Meddin Studios Offering Digital Media Production, Post Production and Distribution

WELCOME TO MEDDIN STUDIOS

Meddin Studios' goal was to be the premier facility for innovation in digital media production, post production and distribution. They were truly an outlet for new advanced digital technology.
The content below is from the site's archived pages.

SERVICES

Camera Department
Production Financing
Equipment Rental
Audio Support
Pre-Production Serivces
Crew / Creative Talent
Post Production Services
Aerial Support
Locations
Production Supplies
Duplication / Transcoding / Transfer
Digital Asset Management
Archive / Digital Storage
B Roll Library
Video Production
Equipment Sales
Training / Workshops
Consulting / Workflow Planning

STORE / RENTAL SERVICES

Equipment for Sale
Equipment for Rent
Cameras<
Hard Drives
Lighting
Grip

Meddin History


At its height, Meddin Meat Packing Company, located in Savannah, Georgia on the Louisville Road, supplied meat to much of Southeast Georgia and Coastal South Carolina and had a very favorable listing with the venerable financial firm of Dun and Bradstreet. The Meddin Brothers name is part of the masonry that now houses Meddin Studios.

Though the Savannah abattoir was its main base, meat packing company plants were also located in Charleston, SC and Macon, GA. The company continued to expand in the late 1930s with a presence in Savannah’s old City Market until 1954, the year City Market was demolished. A food locker building on East Broad and 37th Street later supplied the company’s hotel and restaurant customers. It also housed Meddin Enterprises and its real estate branch, Meddin Investments, which dealt mainly with mortgages, but at one point also owned the whole of Ft. Screven on Tybee Island, having purchased it from the US government after World War II. Streets in Ft. Screven still bear the family name.

In the 1960s there was also an office on Oglethorpe Avenue. The meat packing plant closed its doors in 1969, but Meddin Enterprises continued for another decade or so after that.

The historical record shows the Meddin brothers as leaders, builders and members of the Savannah Jewish community and the community at large. They were active in the B’nai B’rith Jacob Synagogue, The Agudath Achim Synagogue, the Temple Mickve Israel and the JEA (Jewish Educational Alliance) in Savannah. They participated and held offices in numerous other civic, shrine, community and religious organizations in Savannah, the city of Tybee Island and Charleston, SC as well.

In 1893 Abraham Meddin made his way to Savannah having entered the US via Ellis Island, NY. He came to North America aboard a ship named the Spaarndam. His wife Hannah and their 2 eldest sons, Isaac (Ike) and Alexander (Alex) followed in 1901 aboard another ship, the Statendam.

They had come from what was then Kolonia, Yakowlew, Poland; now Belarus (White Russia) where the family owned and operated the village lumber mill. Kolonia is located in that flexible European area that had once also been Russia and Lithuania.

Beginning in 1902 three more sons, Auzer (Asa), Hyman (Hymie) and Elliot (Itchy) were born to Abraham and Hannah in Savannah. A daughter, Freida, was born too, but died as a toddler.

Their home was on Tattnall Street just off the bluff on the Savannah River.

Abraham ran a shoe repair shop. His five sons on reaching adulthood tried other ventures. Then in 1917, near the end of World War I, they bought Butler Provision Company and Meddin Meat Packing Company was born.

Each of the five brothers went on to have families of their own. Though none of the brothers survive today, their direct descendants number nearly a hundred individuals living as of 2010 in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, Washington, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania, New York Montana, Virginia and Australia. Some are still proud to be living in Savannah.


The Meddin Team

Nick Gant - Creative Director
Principal

Son of a funeral director and professional clown and soon to be judge in a small town in Indiana. Born mid to late 70‘s, graduated high school in the 90’s and stayed home to attend a local university as the mascot. Wore the suit for two years and then put on the uniform for the government for about 4 years. Left the north, headed to the south to attend art college where I kept the high and tight for three more years to help pay for school.

I finally graduated from college 10 years to the day without the doctorate and tracked my way into a manufacturing job. Played in that arena for about 5 years, took an early retirement to chase a dream. I have a better half and two fantastic offsprings and five four legged children.

Jon Foster - Technical Director
Principal

Probably the smartest guy you will ever meet and the most talented on the turn tables. Jon Doe, AKA Jon Foster grew up in tobacco country and attended college with the wildcats. Jon did everything but anchor the news for a local affiliate before he helped build the Niche empire. Jon took a sabbatical running a rental program and selling gear to guys like me and my friends before returning to Niche to bring Meddin to life.

Jon still plays with Niche during the day and Meddin when no one is watching. Jon has two beautiful women in his life and two amazing little men.

Jason Osterday - Camera and Audio Department / Post Production Director 
Business Partner / Supporting Founder

Born and raised in the great mid-western state of Ohio, Jason is a direct connection to the famed "6 degrees of Dayton" (in which everyone you know can unsuspectingly be traced to that fantastic city of the Buckeye nation). He enjoys long infomercials, sitting in suburbian traffic, and can fix one mean, tall glass of rootbeer float. He's a huge Batman fan and you can usually spot him on or off the set wearing one of his Batman t-shirts, purchased at his favorite Batman T-shirt site. Recently, Jason's friends tried to introduce him to Bane t-shirts, arguing that they were just as cool. They teased him about diversifying his wardrobe and even gifted him one with Bane's iconic mask. But Jason always chuckles and says, "Batman forever!" although he appreciates the gesture. In cool weather outdoors, it'll be a Batman hoodie. "It's become a matter of good karma - don't want to mess with that by wearing anything else!"

Jason eventually left the north to Alpharetta, Georgia where he began work with his cousin on a company called Mirror Image Pictures, constructing local and regional commercials, music videos and corporate productions out of both Cincinnatti and Atlanta. The group grew into a small scale rental business which was introduced locally to Andrew Riggs and ultimately Nick Gant at Gulfstream Aerospace down in Savannah.

Andrew Riggs - Grip and Electric Department / Production Director
Business Partner / Supporting Founder

Hailing from Atlanta, Andrew Riggs moved to the Savannah area after studies at Georgia State to complete his education at SCAD.  He found a natural draw towards the technical aspects of grip and electric equipment and rigging and began working professionally in the Savannah area in 2008.

Riggs met Gant and Foster while creating Gulfstream Aerospace’s video asset database and that friendship transitioned to Meddin Studios from conception.  


Meddin Exclusive Membership

In addition to bringing industry leading equipment, knowledge and technology to the southeast, Meddin was built to foster collaboration in the creative community. We wanted to provide a facility that can support every aspect of the pre-production, production and post production process from a single permit through distribution. The facility is also capable of handling processes outside the generation of creative content, to include asset management, accelerated file transfer, content management, as well as professional space for training, conferences, and special screenings. We provide a central location for companies, individuals and independent productions to have a resource for talent, documentation, exclusive content libraries, insight into new technology, and an environment that encourages the use of shared resources.

Due to the technical nature and cost of these resources, the purchase or build out of this type of environment is unrealistic for most creative individuals and businesses as on owned asset. As a collaborative facility, Meddin can act as:

  * Pre Production Assistance
* Equipment Rental
* Camera Support
* Sound Stages / Support Facilites
* Post Facilities
* Asset Management
* Storage / Content Management
* Distribution
 


Meddin wants to extend the opportunity to an exclusive group of creative developers, content generators, media providers and companies in need of creative resources the ability to be a part of this environment. The Meddin Partnership Membership gives you exclusive access to the facility, the resources, its services and its members as we continue to build infrastructure needed by our members and the southeast.

Meddin also recognizes the need to have experienced talent in the area. Experienced talent can be very expensive for one company, even more expensive to bring that talent from out of town for a single project. With Meddin’s membership we believe these resources can be shared and experienced talent can call the southeast home.


 


NEWS

Savannah's Meddin Studios sold to SCAD
August 27, 2014
The Savannah College of Art and Design has bought the beleaguered Meddin Studios, a SCAD spokesman said this week.

“I can confirm that we have completed a deal for Meddin Studios, but we have not yet finalized our plans for the acquisition,” said Jose Mallabo, SCAD’s senior vice president for public relations and marketing.

Meddin principal Nick Gant a 2004 SCAD graduate, opened Meddin Studios in late 2009 in the old Meddin Brothers meatpacking plant on Louisville Road. The all-digital studio was designed as a one-stop production shop, complete with soundstages, audio and video editing bays and digital storage libraries.

In its first three and a half years, the studio worked on numerous television productions and more than a dozen films. Most notable were “Savannah,” a film starring Jim Caviezel as real-life Savannahian Ward Allen, who developed a partnership with a freed slave in the early 20th century; and “CBGB,” a biopic of the iconic New York music club widely considered the birthplace of punk rock after launching the careers of such acts as the Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith and Talking Heads.

Even before its star began to rise, Meddin — a $5 million venture financed largely through a Small Business Administration loan — was treated to an early 2010 visit from President Barack Obama, who came to tout the fledgling business as an example of what he hoped to accomplish through his small business initiatives.
In late 2012, Maddin said it was outgrowing its space on Louisville Road and announced plans to buy the former Citi Trends distribution warehouse next to the Greyhound bus station downtown. At the time, Gant said the studio would relocate to the larger facility once its renovation plans were approved by the Savannah Historic District Board of Review.

A falling star
But things began to unravel when the studio ran into financial problems.

In July 2013, Meddin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to avoid the company’s sale in foreclosure. At the time, Gant said the bankruptcy was due to unpaid bills owed by clients, although the clients have disputed the allegation.

In February, as the studio was still struggling to stay afloat, 27-year-old Sarah Elizabeth Jones was struck and killed by a train while working on location with a film crew on “Midnight Rider,” a production based at Meddin Studios.

The film, a biopic about musician Gregg Allman starring William Hurt, shut down production a week later.

Gant was originally listed as an executive producer on the film but later told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he had no role in the day-to-day production decisions, which he said were made by the film’s production company, Unclaimed Freight, and its director, Randall Miller.

SCAD’s interest in Meddin comes as the college boasts a full film and television program, offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees in a number of disciplines. Its annual Savannah Film Festival draws celebrities, guests and films from around the globe.

While SCAD’s Mallabo, contacted this week, would not comment beyond confirmation of the sale, he said information on the transaction and the college’s plans for the facility should be available soon.

MeddinStudios.com