Gary Hughes has over 15 years of proven experience in high-end audio and video production and post-production. Throughout most of those years, the focus was in marketing through Direct Response and Brand Response. Gary has been very fortunate to have worked on and with some excellent teams throughout the years. Employers and clients include a few global household names – The Oreck® Corporation, Orange Glo® (from the makers of Oxy Clean®) and Billy Blanks TaeBo™;  as well as makeup artist and hair stylists to the stars – Alexis Vogel™ and Ellin Lavar.

TaeBo

In addition to editing dozens of TaeBo workout videos in a couple of different languages and having my 10 second TaeBo commercial showcased on the Times Square JumboTron for the 2001 New Years Day ball drop event, TaeBo gave me my introduction into the world of Direct Response TV. To get my feet wet, I first made tweaks to an existing TaeBo Live infomercial, I then created a completely new infomercial for the TaeBo II – Get Ripped video series. Through selling in retail while heavily airing infomercials, TaeBo videos were some of the most sold videos of the time.

The videos became a surprise top seller in infomercial spots and retail stores starting last fall, selling an estimated 1.5 million video sets…

Tonya Bates, general manager of VideoScan, noted that Tae-Bo is now ranked third on the firm’s overall chart, outselling recently released studio movies such as “City of Angels.” Tae-Bo has also been a top contender on charts compiled by Billboard, Amazon.com and Jordan Whitney Inc.’s Greensheet, which ranks infomercials by ad budgets and TV exposure.

— March 03, 1999: Los Angeles Times

Later…

…over $1-billion selling 76 million units. My Tae Bo video is the number two best selling video behind Titanic.

— April 8, 2007: Billy Blanks to FormatMag.com

Alexis Vogel

I edited 37 versions of the successful Alexis Vogel System™ infomercial. While most of those versions were offer and creative tweaks, there were at least 4 different major revisions in the mix. I shot much of the still product photography used in the infomercials, instructional videos and print catalogs.

The Alexis Vogel System was made up of cosmetics and video instruction for applying your makeup. Alexis Vogel was a makeup superstar artist in Hollywood, to celebrities like Pamela Anderson, Paula Abdul, Jane Seymore, Angie Everhart… (the list goes on and on), and she had a wonderful talent and desire to teach others, and superb connections with all the right makeup suppliers. So, bringing all of that into a single and simple system just seemed right.

The Alexis Vogel System was a successful hit, until 9/11, when all of a sudden, spending $150 on a makeup system just didn’t make sense for most Americans. We focused on tweaking and improving the creative, offers and premiums and kept it mildly successful for a very long time after that.

Rocket Works Media LLC

As with most people in video production, I have always been open to freelance gigs here and there. In an attempt to branch out to other clients and new types of work, I formed Rocket Works Media LLC in 2003. In 2005, I made the jump from PC to Mac and bought a Final Cut Pro edit system. My first project on the new system was for Ellin Lavar Textures’ hair care products. Immediately following, I edited 2 versions of the Orange Glo Hardwood Floor Care System infomercial, plus 2 instructional videos by Orange Glo.

From December of 2008 to May of 2011, I ran Rocket Works Media full-time.

Oreck

In 2010, I picked up The Oreck Corporation as a client of Rocket Works Media, editing existing infomercials to incorporate new offers and creative direction. Oreck hired me as Manager of Video Production in May of 2011. Oreck’s VP of Direct Response, Anthony Conversa, told me to not put much stock in the title because it was as vague as they could possibly make it so that they could make me do anything at all, related to video of course.

At Oreck, projects range from no-budget internal productions to half-million dollar productions taking place almost anywhere in the US. I act as Producer for some projects, Director for some, Project Manager for most and liaison between Oreck and outside production for all. Then when it’s time for post-production, I am heavily involved in creative on all commercials and infomercials, and sole editor/graphic designer on some. I am solely responsible for web videos, retail support videos and future versions of all shows across all channels of the business.

My last project with Oreck as a client was a production at several locations, including David Oreck’s farm. It was a real treat to meet the man behind the machine and play around in his backyard. We drug a vacuum cleaner behind a truck, doing 90+ MPH down his personal airport runway, and back. We ran over a vacuum with that same truck. In both cases, the vacuums kept running. My first project with Oreck as my employer was project management for post production on that same show.

Projects at Oreck are wildly diverse. Some projects are on a super-tight budget, while others have the capital to back whatever it takes, and then some. Working for Oreck has been a real treat: the people are great, the product is great and the productions are tons of fun. We work fast and hard and with all the right players for each particular project.

Portfolio

The portfolio on this site is a culmination of my favorite projects from over the years. I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazingly talented people on these projects and will cherish the memories as long as I live. I intend to continue adding projects from now on, so please visit often.