’t know how much. I've volunteered for two rallies, the 2018 Mongolia rally and again the following year in Nepal. In 2020, Rally for Rangers invited me to join their advisory board.


Nick Kalisz and I met in Mongolia. He was hired by Fisher Creative to shoot part of their documentary that’s currently in post-production. Nick and I hit it off and agreed that we should work together sometime. Well, here we are, four years later and two years into starting TopTop.


On May 1st, we’re heading to Peru to capture social media content to help raise awareness for the organization. Nick and I are grateful to have met lifelong friends through these experiences and look forward to helping MEC and RFR grow.

 

About the Organization

Connecting with a family traveling by motorcycle. Mongolia 2018. Photo by Phil Bond.


Rally for Rangers Foundation’s mission is to protect the world’s special places by empowering rangers around the world with new motorcycles and equipment. It’s a project of the NGO, Mongol Ecology Center. MEC’s mission is to engage new generations of environmental stewards and connect them with their natural surroundings and inspire them to value and conserve Mongolia's natural and cultural heritage.

 

Support the mission

Mike and Erzat at the bike delivery in Altai Bogd National Park. Mongolia 2018. Photo by Phil Bond.


This is an amazing cause and organization and worth celebrating on Earth Day! Please check out their profiles and consider donating. Thank you!

 



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