Rivet Entertainment’s newest project focuses on a topic that is near and dear to our hearts – the Future of Mackinac Island.

We are currently shooting a documentary about Mackinac Island residents’ efforts to chart a course to the future for this beloved destination.

Mackinac Island’s rich history, unique setting, and important role it played in the development of the United States makes it truly a one-of-a-kind place. The Island was formed by glaciers some 13,000 year ago, and is located in-between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas in the middle of Lake Huron. In 900 AD, the earliest human visitors, members of the Native American Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) tribe, honored it as a sacred place — the center of their creation story. With the Europeans’ arrival, the fur trade flourished. The island was then occupied by a succession of nations’ armies; transitioned to the center of a commercial fishing industry; and finally, beginning in the late 19th century, became a premiere and beloved tourist destination for the entire Midwest, as it continues to be to this day.

Its natural beauty and Victorian charm (plus the fact that no motorized vehicles are allowed — transportation on the Island is only by foot, horse or bicycle) have earned it acclaim as “One of the Top 10 Islands in the World” by Condé Nast Traveler.

Because of its unique history, the Island became a National Historic Landmark in 1960. However, more recently, as pressure builds to develop the downtown area, and because of a lack of historic protections, the National Park Service has placed the entire island on a watch list to be stripped of its National Historic Landmark status.

Can Mackinac Island’s citizens come to a consensus about what lies ahead? Will they maintain and embrace its rich history by establishing a Historic District downtown, which would protect its unique structures? Or should they leave the past behind and continue to alter the character of the Island to suit a 21st Century world? With the recent razing of one historic building, supporters on both sides of the debate are speaking out, often loudly. The clock is ticking on the future of Mackinac Island’s history. The question is — has time already run out?

No wonder – web videos can communicate about a product or service like nothing else. And this doesn’t just go for products. Organizations can better engage with their customers and stakeholders when they see how their product or service works in a tangible way.

For example, Michigan Land Use Institute is a non-profit organization with many program areas. So many, in fact, it’s often difficult to explain what it is they do. Video production service Rivet Entertainment produced a web video for them. “Real. Solutions. Now” has helped MLUI to engage with their audience by explaining their program areas, and has increased contributions in a meaningful way.

Rivet Entertainment produces videos for the web that effectively demonstrate products and services. Contact us today to see how our web video production division can help your organization to thrive.

Our experience ranges from producing over 2,000 national television commercials, specials for Discovery Channel and Science Channel, corporate web videos, and 3D animation production for feature films and television. We bring all that experience and professionalism to each of our productions, no matter how large or small.

We drew on our documentary background to tell these real people’s stories in an interesting way by focusing on how they inspire change. We were inspired by local Traverse City Michigan artists Seth Bernard and May Earlewine. Their track, “Make the Circle Wide” touches on the issues we are all facing during these times, and what can be done to help.

This short web video is now live on the Great Lakes Bioneers website, and is here for you to enjoy. We hope that you will be inspired, too.

They called on Rivet Entertainment to tell this epic and visual documentary story. The project began as a documentary video archive of what they believed in, but became something more. As the story unfolded, we became entrenched with their team as they located and collected genetic material from the largest living things on Earth.

Currently, six stories broken down into shorter web videos, are streaming on the Archangel website. But the story is even bigger than that. The editors and directors at Rivet compiled the story into a documentary short, which is competing at film festivals around the country.

This latest addition to the Archangel story serves as a fundraising story. Looking back to the genesis of Archangel, it follows co-founder David Milarch’s path from his early days as a tree farmer, through the organization’s blossoming into a force of nature for our planet. This is a shorter version – made for the web – of a more complete fundraising presentation.

They called on Rivet Entertainment to craft this important story. The project began as a video archive of what they believed in, but became something more. As the story unfolded, we became entrenched with their team as they located and collected genetic material from the largest living things on Earth.

Currently, six stories, broken down into short documentary web videos, are streaming on the Archangel website. But the story is even bigger than that.

Trees provide so many services to our ecosystem and to humans. It is vital we work to save trees – especially the surviving old growth trees. Archangel is doing just that.

The team at Rivet Entertainment wrote, produced, and directed this web video about The process Archangel undergoes to create clone from these forest giants is remarkable. Collecting cuttings from the largest living things on earth is just the beginning.

They called on Rivet Entertainment to tell this epic and visual story. The project began as a video archive of what they believed in, but became something more. As the story unfolded, we became entrenched with their team as they located and collected genetic material from the largest living things on Earth.

Currently, six stories, broken down into web-friendly segments, are streaming on the Archangel website. But the story is even bigger than that. The editors and directors at Rivet compiled the story into a documentary short, which is competing at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.

Ancient trees hold a secret in their genetic code. Archangel is capturing those genetics before they blink off the face of the earth.

They called on Rivet Entertainment to tell this epic and visual story. The project began as a video archive of what they believed in, but became something more. As the story unfolded, we became entrenched with their team as they located and collected genetic material from the largest living things on Earth.

Currently, six stories, broken down into web-friendly segments, are streaming on the Archangel website. But the story is even bigger than that. The editors and directors at Rivet compiled the story into a documentary short, which is competing at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.

In this first segment, we give an overview of what Archangel is trying to accomplish.