by: John Adler

Sometimes it takes a seeming disaster to change course and redirect efforts, as if calamity itself is the only thing that can wake us up to the possibilities of new choices. So it was for Doug Karaszewski and family as a work accident set up a domino effect that eventually transformed from an unemployed bricklayer into the award winning filmmaker and owner of his own company, Egami Productions.
When not making award winning documentaries, Egami Productions serves as a full service multi-media production company ready to capture and preserve private ceremonies like marriages, christenings and confirmations, but also produces enterprising and effective informational and instructive videos geared to enhance any business venture.

Despite the awards won for previous work, Egami’s rates are extremely competitive while initial consultations are free.
Started in 2001, Egami Productions has already produced everything from featured documentaries to wedding ceremonies and instructional and marketing videos.
But the transformation into indie filmmaker didn’t happen over night. So exactly how does one go about going from laid up and unemployed to owner of his own successful company?
Karaszewski’s first answer is hard work. His second and third are perseverance and the loving support of his wife Carla and their 3 children, Sierra (12), Hunter (11), and Dakota (4).

Any successful reinvention involves interrupting the inertia brought on by previous life choices, changing direction, and then learning how to live the new path.
No stranger to hard work, back in 2000 Karaszewski found himself at the same job he had taken right out of high school. The long hours and grueling work as a bricklayer took their toll one day as he blew out his knee.
After 2 major surgeries and over a year in therapy, he still lay unable to go back to work and provide for his family.

The idea of going back to school came to him then and his first thoughts about it took him back to the age of 12, when he first fell in love with the camera, spending much of his teenage years developing his abilities.
Also, his father infected him with a love for the cinema at an early age. Not content with only watching them, he started writing movie scripts as well.
So he went back to school and studied multi-media, learning everything from camera technique and story development to splicing, effects and the postproduction work of audio/video editing.

The last year of school he finished on his own, working 12-15 hours daily, studying the latest developments in digital video/audio production.
While applying for work in northern Illinois, another epiphany struck him when he discovered no one was hiring.

Then it dawned on him that he had everything these production companies he interviewed for had. He owned professional grade video, audio lighting and editing equipment. And he knew how to use it, how to take a series of moving pictures, add, enhance or diminish sight and sound, and using effects put it all into a feature length presentation.

Thus Egami (image spelled backwards) Productions was born.

The study of multi-media production reawakened his dream of youth, giving it fresh steam and new inertia. His wife and 3 kids helped push start it back into motion. Though they’ve had some rough times, they’ve not looked back.
“I like to let my work speak for itself,” says Karaszewski. It does.
His first documentary, “Gun Dog Hunting: The Prairies of North Dakota” won 2 different Telly Awards, including a Silver for Best Documentary and a Bronze for Best Cinematography. For those of us outside the industry the Telly Awards are highly respected and competitive, showcasing the best work of production companies, ad agencies, TV Stations and cable operators.

“’Gun Dog’ isn’t a typical hunting video but focuses on the beauty of the prairie and the art of working with dogs,” states Karaszewski. “I wanted to make a film about the beauty of the outdoors, about some of the more subtle motivations behind hunting and fishing.”

His documentary won in an annual competition that annually features over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and foreign countries.
Egami Productions joined the ranks of such notable past winners as ABCNews.com, BET Jazz, Discovery Kids, Harpo Productions, Miramax, Time-Warner Cable, The History Channel and Sesame Street Workshop.

As for their film making, both Doug and Carla say with a smile, “We’re as indie as it gets.” That means their work is entirely self-produced, including location scouting, script writing, directing, shooting and all postproduction.
The film garnered him a couple of appearances on ESPN radio on the show “Chauncey’s Great Outdoors.”

The awards helped the word spread and Egami expanded. In addition to booking more weddings, the company also diversified. He’s done training and instructional/safety videos including a dog training film and other productions for commercial enterprises.
Well versed in graphic design as well as photography, he can and has done everything from television commercials and original photomontages of senior and school photos to family portraits and engagement photos. He can record sporting events and take team photos as well as wildlife and nature landscape production.
He brings a filmmaker’s eye to every video production. Creating more than just a visual documentation to an event, he delivers a cinematic presentation composed of dynamic composition and effects.

Three years ago, while looking for another outdoor-oriented project to shoot, Karaszewski met Brad Bohen, a local trout-fishing guide. Impressed with Bohen’s philosophic outlook on life as a fisherman, he started filming.
Well into the production, funds started running low 18 months ago, as he could no longer afford the commute from northern Illinois to the north woods. With his wife and kids supporting, Karaszewski sold the house to help finance the film and move on up to the area.

With most of the shooting done for his next film, “The Zen and Way of the Trout Bum,” Karaszewski and family have had a little more time to settle in. He has done some work for the Hayward Chamber of Commerce as well as the Birkie and CAMBA.
His passion lies in capturing the beauty of being a sportsmen from a perspective less seen. “What bothers me about most hunting shows is the predominance of the “money shot” (the kill) as opposed to the real reasons most of us really go out there,” he says.

True to their nature, the family lived out of their RV last winter. “We looked at it as an adventure and as a result, the experience has solidified our connections as a family. Besides, we learned to take nothing for granted. It helps when you’re outside with a blowtorch at –30 trying to thaw a garden hose just so you can get a little water.”
Dedicated to their new adventure of life itself as art the Karaszewski’s are a welcome addition to the north woods. Egami Productions stands not only as a celebration of their outlook, but a living enterprise and positive example of turning calamity into fortune itself.