Meet Midtown Creative Producer: Marc Rochon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marc Rochon.

Marc, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I LOVE what I do. I’ll say it again…I LOVE what I do. If you ask my wife she may say this isn’t exactly a good thing sometimes. This type of work has been an obsession for me for as long as I can remember and even after 20yrs of working professionally in this business I still get up every day and look forward to going to work. Wow! How many people can say that about their jobs? I have been truly blessed.

I’m a bit of a quirky guy that never takes anything in life too seriously. I like to have fun with anything I do it’s not uncommon to hear me singing obscure songs from my office or taking funny pictures in the back studio. I have an appreciation all things artistic. From a well-done logo, a clever design on a cereal box, multi-million dollar effect in a movie, fine art painting, or a beautiful photograph. Those of us that work in this industry are a different type of person than your normal every day Joe. I (and those like me) notice things that other people don’t. I drive home and look at the reflections in cars, notice the warms and cools off the sunset, look at how light plays off the the ripples in a pool, watch movies and analyze the effects, depth of field, color balance etc, etc, etc. It’s just something that you can’t turn off.

I’ve worked as a conventional illustrator, retoucher, photographer, paintbox artist, CGI artist, salesman, storyboard artist, editor, designer and business owner. It’s safe to say I wear many hats and I love every delicious piece of this business. That’s how we became what we are today. When people asked me what I did for a living I really didn’t know what to say. “I’m an illustrator, photographer, 3d, designer artist dude” would not be an uncommon answer. People also used to tell me that “you need to specialize!” which to some degree is quite valid. At the time though I couldn’t do that because A. I needed the money and B. I loved doing all these different things.

That was then and this is now. Today Indigo Studios has modelers, editors, retouchers, designers, CGI artists, comp artists, photographers, producers, illustrators and sales reps all on staff specializing in their areas. Now don’t get me wrong, we all still wear different hats from time to time but we now have “specialists” in different areas of the services that we offer. For me I’ve found that I love shooting, CGI and imaging the most and that’s what I do most days (and nights) in addition to running the business and overseeing all the creative coming out of the studio.

Now let me tell you about the team at Indigo. I have NEVER in my 20+ years in the business worked with a more talented, fun, and inspiring group of people! To me, I really consider this an extended family. We spend SO much time together that you just can’t help having a close bond with them. We work hard together, play hard together and I always feel that they have my back and they know that I have there’s. On any given day you would see things like our dogs walking the halls, warm welcomes from Sarah and Leah in person and on the phone, people huddled around a computer looking and talking about what someone just did, people yelling “hey! Come over here and check this out!” to show everyone a new technique or something they are proud of. You might hear the sounds of a group of the guys taking a break and playing Xbox in the back or Barry coming on the PA to announce “Fresh coffee in the studio café” in a foreign accent. On some days, you may see us in the back with the large warehouse doors open sharing stories from the week or trying to figure out a cool new promo to do over a cocktail or two. But the bottom line is this group gels together well and when it’s “go time” you want these people on your side. We go to the mats for our clients and when awarded a job we pull out all the stops. I sometimes like to describe us like we are NASA. We may go over a job with a client and agree on a way to do it, but behind the scenes, we are also doing the job again in another way. “Should we shoot that? Should we do it CG? Let’s do both and see what looks better.” That…is what it’s all about. The final product. I hear people all the time selling equipment and software and throwing out buzz words left and right. Like any of those things or any piece of software is going to do the work for you. It’s about the talent behind these tools and that is where we shine.

I want to thank you if you’ve read this far and hopefully, this gives you an idea of who I am and what Indigo Studios is all about. I look forward to many more years and am excited about where the industry is going and new breakthroughs to come. I also want to sincerely thank all the people we have worked with over the years. YOU…have made us what we are today and without the creative thinking of our clients we would have never been able to show the world what we were capable of.

I also want to remind everyone to respect and protect the industry. We have all seen the changes over the years and when it is all said and done we have a responsibility to make sure the generations behind us can still make a living doing this type of work.

Has it been a smooth road?

Realize that our vision and our clients may be different. It is our responsibility to advise them on what we think is right but in the end give them what they want. In the creative world, this is always a struggle. There is no right and wrong and creative decisions are like showing your Mom your picture in kindergarten. You hope she likes it and pats you on the back. Your sister could then look at it and make fun of you.

Who, or what, deserves a lot of credit for where you are today?
Skidmore Sahration. Large studio in Detroit. I started there when I was 17 and learned the in’s and out’s of this business. I learned what a good studio was and how I wanted to work and treat my people. Leo Skidmore was the owner and was very good to me. My mentor Jerry Monley was a big influence on me. Kind of guy that would tell it like it is. If I did good he would tell me. If I did bad he had no problem telling me that either. Such a great place to work! I caught the tail end of an industry and studio way of life that is now gone but I try and keep it alive at Indigo.

Do you have a favorite type of client or project?
We love challenges! Mixing photography and CGI is very fun! We offer a broad range of creative services so we can take projects from A-Z

What have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career?
Hmm. That is tough. I don’t think too much. Just ALWAYS do good work and give the clients a good experience. If you do that the rest takes care of itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.indigostudios.com
• Phone: 404-872-0110
• Email: marc@indigostudios.com
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/Indigo-Studios-82714489878/
• Other: https://www.behance.net/IndigoStudiosAtlanta