OUR STORY

Founded in 2002 as producer of original and work-for-hire television shows, Foglight Entertainment is now incorporating 360° and Virtual Reality video into it's lexicon. Along the way we also created branded content for TV and digital platforms, building a track record of taking on challenges and telling great stories. 

Evan Kanew and Gregg Backer are award-winning journalists and storytellers who came up at ESPN, CNN and HBO Sports. We have extensive experience reporting, writing and producing for various platforms, overseeing studio productions and coordinating live broadcasts, project ad events of all sizes – from intimate profiles and investigative stories to coverage of the Olympics and Super Bowl.  Along the way we've always kept our eyes on great stories and ways to tell them in compelling, innovative ways. 

Our latest initiative is telling stories in VR/360º video, allowing viewers to engage with content and characters in exciting new ways. Some of our favorite work in this medium includes a narrative virtual tour of the Hoboken HQ of tech startup Jet.com and ESPN's first foray into 360º journalism, a feature about North Dakota State QB Carson Wentz – and we are enthusiastic about our development of stories in other sectors, including real estate, lifestyle, food, music and more. From a technical standpoint, we are camera and platform agnostic, with a firm belief that different 360° projects and distribution campaigns require unique solutions. We have shot with a variety of cameras, everything from a powerful system with a real-time stitching engine (OmniCam) to new technology with stereoscopic capabilities (Ozo) to a basic GoPro rig. We have worked on content destined for platforms from YouTube to Facebook, Oculus and the Samsung Gear, and can help clients decide on their optimal distribution strategy. The bottom line is we are bringing powerful storytelling experience to this cutting-edge medium.  

On the TV side, we have a decades-long resume developing and producing original factual programming for a variety of networks. Among the highlights: We've created shows for MTV (CKY: The Untold Story), History (Brothers in Arms: The Untold Story of the 502); Starz (Starz Inside), Epix (Epix Extra) and the first original bio series produced by MTV Tres (La Escalera). We've been a go-to out-of-house partner for VH1, producing news specials and documentaries, including multiple episodes of the biography series Driven, covering some of the biggest names in pop culture – stars and athletes such as Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Mike Tyson and Anna Kournikova. Foglight also created the first series set in a tattoo shop, Inked, which ran for 44 episodes on A&E. 

In 2007, Foglight became the white-label production arm of Digital Broadcasting Group, which quickly emerged as one of the world’s largest digital distribution networks. With Gregg as a co-founder and E.P., Foglight quietly developed and produced hundreds of webisodes and series, the lion's share of DBG's custom content for brands of all sizes, often working closely their agencies. Routinely involved from the RFP phase through project delivery, our work involved development and production of digital series. We conceived and managed creative solutions for brands and product integrations, as well as larger-scale programming of digital channels and content. After DBG was acquired by Alloy Digital, and in turn by Defy Media, we continued to produce shows for that network and expanded to other distributors and studios. Over the years, Foglight’s team has developed and/or produced digital content across a diversity of genres: music; fashion; makeover, renovation, home & design; features, profiles, competition and documentaries; health and pharma; scripted content; studio shows; live broadcasts and more.

Lately, we have also taken on other new storytelling challenges, working directly with business and philanthropic organizations to strategically use video as part of their digital identities and to find creative ways to connect with people, partners and potential clients.  We've worked with some great organizations and agencies, including Jet.com, Doctors Without Borders, Ovis Creative, Storyful and more. What the projects have in common is they're all creative and collaborative. 

Today, our vision is simple: to tell stories as we always have and to keep forging ahead into the future of VR, bringing all our experience to bear. Across the industry, new producers are jumping into VR/360 with purely visual experiences and/or large-scale, rights-based projects. Most are offering long production schedules with big budgets to match. Fact is, storytellers are rare. Our aim is to combine our reliable, versatile production resources with the exciting, experiential nature of this evolving medium and to be a turnkey partner for affordable, professional 360° storytelling. 

OUR EXPERIENCE

We've been telling visual stories for over 20 years and have worked with some of the best in the business. Our storytelling specialty is authentic, reality-based programming. Our TV work has been seen all over the cable dial. On the digital side, we have produced hundreds of webisodes and series, from development to distribution of final assets. We are a trusted, turnkey partner for networks, publishers, agencies, and brands to develop and produce compelling content.  
 

NETWORKS + PUBLISHERS

AGENECIES

BRANDS

OUR TEAM

We are award-winning makers with a track record of innovative work and a team dedicated to creating content that moves audiences.

GREGG BACKER  //  FOUNDER + EXECUTIVE PRODUCER  //  gregg@foglight.tv

With a forward-thinking approach and pride in his savvy with numbers, Gregg built Foglight into a multi-platform producer, growing the business from the TV world into a leader in the digital space and onward into the 360º video frontier. On the strength of original work, strategic partnerships and an extensive production background, Gregg founded Foglight in 2002 and has led the company’s business and creative growth. Previously, he spent more than 10 award-winning years at HBO Sports, producing features and documentaries and handling all aspects of live production. He was also a founder and Executive Producer of Digital Broadcasting Group, one of the world's largest distributors of video content on the web. Among his body of work, Gregg won an Emmy and an Ace Award, including for his role on HBO's Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion.

EVAN KANEW  //  PARTNER + EXECUTIVE PRODUCER  //  evan@foglight.tv

Bringing a foundation in writing and investigative reporting to his work in visual media, Evan is an award-winning producer and broadcast journalist who spearheads Foglight's creative work. Deeply involved from concept to delivery, he's developed, produced, wrote and/or directed dozens of profiles, documentaries and specials, as well as 50+ branded series, and now he's leading Foglight into the realm of VR/360 storytelling. Prior to teaming up with Foglight in 2004, he worked for CNN, ESPN, HBO Sports, YES Network, and more. As an independent producer he received an Emmy for Outstanding Societal Concerns Programming for Harlem Champions: The Road to Williamsport (YES Network, 2003), which chronicled an inner city team's journey to the Little League World Series, and as a regular contributor to ESPN’s Outside the Lines he earned five Sports Emmy nominations as a feature producer.  

TRAVIS STEWART  //  PHOTOGRAPHER + EDITOR  //  travis@foglight.tv

With a strong sense of storytelling, Travis brings his rhythm, a creative eye and above all a dedicated and cool demeanor to every project. From the set to the edit suite, Travis has been integral to Foglight's evolution from TV and digital into the new world of VR. In the field, he shoots, records audio, manages media and more. In post, his creativity and ever-evolving skills as as an editor and maker of graphics are vital to all our production and development work. Travis also directs and shoots music videos and short films. In addition to that work, Travis has degrees in philosophy and filmmaking from American University and is an accomplished folk and bluegrass musician. He's the lead singer and songwriter of Free Advice, a band which regularly performs in the New York area and is currently getting ready to release its third full-length studio album.

FIONA  //  SVP, EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE//  treats@foglight.tv

When she's not napping on the job, Fiona inspires our team to sink its teeth into every project. Her presence helps us focus on what's important, licking every challenge thrown our way – and in turn she is dedicated to licking the faces of staff and clients alike. Fiona is a creative mix of breeds, and displays remarkable skills standing on her hind legs and hugging with her front paws. She loves good food and snacks, pull toys and riding in the basket of Travis' bike. She also dutifully attends to any paper-shredding need or assignment.