Kingston-based content studio Untold Storytelling has worked with international and local brands of all sizes to deliver beautiful films that are unique to their missions. Specializing in documentary and branded content, storytelling is at the core of everything they do. As a business in the film industry, Untold storytelling goes above and beyond to prioritize workers, customers, and environmental preservation.
Their team of filmmakers has mastered executing their video and film production phases in the most ethical ways to keep their integrity to the people and the planet. It is for this reason that in 2021, Untold Storytelling earned a B Corps Certification after two years of striving to improve every element of its business. As the B Corps Certification gains more recognition worldwide, Untold Storytelling can travel far and wide to uncover the stories of real businesses and ambitious non-profits, and showcase their amazing work to their designated audiences.
Founder and creative director Braden Dragomir discovered his love for storytelling as a high school student living in Salt Spring Island. He admits, “my love of storytelling came from a hybrid of two things. One, I didn’t love being a student, and two, I was really drawn to the film industry”. It was through a resourceful careers councillor that helped him land his first work experience on the first season of Smallville. “Throughout high school, I spent my summers working on film sets, including X Men 2 in grade 11.
Getting a super immersive, hands-on experience on a film set was really impactful. It was an experience that not many kids my age got. I realized what film and storytelling could be”. Braden then got his degree in communications in Kansas, and ended up working at a local CBS affiliate. His career in broadcast journalism took him to many cities across the United States and eventually back to Canada.
In 2014, after settling in Kingston and working in traditional news, Braden was ready to take more creative control with his storytelling. “That was the beginning of Untold. I was telling stories with a camera, but I was ready to be creative and tell stories the way I want to, with the effects I want to, and with the people, I want to”.
Becoming B Corps Certified is an outstanding accomplishment. The certification is gaining recognition for holding businesses accountable for their environmental sustainability. However, Braden notes that the B Corps is a 360-degree certification that measures businesses with five pillars. Governance, workers, community, environment, and customers are all taken into account. While Untold Storytelling has ensured pristine practices in each of these areas, Braden and his team are very passionate about preserving the environment and are dedicated to excelling at preserving it.
“Everyone on our team loves spending time outdoors. And also, we travel a lot for work, and we’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of the world. But with that comes the responsibility of doing so in a sustainable way”. Untold works with the organization Climate Neutral to analyze the emissions they create. With this information, Untold is able to work with Climate Neutral to purchase verified offsets for every different activity.
As they continue to expand, travel and create films, Braden’s goal is to find opportunities such as purchasing electric vehicles and further reducing the waste produced in the studio. “We’ve really set some aggressive strategies in terms of not only the things we can make our environmental impact better but also to reduce what we are producing”.
Since Braden and his team of filmmakers are storytellers first and foremost, they are always looking to work with brands that have and want to tell real stories. “Our specialty is more in the documentary/branded content space. We’ve developed a really unique process to help uncover stories within brands using the people who exist. Whether that’s customers or employees, it’s finding real stories and bringing them to life”. Untold’s ability to tell stories is versatile enough to showcase businesses in numerous industries.
This style of video and film production has provided Braden and his team the opportunity to work with international companies, including Four Seasons Hotels and Delta Faucet company. Untold has also worked with local tourism brands in and around the Kingston area. When asked how he chooses brands to showcase, Braden his passion for working with fellow B Corps, non-profits, and international brands that want to change the world. “The way we define it is, we want to support conscious companies, thoughtful brands and ambitious non-profits because those are the companies whose values align with ours the best. There are so many around the world that are doing amazing work”.
Having been in pursuit of the B Corp Certification for the last two years, Braden considers this achievement as a piece of pride. It was crucial that the procedures in every sector of Untold were carefully structured to reflect their ethical and environmental values. “We’ve had to spend a lot of time and energy looking at our processes, how we treat people, our impact on the community, and our environmental impact, who we work with as customers and why”. While Braden is very proud of what his brand and team have accomplished, he is aware of the work that lies ahead to maintain the B Corps Certification.
He admits, “achieving this feels like an accomplishment and step one at the same time”. Nonetheless, Untold Storytelling is ready to expand their craft of video and filmmaking. The B Corps Certification will Braden and his team accountable to stay true to their values as they continue to define, refine, and execute the best practices possible. “We’re now ready to take on the world and take on bigger projects with bigger brands. We can really increase the impact through the storytelling we do”.
To learn more about the B Corp and why Untold Storytelling became certified, watch their video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4P4ybMdWdM
For more information on Untold Storytelling, visit https://www.untoldstorytelling.com/production
Author: Vanessa Butera, Content Writer, The Onside Media, Toronto, Canada. If you have stories to share kindly email: – vanessa.butera@theonside.com
