In Cut to Create’s 15 years of filmmaking we have submitted just over 1500 project proposals, establishing many important long-term partnerships with clients in Houston and abroad, but perhaps one of the most influential proposals in the course of our company history was proposal number 54 from all the way back in 2012 for our friends at Holocaust Museum Houston.
The mission of HMH is to educate the public about the Holocaust, honor the legacy of survivors, and challenge antisemitism, hatred, and indifference while promoting individual responsibility, moral courage and respect for human rights. Their Destroyed Communities Project represented an effort to honor survivors whose villages and cities were erased during the Holocaust with a visual installation on the exterior of the museum facility. This video was intended to capture this lost history and the installation’s impact on museum-goers and survivors alike.
It was an honor to be awarded this project and interview the survivors who were a part of it. With its heavy reliance on historical footage and archival research, this story put to good use the post-production skills that, at that time, Cut to Create was known for, while expanding our interview and on-location filming experience as well.
Looking back, this 14 year-old video represents a humbler version of the Cut to Create style you might encounter today, but one that exemplifies our passion for storytelling and helped set the pace for future projects.
Soon after this project, the museum was looking to honor Holocaust survivor Bill Morgan with the Guardian of the Human Spirit Award, including a documentary-style feature of his life and work to be shown at their yearly fundraising gala event.
Bill’s personal history was such an inspiration and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview him firsthand. Combining elements of stock footage, voice over, interviews, and day-in-the-life b roll helped us further define our documentary style both visually and tonally.
Throwback BTS
Since 2012, Cut to Create has had the pleasure of working with Holocaust Museum Houston on honoree videos for their annual galas, documentaries which are featured throughout the museum, and program videos which highlight the museum’s educational outreach and other events related to the museum’s mission.
If you’ve been to the museum, you may recognize the Railcar Documentary or the Danish Rescue Boat Project both of which document the acquisition, restoration, and exhibition of these important pieces of history. We even won 3 Telly Awards for our work on the Railcar Documentary.
As of today, we have completed over 30 projects for Holocaust Museum Houston and we hope to continue working with them long into the future. For Holocaust Museum Houston’s 2025 Guardian of the Human Spirit Luncheon, we produced a pair of deeply meaningful pieces honoring this year’s recipient, Linda Burger, and celebrating the devoted volunteers who help bring the Museum’s mission to life. This mission is an important one and now more than ever it’s important to use our talents to enact positive change through storytelling and education.
If you’re interested in learning more about honoree videos for live events or other documentary-style video projects, check out the Services page on our website.
