Houston Turns To Film

Houston is one of fastest-growing cities in corporate video production

Houston ranks as the third fastest-growing city in the nation in video content production, according to a new survey.

Move over, New York and Los Angeles. There are new hotspots for filmmaking in the nation — including Houston. ProductionHub released a list of the five fastest-rising cities in corporate video production — a part of the filmmaking industry that has been on the rise —and the Bayou City comes in at No. 3.

Corporate video production is a way for content creators to “work directly with brands and agencies to bring their storytelling and video production talents to a much broader audience,” according to ProductionHub, a global network of local crew and vendors that matches open jobs and positions with a pool of vetted talent.

So what puts Houston on the list?

“Many production companies that had traditionally placed all their eggs in the Hollywood or New York City baskets are now exploring the possibilities for shooting pilots and films in other, very appealing, markets such as Houston. Available labor, talented production professionals, government incentives and a less-crowded marketplace have become very attractive to movie and TV producers, as you might expect,” says spokeswoman Lauren Leetun in an email.

“Houston’s corporate landscape is varied and seemingly booming, especially real estate. While we aren’t necessarily sure of the incentives being offered in Houston/Texas for tech enterprises, it appears—based on the data we have—that several tech companies are exploring more video production opportunities.”

Other major areas turning to video production as a marketing strategy are sports, automotive, live events (religious and musical), and the entertainment industry (TV pilots and indie films).

Atlanta leads the list, followed by San Francisco, Houston, Orlando and Baltimore.

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New technology aids low-vision visitors to Houston Museum of Natural Science

Photo courtesy of Visit Houston

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The Houston Museum of Natural Science is introducing another innovation of accessibility on campus, assistive tech by ReBokeh for low-vision visitors.

“HMNS is thrilled to extend our accessibility offerings to include free, assistive technology for visually impaired guests,” said Matti Wallin, the museum's accessibility programs manager. “We hope to learn a lot from this partnership so we can continue to grow and serve the low vision community as best we can because here at the museum, we believe that science is for everyone.”

Founded in 2019, ReBokeh is a mobile app-based tech company that specializes in aiding low-vision individuals through their smart devices. Using the device's camera, the app can be set to various filters that account for the user's unique visual needs, including difficulty with contrast, color hue, zoom, and lighting. In addition, it uses AI-driven descriptions of exhibits to help the user better appreciate what they are looking at.

The partnership with ReBokeh allows museum visitors to use the premier-tier software for free while on the Houston Museum of Natural Science campus. According to ReBokeh, 85 percent of visually-impaired visitors have some remaining vision, making the app helpful to visitors who may otherwise have missed aspects of the collection.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the most popular museums in America, featuring four floors of dinosaurs, mummies, gems, energy, and special exhibits. It has been specializing in improving accessibility over the last decade. Virtually all exhibits are now available through multiple languages in both signage and audio tour apps. Extra care has been taken in new exhibits such as the shark presentation in the basement to place as many portions as possible at wheelchair height. Several exhibits already come with their own built in audio descriptions for visually-impaired visitors as well as Braille descriptions.

“The visual experiences that are available at the Houston Museum of Natural Science can inspire a lifelong passion for science and learning — especially among young people,” said Rebecca Rosenberg, founder and CEO of ReBokeh. “We couldn’t be more excited to help open the door for people with low vision to engage with every aspect of the museum — from the Cockrell Butterfly Center to the Burke Baker Planetarium, in new and exciting ways.”

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