Inspiring Conversations with Nick Rivero and Sarah Linebaugh of Meptik

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Rivero and Sarah Linebaugh.

Hi Nick and Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Sarah: I started my career in live event video, working behind the scenes to direct and switch cameras and video feeds at live events. After obtaining my MFA in Motion Media Design at SCAD, I began combining my live video skills with my motion design skills. I started freelancing and worked primarily on video art and projection mapping. I would project on large surfaces – whether that be the side of a building or a scenic design element at an event – and also create graphics to make these surfaces come to life. After freelancing for a while, Nick and I decided to join forces and create Meptik.

Nick: I went to FSU for sports television, and after graduating, I began working in live production. I toured with artists such as Taylor Swift, Mumford & Sons, and Lady Antebellum as a video engineer and worked behind the scenes to make all the video systems work on these tours. After several years of freelancing as a video engineer, Sarah and I decided to combine our technical and creative skills to form Meptik.

What started as just Sarah and Nick has now grown into a full team of talented designers and systems engineers who consistently push the boundaries of design and technology.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve faced the typical challenges of running a small business, but our biggest challenge so far has been surviving the pandemic and pivoting to the work we are focused on now.

Before the pandemic, Meptik’s work focused primarily on the live events industry, however, once the pandemic hit, we lost all of our events work and had to pivot very quickly to survive. We had already been working with AR (augmented reality), and ICVFX (in-camera visual effects) prior to 2020, when most of the world wasn’t familiar with these kinds of workflows yet. But after losing our events work, we put all our efforts into growing those areas and we’re happy to say that we not only survived but thrived, and we are proud to be one of the first companies in the South to specialize in virtual and extended reality production workflows.

As you know, we’re big fans of Meptik. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
To summarize what we do in 2 words: we Upset Reality™.

In the last few years, the entertainment landscape has changed from physical in-person experiences to all virtual experiences to now bridging this gap between the two in order to create visuals that reach an audience living in a hybrid world.

This is where Meptik helps: Meptik builds mind-blowing visual experiences from start to finish.

Since 2015 we’ve helped luxury brands, Fortune 100s, sports networks, and film and music producers amaze their audiences. We use virtual and extended reality (xR) production to take Film & TV productions, corporate presentations, brand experiences, and live events to the next level.

Virtual production uses real-time 3D environments that are loaded onto LED solutions (stages, walls, made of LED tiles) to capture the talent or even entire audiences within the digital environments directly on-set. Extended Reality “extends” the digital graphics beyond the physical LED walls into the real world.

We have a creative team, our virtual art department, that designs either photorealistic 3D environments that can be replicas of physical locations or artistic worlds that as of yet only live in your imagination. Our tech team designs builds and integrates LED solutions that bring virtual and xR productions to life. We are part of disguise, a cutting-edge platform for creatives and technologists to imagine, create and deliver spectacular visual experiences.

We are proud to say that our team lives by our values: We are passionate and dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible and always strive for excellence while serving our clients in the best way possible.

If anyone would like to learn more about this tech, we have a cutting-edge xR stage in our office in which we demonstrate the innovative technologies we use to transform the way content is produced.

We also host UPNXT, our monthly event series, where we aim to educate the Atlanta community on these emerging technologies (https://www.meptik.com/landing-pages/upnxt).

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Clients can work with us on their creative projects from start to finish. They can come to us with just an idea, be in the midst of their process, or be ready to execute their ideas. Our creative and technical teams come together to ideate, create, and execute visual experiences that are both boundary-busting and doable. From designing and installing temporary and permanent LED solutions to creating immersive 3D art to staffing productions on-site, we have the talent and the know-how to take creative visions to the next level and we are with our clients every step of the way.

You can support us by checking out our social media channels @meptik and giving us a follow to stay up to date on what we are up to.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meptik.com
• Instagram: @meptik
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meptik
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meptik
• Twitter: @meptik
• Other: https://vimeo.com/meptik

Image Credits
SCAD image (SCAD) Thomas Rhett Image (Ryan Green) All others (Meptik)