What’s Your Story?: Alumni turn media and film knowledge into a thriving local business
By Jeanne Nagle | July 2024
“We all have stories to tell,” says Zach Strenger ’15, co-owner of Thousand Lumens Visual Marketing in Stevens Point.
Included in that statement, of course, are Strenger and his business partner, Jade Arnold ’15, who started their brand and multimedia consultancy company shortly after graduation—pretty much on a whim.
“We kind of slipped into it, honestly,” admits Strenger, who got to know Arnold when they lived next door to each other in Steiner Hall. As fellow communication and media studies majors (Strenger double-majored in English), they took many of the same courses, wherein they elected to partner on class projects. That led to collaborations outside the classroom as well.
“We liked each other’s work and mindset,” he says.
After graduation, the two became roommates. Strenger worked at Great Northern Distilling at the time, while Arnold had landed a gig as a videographer for Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection. Just for fun, they decided to shoot a pro bono commercial for Great Northern’s name brand of rye whiskey.
“We had a blast,” says Strenger, “and [the spot] had a great response.”
Among those who took notice of their work were execs at Stevens Point Brewery, who hired them, as freelancers, to create an event video. That led to even more promotional work, including a piece in honor of the brewery’s 160th anniversary that wound up airing regionally during Super Bowl LI.
“It was a pretty surreal milestone,” Strenger notes.
After that, giving up their “day jobs” to commit to the business full-time seemed like a no-brainer. Besides, “I never wanted to work for anyone else,” says Arnold, who hails from a family of entrepreneurs.
The name of the company is associated with filmmaking; lumens are a standard measurement in film lighting. “But mostly, it rolled off the tongue and was recognizable,” admits Arnold, who came up with the moniker.
What started as a two-person venture housed within the CREATE Portage County makerspace has blossomed into a business with a new location and staff of seven. Head of Production Alex Grant, a 2019 UWSP grad, has joined Strenger (head of operations) and Arnold (creative director/head of post-production) as a full-timer.
“Alex has been the tour de force of Thousand Lumens since he joined us just over two years ago,” asserts Arnold. “He’s a brilliant creative mind, and always brings positive energy to the office and set.”
A part-time bookkeeper and three interns—responsible, individually, for production, IT/Web design and “customer success”–round out the group.
The company’s stock-in-trade is visual storytelling. That encompasses any- and everything from industry brand and community films to event videos and customer testimonials, as well as the aforementioned commercials and other product-specific videos.
“When creating commercials, the challenge—and reward—is crafting a concise core message that can be broken into 15-, 30- and 60-second versions for maximum value and flexibility,” says Arnold. He adds that audio from those can be used, independent of the visuals, for radio spots.
Conversely, longer documentary-type content depends heavily on editing—a job at which, Strenger says, Arnold and Grant each excel.
“The most difficult part is to reduce hours and hours of content into a story that isn’t too short and doesn’t overstay its welcome,” he says.
All Thousand Lumens projects start with a discovery meeting, to see if client and company would be a good fit for partnering.
“We are different because we aren’t ‘work for hire,’” says Arnold. “Meaning, organizations come to us when they’re looking for a long-term video partner. We specialize in partnering with our clients to establish them as empathetic experts in their industry.”
Next comes a pre-production Video Blueprint Workshop, where the production team and client reps discuss goals and create a roadmap of the approach to be used. From there, the team runs through preproduction, recording material and postproduction. Each step in the process is open to revisions, if necessary.
“Video can be intimidating and high-stress, especially for new clients or talent who haven’t been on camera before,” Strenger notes. “We go out of our way to make every step of the process relaxed, productive and fun.”
To that end, the Thousand Lumens crew believes that the way to an enjoyable recording experience often leads through a client’s stomach. “We joke that good snacks are essential for a good project,” he says, “but honestly, it’s true.”
The duo also 
relies on lessons learned while undergrads at UWSP.
“All of the English professors were so good at keeping you curious,” says Strenger, “about new books, new perspectives, new takes, people. … That curiosity is really fundamental in how we conduct our interviews.”
Arnold agrees with that assessment, noting that he learned how important it is “to always listen with intent and ask the right questions.” He says collaboration and problem-solving, in addition to the fundamentals of filmmaking, were other key takeaways from his years at Point.
Strenger and Arnold say that new business at Thousand Lumens is driven by leads gleaned through the company’s website and personal referrals. Past and present clients include area businesses and organizations such as Ruby Coffee Roasters, Stevens Point Orthopedics, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and, perhaps not surprisingly, UWSP.
In 2024, Thousand Lumens has made a concerted effort to branch out into the renewable energy niche market, “to establish ourselves as the go-to video marketing partner in the industry,” according to Arnold.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean we are turning our backs on our current clients and community,” Strenger emphasizes.
“We always strive to be good stewards of a story,” he adds. “When we interview people, we really just stay curious and get out of the way so they can tell their story.”
“Hearing people’s stories, learning about something new, discovering the source of their passion and watching them recall the memory of the moment that sparked it all fills me with wonder,” says Arnold. “But my favorite part is taking their stories and weaving them together in a way that makes the subjects see themselves with the same love and admiration that everyone else sees them with.
“To watch people’s eyes when they experience their own stories for the first time is a powerful thing.”
