The best stories to tell are sometimes right in front of us.
Texas FilmWorks (TXFW) is a film company based in Bryan-College Station that creates stories through documentaries, brand videos, commercials, interviews and live videos.
After about nine years of furthering its business, TXFW opened its own studio on Jan. 25 for new and future clients, located at 300 George Bush Dr. in College Station, and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Andrew Kilzer is the General Manager and founder of TXFW and has been with the company since its inception in 2016.
“There was a market for more video work and more production capacity,” Kilzer said. “The goal was to do as much work as we could for the university and for clients here. That’s expanded to some clients around the state and some around the world.”
Andrew Kilzer, the General Manager and founder of Texas FilmWorks, sits down for an interview at the new Texas FilmWorks studio in College Station on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. (Photos by Kyle Heise)
Kilzer and his team at TXFW have traveled around the world, from El Salvador to Ghana. Clients range from the George & Barbara Bush Foundation to Nike to The Association of Former Students, according to its website. Filming at home in Bryan-College Station is beautiful, Kilzer said, because everyone is always excited to be on camera and share the stories of their community.
“It’s all word of mouth and relationship-based in this business,” Kilzer said. “Especially when anybody can go get a camera at Best Buy and start shooting stuff. You really have to find a way to make connections and build relationships, because that’s the way that … I’ve found that I’m going to actually be able to make a difference and work with people.”
TXFW tells brand stories most often, Kilzer said, and their focus lies on the company’s story.
“Organizational leaders are realizing that video is a must-have,” Kilzer said. “It’s interacted with highly on the internet. It keeps people retained and you can really show off who you’re about. When we do a brand piece, we’re getting to tell the company’s story at that moment in time, catch up to the history of who they are, where they’ve come from and kind of give a vision for where they might go in the future.”
Being at a client’s location is prioritized as much as possible, Kilzer said, as it’s more personal. In Kilzer’s opinion, videos work best when clients are in a familiar space, seeing and interacting with it as they naturally would. For clients who lack such a space, however, TXFW’s new studio in College Station opens up many possibilities.
“It’s been a goal to have a studio space for ourselves for a number of years now,” Kilzer said. “And this is right next to our offices, and it came on the market, we were able to get it and the guys that did the work here did a really, really good job. I’m really excited to see where we can go when we have a dedicated space to do this kind of stuff.”
Whether they’re filming in their new studio or a new country, the TXFW team has the same four values: doing excellent work for themselves and their clients, honoring the people they work with, completing their work with gratitude and having fun along the way, Kilzer said.
“If I can do those four things, it doesn’t matter if I’m working on an assembly line, if I’m at a fast food burger joint or if I’m running a film company,” Kilzer said. “I feel like I can go home and know that I did something that mattered.”
Including Kilzer, the TXFW team consists of roughly 11 people and contains decades of filming experience, according to its website. He believes the key to good work is having a diverse team, where some people specialize in lighting, others in running a camera and a few in asking good questions.
“I couldn’t do anything without the team of people that are here at Filmworks,” Kilzer said. “The best part of my job is working with the team of people I have. They really love what they do. They’re excited, they’re energetic, they have good ideas. But more importantly, they represent the four values that I find to be the most important thing about what Texas Filmworks is at this time.”
One thing TXFW prioritizes is a client’s full ownership of the final product, meaning they receive all the raw footage, according to TXFW’s website. This allows the client to use the footage for different projects later on, whether they do it themselves or by hiring an editor.
“My hope is that we had such a great experience working together that they’ll come back to me for that point,” Kilzer said. “I don’t want to gatekeep anything that belongs to the client. It’s really their stuff. I’m just trying to help them tell their story, so I’m more than happy to give them the footage that we’ve shot.”
Filming in Texas has its quirks. From blistering heat to unique windows of time to shoot outdoors, for Kilzer, it’s simply part of living in the state he loves.
“Texas loves Texas, and I’m a huge fan of Texas,” Kilzer said. “I think Texas is such a big state that there’s a never-ending amount of things to do and see and tell from our state. We chose the name Texas FilmWorks because we felt like if we could own our geography — if we could really own the fact that we’re from Texas, we know Texas, we understand how to operate here — that we’re never going to run out of clients to work with.”
An even more niche location to film at is College Station, with the history and camaraderie of Texas A&M University serving as the backdrop for many stories. The only challenge to watch out for while filming is the train, Kilzer said.
The future of TXFW lies in the hands of Kilzer and his team, he said, and he’s open to bringing on more people for them to grow in their storytelling abilities.
“This company is only limited by the imagination and the chances we get,” Kilzer said. “I’m excited to see what the next five, 10 years brings for this company. The first nine have been really amazing.”
SZNS MAG 