Mainstream Video Production

I recently got interviewed by CanvasRebel and it made me reflect on how long video storytelling has really been part of my life.

I started making videos as a kid with one of those giant 80s-style cameras, neighborhood kids as actors, and my siblings giving very strong creative opinions 😂!

Since then, I’ve worked in reality TV, live entertainment, concerts, corporate communications, marketing strategy, and now over a decade running Mainstream.

One thing that has stayed true through all of it is this:

Great video is rarely about just “making content.”
It’s about helping people understand something, feel something, or take action.

The best projects happen when strategy and storytelling work together.

That’s still the part I love most! Helping organizations take ideas that feel big or complicated and turn them into communication that actually connects.

Grateful for every person, client, teammate, and project that have shaped my journey so far.

Here’s the interview if you want to check it out:

Meet Beth Klepper We were lucky to catch up with Beth Klepper recently and have shared our conversation below. Beth, thanks for taking the time to share

AI and Spencer Pratt made my head explode this week.
Before I go down this road I am not endorsing ANY political message just the effectiveness of the messaging.

AI isn't new to my industry. It usually doesn't rattle me past the occasional "wait… it can do THAT now TOO?"

But lately I've been seeing brands produce ads that look like a real person filmed real people. You have to look closely to catch it. And I keep asking myself... for how long?
And more importantly: does it even matter?

Because it functions like video functions. A face. A voice. Gesture. Emotion. If video speaks 100,000 words, does it matter that a machine made it?

Then I saw what Spencer Pratt's political ad machine was putting out. And I'll be honest... I was compelled. More than once. By bot-looking actors. And not just because I was a HUGE Hills fan.
What got me wasn't the AI. It was the messaging. They knew their audience. They had a clear POV. And they understood what makes a story land.
That's the part AI didn't do.

The production budget to make those ads the traditional way would've been significant. Would they have even made them?

Here's where I've landed:
AI is expanding what's possible for brands in video. More formats. More volume. Lower barriers. That's the way of the road for this industry.
But AI doesn't replace the thinking. It amplifies it, good or bad or ugly.

If you don't know your audience, AI gives you more ways to miss them. If you don't have a message, AI gives you a louder version of nothing. If you don't understand storytelling, AI just makes your confusion prettier.

The brands winning with AI-generated video aren't bypassing the fundamentals. They're the ones who understood them first.

So yes, flaunt all the AI you can get your hands on. Just make sure you've got something worth saying before you do.