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Written by Erik Friedly [music director, resident deejay, sales]
When I was given the opportunity to interview the man who was the genesis for fig media, I really wanted to know more about the pre-history. Here’s a summary from my conversation with the legend himself–James Gustin.
James' introduction to the way of the DJ was in the early 1990s when he was producing hair shows for Fantastic Sam's in Texas. When he needed to rent lights he worked with Horizon Entertainment and they turned him onto adding a DJ to his shows. With some film background James soon started working for Horizon editing wedding videos. A year later the guy who had been running the Horizon DJ team left and James picked up the position.
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The Chicago chapter began when his wife Michele (and co-owner of fig) was moved to Chicago by her employer at the time, Whole Foods. James birthed the first incarnation of fig media, Fig Entertainment, and was contracted by Record-a-Hit. In his first few years he worked DJ and karaoke gigs for weddings, special events and bars. His resume included Berlin, Annex, Dandy's and Smart Bar where he did a residency with Coctails and early fig media alum Barry Phipps. DJing was a way to pay for rent, improv classes, and filmmaking. A great highlight from this time was the Improv Olympic parties he did with the Upright Citizens Brigade.
And the rest is history! James and Michele continue to build the company driven by a community of dedicated artists growing personally and professionally.
email: james@figgy.net |
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Written by Tobey Geise [office goddess, sales]
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Fig brought its musical prowess to the first-ever NuptEquality event, a vendor showcase for same-sex marriages, at the Catalyst Ranch on July 22, 2006. Guests were entranced by the uniquely colorful environment of Catalyst Ranch (complete with wigs and hula hoops) while eating scrumptious treats from Beyond Events Catering, Food for Thought, Limelight, and Artistic Events by Carlyn Berghoff. Fig DJ Lucy Wieczorek and assistant Tobey Geise provided the beats for the funky fashion show by designers Dame Couture and Elda de la Rosa. Lucy provided the perfect soundtrack to accompany Dame Couture’s men and women’s fashions in the style of Western, Dandy, and edgy Rock and Roll evening wear. Her favorite track for the Dame show was "Missing You" by Mirwais. Tobey shook her booty to Lucy's tunes and networked the night away with the vendors and guests! |
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Written by Eric Anderson [videographer, video editor, minister]
 Click here to for more on Prep Sports Online |
Fig media has broadened its horizons even further with a new relationship with prepsportsonline.com to cover Chicago high school sporting events. We are now proudly covering football games for local schools Mount Carmel, Simeon High School, and Saint Rita. The very first opening games for the 2006 season were held at the home of the Chicago Bears–Soldier Field! With a mass of talent, Fig sent out crews to cover these games using both digital photography and videography, as well as reporters to write game summary articles. Since starting this crazy endeavor, prepsportsonline.com has been amazed by fig’s work claiming that it is some of the best they have ever seen. We look forward to a long, rewarding relationship with prepsportsonline.com covering all kinds of sporting events throughout the state of Illinois.
Executive Producer: James Gustin
Producers: Billy Rood, Eric Anderson
Videographers: Eric Anderson, Hafeez Sarumi
Photographers: Billy Rood, Stephen Fabro, Owen Weber, Tim Musho |
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Written by Andrew Ettenhofer [sales manager, deejay]
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On Aug. 11, 2006 fig media and the Junior League of Chicago partnered for their annual Summer Soiree at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Fig also brought in Soundz AVL to supply lighting and projection technology. The result was an artistically creative event with two deejays, a digital photo team, and a live video mixing production crew. We projected wild images and live event photography onto the high, white walls of the MCA and kept the gorgeous Junior Leaguers moving with an eclectic mix of party tunes. We also helped facilitate the silent auction and the raffle prizes. We got glowing feedback and eagerly await the next time we can bust out the fig Integrated Experience.
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Producer: Andrew Ettenhofer
Video Mixing: Tim Musho , Eric Anderson
Deejays: Jon Hood, Andrew Ettenhofer
Digital Photography: Brian Carey, Lauren Pollock, Steve Fabro
Technical Assistant: Hafeez Sarumi |
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Written by Brian Carey [web master, photographer, resident deejay]
American Girl Place, Max Mara, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Chanel, and many other Michigan Avenue shops were represented at the photo session that fig media shot for The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association. The photo team consisted of Brian Carey and Owen Weber, along with James Gustin as photo director. Fig worked with Lisa Cooling of GNMAA to capture fun, hip, and dynamic moments that represent the shops and the people in the context of Chicago. Four groups of models walked up and down the sidewalks near the North Bridge shopping center, located at the south end of the Magnificent Mile.
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Producer: Andrew Ettenhofer
Director of Photography: James Gustin
Lead Photographer: Brian Carey
Assistant Photographer: Owen Weber |
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Click here
to see for more fig photos including Michigan Avenue
in all of the yearly seasons. |
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Written by Brent Rolland [resident deejay]
Hula hoops have made a comeback! Well, actually they haven't but they were part of the many festivities at the "Love the Luau" picnic put on by the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce. Held at the new Chicago History Museum, this fun Hawaiian-themed networking event included delicious food, grass skirts, and all the drinks you could imbibe in a complimentary plastic coconut. Fig deejays Jonathan Hood and Brent Rolland donned their best Hawaiian shirts, and provided a great night of music while keeping guests well informed of the various raffles and games occurring throughout the night. One lucky winner even went home with a gigantic inflatable monkey!
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Written by Andrew Ettenhofer [sales manager, deejay]
Radio Flyer, the makers of the legendary red wagon, threw an event at the Adler Planetarium on July 19, 2006 to launch their new mission statement. The evening started with a multimedia cocktail hour punctuated by a presentation from their CEO. The evening concluded with dinner from Food for Thought and dancing while the Navy Pier fireworks blew up in the distance! Fig media was hired to create a vividly visual experience by projecting a trio of large images onto the dome of the planetarium. From three different projectors, we showed catalog images of Radio Flyer product, historic photos of Radio Flyer in action, and photographs of the employees both here in Chicago and in Hong Kong. Photographer Richard Shay also fed us digital pictures of the guests live at the event and we blended these with the other images.
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Fig also supplied wireless microphones, a high-end projector for a special DVD presentation, an orchestrated PowerPoint show with musical cues, DJ services for both the cocktail hour and for the dinner/dancing portion of the evening, and video documentary of the entire event. We partnered well with the other contributing vendors, ran several rounds of technical rehearsals, and pulled together a very talented fig team to execute the whole event successfully. It was quite an honor to help Radio Flyer with such an important event and their new mission.
Producer: Andrew Ettenhofer
Technical Director: Tim Musho
Technical Crew: Eric Anderson, Hafeez Sarumi, Owen Weber, Lydia Koepke, Stephen Fabro
Deejay: Erik Friedly
Digital Photography: Brian Carey
Videographer: Melissa Martens |
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Written by Jon Hood [resident deejay]
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On July 22nd and 23rd, fig media was part of the Chicago International House Music Festival at the Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island. Musical artists came from around Chicago and the world to perform including Frankie Knuckles, Lady D, Danny Tenaglia, David Morales, and Jocelyn Brown. Fig helped sponsor the weekend by donating video and photography services. Jonathan Hood and Tim Musho led a team to produce a reel of the sponsors’ logos that was then shown throughout the weekend on the two 15’ screens flanking the main stage. On Sunday, fig photographers James Gustin, Lauren Pollock, and Tim Musho joined Jonathan in documenting the event with photos of the performers and the crowd. The photos were then projected on the screens along with the video reel. All this was possible with the help of Thomas Mathes, the festival Operations Director, Festival Director Randy Crumpton, and Artistic/Creative Director Frederick Dunson.
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Written by Hafeez Sarumi [video editor, junior videographer, apprentice deejay]
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Lights…Cameras…Comedy!! On July 27, 2006 Fig Media collaborated with Marion Sours on her production of the Short Comedy Film Festival. We had a team of six volunteers stationed at the Music Box theatre to help with anything and everything. We were responsible for the distribution of the judging panels’ scoring materials, as well as tickets for the esteemed filmmakers themselves. Fig co-founder James Gustin and filmmaker M.T. Cozzola facilitated the outstanding event as MCs and presented the works of such celebrated filmmakers as Tom Palozzolo and Charna Halpern. The festival covered a wide variety of creativity from live action to documentary style to animation–lots of ways to get people laughing!
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Short Comedy Trailer |
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Written by Tim Musho [creative director, videographer, deejay]
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In August fig media partnered with the Wright Institute for the third time to produce a moving seminar called the One Decision Training. It was based on Judith Wright’s successful new book The One Decision. By working closely with the Wright Institute, we came up with newly evolved ideas about the audio, video, and overall running of the event. The weekend felt to be an engine moving at lighting speed with nothing being able to stop it. Fig supplied a camera crew to cover the weekend, photography, video projection (which showed movie clips and PowerPoint presentation) and a ton of audio support. The intensity of this production pushed the fig team to the highest quality work. The next One Decision is October 13-15. The One Decision is an inspirational seminar that will change your life. See you there! For more information the Wright Institute go to www.wrightliving.com or call 312-645-8300.
Producer: Tim Musho
Technical Director: Eric Anderson
Director: Melissa Martens
Audio: Hafeez Sarumi
Deejay: Erik Friedly
Growth: Jon Hood
Camera Operators: Owen Weber, Billy Rood, Stephen Fabro, Tim Ziegler
Digital Photography: Lauren Pollock, Brian Carey
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Green Tie Ball
Madhatter’s Ball
 West Loop Studio: The Loft Project
Got Questions?
Call 773-338-1334 or send email to info@figgy.net
To learn more about fig media please visit
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Check out Fig's Blog. where you can read about current Fig happenings!
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fig-zine: Art Director: Michele Gustin, Project Manager: Megan Taylor,
Copy Editor: Andrew Ettenhofer, Design and Layout: Brian Carey |
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