Paradise is a Chicago-based video production company that creates and edits custom commercial and branded content for advertising agencies and direct-to-client teams. With more than 15 years of production and editorial experience, Paradise combines human-centered storytelling with a streamlined and collaborative production approach.

What makes Paradise different from hiring a freelance director or production vendor?

Paradise provides a broader production partnership that connects creative direction, production, editorial, and post-production rather than treating each stage as an isolated vendor relationship. This gives agencies and brands a central creative partner while allowing the project to draw on specialized directors, editors, colorists, VFX artists, and other collaborators when needed.

What does Paradise produce?

Paradise produces custom commercial and branded video content, including advertising campaigns, brand stories, narrative-driven videos, artistic mini-documentaries, and other tailored visual content. Its production capabilities extend from concept development and filming through editing, finishing, and delivery.

How does a project with Paradise get started?

A project with Paradise starts through a new business inquiry with Executive Producer Tracy Tran-Thomas, followed by collaboration around the brief, creative direction, and production requirements. Paradise can begin with an agency brief or work directly with a brand to develop the concept and determine the production approach.

Is Paradise a full-service video production company?

Yes, Paradise is a full-service video production company that can manage production from pre-production through post-production, including coordination with finishing vendors. Its services include scriptwriting, storyboarding, filming, editing, color correction, sound design, special effects, and finishing.

How involved does the client need to be during production?

Client involvement can be structured around the project's approval requirements, with key decisions established before production and defined review points during the creative process. The exact level of involvement should be agreed during project planning so that the production team can maintain momentum while the client retains appropriate creative oversight.

How long has Paradise been producing video?

Paradise has more than 15 years of production and editorial experience, with work spanning commercial production, branded content, and post-production for agencies and brands.

Chicago Commercial Production Company

We are an out-of-the-box, fun, expressive video production company.

Welcome to our digital home. We are Paradise, a team of expressive, innovative, and boundary-pushing individuals who help brands tell their unique stories artistically.

ABOUT US

super dope videos

for super dope humans

We craft genuinely human content, guided by a socially conscious hand and a fun-loving heart.

The beginning of something different

Paradise is a Chicago-based video production company that works with ad agencies and direct-to-client teams to create and edit unique custom content.

With over 15 years of production and editorial experience, we bring an eye for the human and a streamlined, unfussy approach to creating. We always try to find the human emotion in the stories we tell and get to the heart of making audiences care. We are a minority-owned business that is committed to representation, diversity, and a socially conscious ethic, both onscreen and behind-the-scenes in our productions.

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15+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

30+ CLIENTS

10 DIRECTORS & EDITORS

3 COUNTRIES

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Featured

Liz Requena

Editor

Solar Paint | Glossier

Liz Requena

Editor

Solar Paint | Glossier

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Liz Requena

Editor

Olivia Curry

Director + Editor

Glory | Malik Watson-Smith

Olivia Curry

Director + Editor

Glory | Malik Watson-Smith

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Olivia Curry

Director + Editor

ZAPATA

Director + Editor

A Skylar-Style Workout | Milk

ZAPATA

Director + Editor

A Skylar-Style Workout | Milk

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ZAPATA

Director + Editor

ZAPATA

Director + Editor

Christian Pulisic | Hershey

ZAPATA

Director + Editor

Christian Pulisic | Hershey

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ZAPATA

Director + Editor

Dianne Lee

Editor

Only Human | Chevron

Dianne Lee

Editor

Only Human | Chevron

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Dianne Lee

Editor

Lindsay Rynne

Editor

Force is Female: Ravyn Lenae

Lindsay Rynne

Editor

Force is Female | Ravyn Lenae: Nike

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Lindsay Rynne

Editor

Our Services

Co-Creating

Full Service Video Production

Editorial & Post-Production

WHAT WE DO

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Featured

We are a full service production company that creates commercial work with agencies and brands from pre-production through post.

We can work with an agency brief or collaborate with brands to concept projects. We can handle all aspects of production, and also provide full post-production services including working with finishing vendors.

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We are highly experienced, but also flexible and fun enough to create an environment on set or in post that fosters true creativity

You’ll start to see our aesthetic sensibilities and commitment to diverse casting in our first treatment. Once we’re on set, we stay flexible enough to capture the moments that best fit your concept while making our talent comfortable enough to shine.

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That means fresh, modern work that is still thoughtful and responsible.

We work with fantastic colorists, mixers, and VFX artists across the country to get your work finished beautifully and craft the best version of your spot.

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ZAPATA

FOUNDER, DIRECTOR, EDITOR
ZAPATA is a director and editor with 15 years of experience working with major ad agencies and brands. He believes in authenticity, in diversity, in freedom of movement on set, in working with animals and children at the same time, and is always chasing the sun for first and last light.

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Dianne Lee

EDITOR
Dianne is a freelance editor in Chicago's advertising and local film scene. Whatever the project, Dianne approaches each edit with gratitude and a tenacity to make it the best story it can be, as well as a deep passion for labeling clips and bins different colors. When she’s not editing, she is usually riding her bike around Chicago in search of the best coffee and pastries in the city.

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Liz Requena

EDITOR
Liz Requena is a freelance editor from Chicago currently based in Brooklyn. She has 9 years of experience cutting for major brands, and she has a deep passion for piecing together a story through image and rhythm. She can also edit in Spanish!

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Lindsay Rynne

EDITOR
Lindsay Rynne is a Chicago-based editor who is dedicated to helping others connect the dots in their stories. Her goal is to magnify the connection between art and activism. Whether in branded content or in the activist space, she believes in meaningful connection with collaborators. BLM.

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Jill Dugan

EDITOR
Jill is a Chicago-based editor whose brain is wired for the cut. She loves staying hyper organized and juggling the pieces of an edit, as well as presenting options that clients didn’t even know they wanted. Editing makes her brain happy :)

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Kristian Young

DIRECTOR, EDITOR
Kristian Young is a storyteller at heart who specializes in shooting lifestyle films and iconic commercial stories with a documentary approach. His working class background, music video experience, and subsequent collaborations with some of the biggest names in music have given him a unique perspective on creating for brands.

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Brian Salazar

EDITOR
Brian is a Los Angeles based video editor, born and raised in the mean streets of the west suburbs of Chicago. He dropped out of nursing school to pursue a passion in the arts. Millennials, amirite? But shoutout to all the badass nurses out there, especially his mom.

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Tracy Tran-Thomas

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Tracy is Paradise’s Executive Producer, and joined the team after 15+ years of working on the agency side at Element79 and mcgarrybowen. She believes in efficient and organized sets without stress---the secret to her zen mindstate is listening to wind chimes while she works.

Contact Tracy