What One Tree Forest Films does

One Tree Forest Films is a privately held, Chicago-based video production studio founded by Chad Cooper and Abby Cooper (the company lists 2009 as its founding year in firmographics, while other sources point to 2015 as the formal launch of the branded studio). The studio provides end-to-end content production services spanning branded video, narrative and documentary storytelling, tabletop and stop-motion product shoots, motion graphics, character animation, 3D modeling, compositing, and illustration. Productions are delivered for enterprise brand clients across sports nutrition, food and beverage, healthcare, utilities, insurance, tools, and education, with a recurring, multi-year relationship with Gatorade (Player of the Year program) as the most visible anchor engagement.

The studio's core technology is creative production capability rather than software IP: in-house direction, cinematography, editing, animation, and motion graphics supported by a 10,000 sq ft owned production facility in Chicago's West Town (known as The Arbory), which features an 8,000 sq ft daylight studio with skylights, green room, lounge spaces, and a kitchen. The platform's differentiator is a story-centric workflow, in which small, cross-functional crews adapt on set rather than executing a rigid process, combined with hybrid documentary-style and beautifully composed imagery. Proprietary features include this story-first workflow, a hybrid production approach balancing control with spontaneity, and in-house animation/motion graphics capabilities.

The business model is professional services: custom project-based pricing for branded content production, with The Arbory generating a secondary rental revenue stream from external productions and events. The company uses a portfolio-driven, sales-led go-to-market motion, with direct engagement of brand marketing teams and a website portfolio covering branded content, narrative, original content, and tabletop/animation categories. Customer segments are primarily enterprise brand/advertising clients, with secondary verticals in sports/fitness brands and a horizontal offering of studio rental to other production companies. The studio also produces self-initiated original content, including the Peabody Award-winning #MoreThanMean video, as a brand-credentialing exercise.

Name

One Tree Forest Films

Legal name

One Tree Forest Films Inc.

Website

https://onetreeforestfilms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

One Tree Forest Films is a Chicago-based, private video production studio providing branded content, narrative storytelling, tabletop, animation, and motion graphics services for enterprise brand clients, anchored by a long-term Gatorade partnership and operating The Arbory, a 10,000 sq ft production facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Branded Video Production: Producing custom video content for brand clients including commercials, promotional films, social media content, and documentary-style pieces. Projects range from athlete-focused content (Gatorade Player of the Year) to product demonstrations (Skilsaw), animation (McDonald's), and branded storytelling.
2. Studio Rental (The Arbory): Rental of 10,000 square foot production studio in West Town, Chicago featuring 8,000 sq ft ground floor daylight studio, two lounge spaces, green room, bar area, and full kitchen facilities for external productions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

One Tree Forest Films produces custom video content for brand clients, including branded marketing films, narrative and documentary-style storytelling, tabletop product videography, stop motion, motion graphics, and character animation. The Chicago studio also rents out its 10,000-square-foot production facility, The Arbory, to external productions and events. Services are scoped and quoted per project, with capabilities spanning commercial shoots, social media content, product launches, and long-term campaign work for enterprise brands.

Product overview

One Tree Forest Films is a Chicago-based video production studio offering a comprehensive suite of content creation services. Their core offerings include Branded Content Production for marketing campaigns, Narrative Storytelling for documentary and authentic storytelling, and Tabletop & Animation for food/product photography and motion graphics. They operate The Arbory, a 10,000 sq. ft. production studio facility. The company has produced extensive work for major brands including Gatorade, McDonald's, Herbalife, and ComEd, and holds a long-term contract producing the Gatorade Player of the Year program content. Their services span promotional films, stop motion production, social media content, and animation reels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branded Content Production Custom video production services for brand marketing campaigns, including promotional films, brand documentaries, commercial spots, and social media content for enterprise clients such as Gatorade, Herbalife, and McDonald's.
• Narrative Storytelling Documentary-style and narrative video production telling authentic stories, including self-initiated projects such as 'At the Intersection of Analog & Digital' exploring the relationship between digital and analog technologies.
• Tabletop, Motion Graphics & Animation Food and product photography/videography, motion graphics, character animation, 3D modeling, compositing, illustration, and stop motion production services for client projects ranging from corporate videos to live-show presentations.
• The Arbory Studio Rental 10,000 square foot fully outfitted production and event space in Chicago's West Town, featuring an 8,000 sq. ft. ground floor daylight studio with auto-blackout skylights, green room with private bath, two lounge spaces plus bar area, large prep kitchen, and garage door load-in access; rented to external productions and events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produced over 100 athlete videos for Gatorade Player of the Year program over 10 years with 24-hour turnaround capability for 12 national announcements
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TIDALminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOne Tree Forest partnered with TIDAL to produce a conversation video with Jeff Tweedy at his recording studio in Chicago. The partnership involved creating content for TIDAL's platform showcasing artist interviews.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• The Mill: Global VFX, post-production, and content creation studio serving major brands and agencies. Provides overlapping capabilities in animation, motion graphics, and commercial post — areas where One Tree Forest also operates.
• B-Reel: Global creative agency and production company producing branded films, interactive experiences, and campaigns for major brands. A larger established player in the same branded-content production space.
• Radical Media: Established branded content and documentary production studio with a deep enterprise client roster. Operates at a larger scale but in an overlapping branded-content and narrative production category.
• Wieden+Kennedy Content Studio: In-house content production arm of Wieden+Kennedy, a major global creative agency. Competes for the same enterprise brand budgets with broader scale and agency infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Variable: Midwest-based creative agency and production studio with capabilities in branding, motion, and content production. Comparable in geographic and operational footprint, with similar full-service creative offering.
• Hey Wonderful: Boutique branded entertainment studio producing short-form brand films and campaigns for major consumer brands. Comparable business model of small team, premium creative, branded content focus.
• Tool of North America: Los Angeles-based branded entertainment and commercial production studio with comparable offerings in commercials, brand films, and integrated content. Closely comparable in scope and target market to One Tree Forest.
• m ss ng p eces (Missing Pieces): Brooklyn-based production and creative studio producing branded content, commercials, and original programming. Directly comparable in size, offerings, and brand-client roster.
• Arts+Labor: Chicago-based creative production studio producing commercials, branded content, and original programming. Directly competes in the same Chicago market with overlapping service lines and customer segments.

Emerging players

• Carbon (VFX/Production): Creative production and VFX studio producing commercials, branded content, and animation. Comparable in offering mix — particularly the animation/motion graphics overlap — but operates at slightly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/OneTreeForestFilms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/one-tree-forest-films
• Instagraminstagram.com/onetreeforestfilms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about One Tree Forest Films