About Originator

Originator is headquartered in Austin, TX, featuring a 800 sq. ft. production studio and production office space we call home.

We partner with both. We act as a full-service production partner for brands and a technical execution arm for creative agencies.

Originator Studios rebranded to Originator in 2026 to reflect our expanded focus on full-scale creative production and immersive media.

Originator was founded in 2009 — which means we've been doing this for nearly two decades, through every format shift, platform change, and industry disruption. We're not new to this.

We're headquartered in Austin, TX with an office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But we've built crew relationships across the US and internationally over the years, so we're comfortable producing wherever the project takes us.

We dropped "Studios" from our name in early 2026 to better reflect what we actually are: a full-service creative production company that happens to own a studio. The work was always bigger than the building.

Honestly? We sit in the sweet spot between both. We can execute a fully developed agency concept, or we can come in earlier and help shape the creative. Most of our best work happens somewhere in the middle.

Derek Gildersleeve and Willie Rockefeller co-founded Originator straight out of UT Austin's Radio, TV & Film program and have been directing and producing together ever since. They're not CEOs — they're on your project.

Our core team is lean and senior-heavy by design. Depending on the scope, we scale from a nimble one-camera setup to managing a crew of 50. Either way, the same core leadership is running the show.

Calm, collaborative, and a little fun,  intentionally. We believe a relaxed set produces sharper work, so we put a lot of effort into making the process feel easy even when the production itself is complex.

We're agency-fluent. We understand approvals, brand guidelines, legal reviews, and the reality of presenting work to clients above your head. We make you look good, and that's part of the job.

Both, depending on what you need. We're comfortable taking a fully-baked script and executing it at the highest level, and equally comfortable coming in at the concept stage. We'll tell you honestly which approach we think serves the project best.

It starts with a real conversation about your goals — not just the deliverables. From there we move through pre-production, production, and post under one roof, keeping you informed without burying you in unnecessary check-ins.

We've partnered with brands including Nike (Air Jordan), YouTube, Netflix, Red Bull, Facebook, Amazon Prime, and others across tech, retail, sports, and entertainment.

Absolutely. Comedy is our sharpest edge, but the underlying skills — storytelling, pacing, performance direction, technical precision — apply to everything we make. The comedic instinct just means we know how to keep the work from being boring.

Yes. Our work has appeared on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and in national brand campaigns. We're comfortable at that scale, and equally comfortable on the regional projects where we get to move fast and stay nimble.