 Kale Kaposhilin, cofounder of the Kingston-based Evolving Media Network |
"We do high-level computer work, video production, film," notes Stone, EMN's media director. "We have a broad reach, and we think about the products. We're a one-stop network of companies."
"We're really selling intelligence," adds Kaposhilin, who is the company's director of operations.
According to the pair, the essence of EMN is the people it employs. In addition to the seven to nine people who work in the Wall Street office every day, the company also has a network of as many as 30 technical and creative contractors in states such as California, Texas, and Arizona. The company also owns a recording studio in Germantown and has a satellite office in Manhattan. "Our biggest resource is the people we hire," Stone points out. "One employee might be a 3-D artist who is also a 3-D animator plus a programmer."
 Evolving Media’s studio 32b in Germantown, where acts such as Godspeed You Black Emperor have recorded |
Evolving Media Network was formed in 2000 and is actually the blending of two organizations that Kaposhilin and Stone were working on independently. Both men attended Bard College, although at different times. Kaposhilin grew up in Vermont and left college to train as a recording engineer while living in an "artists' house" in Tivoli. He started 32B Media Arts (named for the house, which was located at 32 Broadway) with the plan of making it into a not-for-profit arts organization.
At the same time, Stone, who grew up as the child of television producers and directors in New York City, started the web-design company Evolution Studios with some friends from Bard after graduating with a focus in religion and philosophy. "I thought I was going to become an ambassador," he says of his degree. "But then I went back to my core, which was video editing and IT work."
The organizations merged after Stone "had identified real work that we could do," Kaposhilin recalls.
"I was very committed to not getting into debt," Stone adds with a smile.
Since its inception, EMN has created about 50 websites as well as video promotional films and other instructional tools. The company worked with the abstract artist Al Held to produce a three-dimensional "pre-visualizational" look at the planned site for a sculpture that has since been placed in the Citicorp subway station. It is also in the process of pitching innovative website proposals to Six Flags and to Pentax.
One aspect of the company, Kaposhilin points out, is that it tries to provide services that clients don't even know exist. "We can help someone stuck in the traditional business model, and help bring it into new technology," he says. "Clients can come to us knowing there are possibilities out there that they're not aware of. Because we are at the center of artists and technical providers, we're on the razor's edge, and we work with people to put it out there."
According to Stone, most clients come to the company through word of mouth or through its contractors. Depending on the situation or problem, Stone will bring in certain network members to brainstorm with the goal of a quick turnaround. "I like to do group thinking on projects as fast as possible," he adds.
Though the company has been successful in its vision of "technical and creative providership," the partners are now ready for a change. "We want to get out of producing technology in the long run," Stone says. "There's a new era of content media, more dynamic media, and we're preparing the company to work on that."
"To this point, most of our efforts have not been in new business development," Kaposhilin points out. "We've been concentrating on creating the cornerstone of the foundation of an arts company, and figuring out how artists and creatives could work successfully in a business."
"Now, after five years, we're ready to launch our business," Stone adds.
Evolving Media Network is located on the second floor of 302 Wall Street in Kingston. EMN has entered into a strategic alliance with Backstage Studio Productions, also on Wall Street, and hopes to move its rehearsal and recording facilities to BSP's Kingston space in the coming year. For more information, call (845) 338-3220 or go to www.evolvingmedia.net.
Kale Kaposhilin, director of operations for Evolving Media Network, notes that the constant duality for him and the other artists who work for the company is combining client work with "projects we love to do because of our own intense enjoyment." While often these are one and the same, one of the benefits of working with EMN is the availability of technology and resources for other ventures.