Filmmakers make ‘conscious choice’ to live and work in Woodlawn

At their company, called 1504, creatives Mark Slagle and Tyler Jones -- along with a fluid network of collaborators -- use film, video and multimedia to tell compelling stories across platforms for small companies, nonprofits and foundations.

The men call 1504 a “creative studio,” not a traditional ad agency or production company.

And they aren’t doing this work in a creative capital like L.A. or New York.

1504, launched in Birmingham in 2013, is located in Woodlawn, on the second floor of a old commercial structure in the 500 block of First Avenue North.

”We’re making a conscious decision to live not only in the South, but in Birmingham and Woodlawn,” Slagle said. “It might be easier for our work to live elsewhere, but being here is more inspiring.”

”We believe that content creators can work and live in the Southeast,” Jones said.

And after all, Jones was born in Florence, and Slagle in Nashville.

“We’re Southern, and we believe there are important stories to tell here,” Jones said. “Thankfully, Birmingham has given us access to some great opportunities to do that.”

Graduates of Harding University in Searcy, Ark., Jones and Slagle were inspired to become filmmakers after studying abroad in Florence, Italy.

A third co-founder, Nick Michael, works now in Washington, D.C., but is still involved with 1504, which is based on maintaining a network of writers, filmmakers, web developers and other creatives in several states.

The studio’s name is a reference to an important year in the Italian High Renaissance, when Michelangelo finished his statue David and displayed in the town square in Florence.

“We have always been inspired by the way the Renaissance artists would use different media and take a cross-disciplinary approach,” Slagle said. “Some of their work was commissioned, commercial work, and some was personal work. It also crossed genres.”

Jones and Slagle often create their own personal, self-financed projects through the 1504 Lab.

They are also obsessed with what they call “human-centered storytelling,” Jones said.

“That means really listening and finding ways for humans -- not a product -- to be at the core,” he said. “Let it be real.”

Socially conscious capitalists, the men do a lot of work for nonprofits and foundations, as well.

Both Jones and Slagle are now residents of Crestwood North, a short stroll across the railroad tracks from the Woodlawn commercial core.

And they are happy to be in Woodlawn, where numerous nonprofits are working to improve housing, education and nutrition.

“It is a neighborhood where a lot of people are trying to have impact by taking social action,” Jones said.

And 1504 has now made a film about the Woodlawn High School Urban Farm -- a initiative of the Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

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“This is one of our first times to do a story in Woodlawn,” Jones said. “We’re really proud of it for a lot of reasons.”

Woodlawn is historic and diverse, according to Jones.

“The people are really passionate about Woodlawn, and that is a great environment for people in our work,” he said.