Atlanta, GA: This year marks the 25th anniversary of Elevation, the Atlanta-based creative company that crafts beautifully designed solutions and stories aimed at helping brands Outdare Gravity. Founded in 1996 by Stephen Cocks, the company started as a small VFX studio called Big Mouth Post. The 3 person team worked with 1996’s most bleeding-edge equipment to produce standard definition video, including a Flame 3D VFX system that cost over $250,000 and had a whopping 500 gb of disk storage.
The company’s core mission broadened beyond just VFX, reflected in the name changing in 2002. “As we moved more into creative development and design, we needed something that spoke more to our ‘make every project better’ philosophy,” said Stephen. “Elevation was chosen because the goal was always to elevate our clients and challenge ourselves,” said Artistic Director Dianne Frisbee, who joined the company right before the name change.
Elevation has been located near the heart of Atlanta since it was founded. “We used to call Atlanta ‘fly over country’ when it came to our industry. That has drastically changed,” said Executive Producer Stephanie Carson. “There is now a wonderful community of creatives and an environment that really embraces art. It’s a colorful, quirky city that’s constantly evolving.” Just as their home city has grown, so has Elevation’s multidisciplinary team. “Each project is a chance to push ourselves and grow,” said Stephen. “Luckily, we’ve been fortunate enough to work with some incredible partners over the years and cultivate meaningful relationships.”
Some of the first clients of Big Mouth Post remain Elevation clients to this day, including several Atlanta icons. While assembling a short reel highlighting the last 25 years of work, Stephen Cocks found it to be a unique challenge. “If it were just up to me, the reel would be hours long,” joked Stephen. “I remember all the effort that went into each shot, and it’s surprising how emotionally attached I am to all of it. I feel extremely grateful, not only for our team, but for our amazing clients, collaborators, and friends who have given us this opportunity. The last two and a half decades would not have happened without them.”