Ericka and Brandon Reardin, owners of Reardin Creative, are born storytellers. Not necessarily their own, but rather those of other people.
“We love doing documentary work. We love finding unique people in interesting situations and we love telling their story,” says Brandon.
“We believe that there are just so many wonderful people out there and so many wonderful people whose stories don’t get told. That’s what we really try to do; to show all the wonderful people that exist in our own community,” he added.
The couple, now the proud parents of an infant daughter, met in college at Southeastern University in Lakeland Florida. Brandon, a second-generation Veroite, majored in broadcasting, with a minor in film production. Ericka, originally from South Georgia, majored in communications, doing “a little bit of everything.”
Ericka says she first became interested in photography as a hobby when she was young, before getting into video production toward the end of high school. Her interest in video work continued to blossom once she entered college and, while most of her work is now in film, she does still use her photography skills occasionally.
Brandon says his videographic journey began as a child.
“I got started on my parents’ tape camcorder with my toys in my bedroom. And it kind of evolved when I became a teenager. I learned about stop-motion animation, like the old Rankin/Bass Christmas movies,” he says, referencing such animated classics as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.”
“I did a lot of that with my Legos and making little videos with my friends and it just kind of grew from there,” says Brandon.
“He started as a kid, and he never stopped. I don’t think he ever will either,” Ericka adds with a smile.
“I’m the only person in my family who ever took a liking to it. I have no idea why, but I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” says Brandon.
After marrying, they decided to move to wherever the first job took them, which ended up being Vero, where Brandon had accepted a full-time job with the school district. Once here, Ericka was able to continue her freelance work with Reardin Creative.
In 2020, amidst the pandemic, Brandon switched to working full time with their company.
“It was a crazy time to make the jump, but it worked out,” says Brandon.
They say that having their combined skill sets has broadened their opportunities and has enabled the business to grow and expand its reach.
The pair are currently volunteering their time to work on a feature length documentary film about the abstract artists in the current (abstract) URGE show at the Raw Space Gallery, which runs through Jan. 24.
“When Brandon became full-time freelance, it opened up our horizons to be able to do projects like this. Because this isn’t a paid project; it’s a passion project for us,” says Ericka.
There are six visual artists involved in the show – Gabriela Hernandez, Christina Bates, Xaque Gruber, Shotsi LaJoie, Barry Shapiro and Leslie Stokes. Additionally, Aric Attas is staging a unique presentation of generative ambient music with plants.
Ericka explains that they are creating what will likely be two documentaries: one shorter version to be shown during the show, and a feature length version that they plan to submit to the Vero Beach Film Festival, either this year or the next.
“Since we’re going to also be filming at the show, there may be a different version but basically the gist of it will play on a loop,” says Ericka.
She notes that the film will be shown in the small anteroom between the two main galleries at Raw Space.
If the film is accepted this year or next into the Vero Beach Film Festival, it wouldn’t be their first. Their “Fish Out of Water” was shown at the 2022 festival and the year after that it was a documentary piece they made for the Hibiscus Children’s Center.
“We just submitted the latest film, called ‘No Good Deed,’ so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’ll get in,” says Brandon.
Brandon explains that their part in the (abstract) URGE show came about when one of the artists, Barry Shapiro, approached them to ask if they would be interested in producing a video that would serve as another piece of the show.
“Abstract art is one of those facets of art where a lot of people are very easily turned off because they don’t understand it, or they think they’re supposed to get something specific out of it. And the whole point of the show is to expose people to the different facets and show them the artists behind the art,” he explains.
“People don’t always know the stories behind the art. So we’re trying to tell that, and the artists themselves, because they’re amazing people,” adds Ericka.
Brandon notes that abstract art can be more than just visual arts, as with the musical piece being created by Aric Attas.
“He creates generative music that basically iterates on itself. It’s insane but that itself is abstract because there’s no set way of creating it,” says Brandon.
In addition to their own films, the couple produces videos for businesses, nonprofits and events.
“We pretty much tell people we do everything but weddings,” Brandon says with a laugh.
“We branched a lot more into things that are more scripted, light-hearted and funny; something different. We have a couple of things that we enjoy doing more than others, but we really do a little bit of everything,” says Ericka.
“We pride ourselves on always pushing forward, because that’s just what we’ve always done our whole lives. We believe that when you start becoming content that’s when the quality of your work will just nosedive,” Brandon says.
“There’s a million other people doing the job that we do. And the thing that separates us is the fact that we strive for that human connection. We want to show people the human side of things,” he adds.
