Local Video Production Team Wins National Awards

Following the awards, AIVA's team picks highlighted Sovereign Media, with staff member Matthew Midgett praising the ad for its originality and impact on a small budget.

The commercial, showcasing Jeff Chandler Law, was created by Charles Landers, who also directed and edited it, in collaboration with producer Colin Feldhaus. Landers said the formation of crop dusters was real, but he used lens magic and post-production effects to give the illusion the planes were flying close to each other and very low to the ground. The commercial is jarring in some ways. At first, the viewer is led to believe the commercial is about hydrogen-powered automobiles.

"We had the car that was painted up with decals indicating it was using hydrogen power. It was getting attention around town," Landers said.

Local participants include actors Eva Huddleson and Jose Villedas, aerial coordinators Hayden Eggemeyer and Brad Eggemeyer, and drivers Sam ten Brink, Kevin Vega Sanchez, Sterling Blackmon, and Cody Wyatt. Jamey Halfast and Ron Landers were among the shoot's local crew.

In May, the same ad won a silver Telly at the 44th Annual Telly Awards for Best Directing among broadcast TV commercials, competing against entries from global brands.

Landers, a veteran of Hollywood films and TV episodes, founded Sovereign Media in 2011, focusing on local and regional commercial videos. The agency has received several Addy awards from the American Advertising Federation.

The Davey Awards, judged by AIVA, an invitation-only group of professionals from major media and marketing firms, recognize excellence in creative work on budgets under $25 million.

Sovereign Media, owned by Landers, operates primarily in San Angelo, taking on a limited number of local clients to maintain high-quality and effective productions.