HUMAN STORIES.
IMPECCABLY TOLD.
At Untold, we use original storytelling to help bring communities and audiences together around a common cause, value, vision, or purpose.
Regardless of if you’re a brand or company, have a product or a cause, are for or not-for profit — storytelling is the strongest way to connect to your audience.
Storytelling is not marketing or advertising. Storytelling is a discipline that goes back tens of thousands of years as a basic form of how humans share knowledge and information.
As a Studio, we specialize in finding and telling unique human stories to help unite viewers around your idea.
Those stories can end up with their own online home, going on a film festival circuit, hosting private screenings across the country, or even on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and many more.
Our process is rooted in Braden’s decade of experience as a broadcast journalist, and informed by the science of storytelling. This foundation is elevated by world-class filmmaking and underpinned by brand and marketing strategic objectives.
We uncover emotion-led stories that will bring people together and create communities around shared perspectives and experiences.
We can assemble teams big and small through our established global network of storytellers, filmmakers, art directors, creatives, and marketing leaders to create documentary films that celebrate the human spirit.
As a Certified B Corp, we strive to operate at the highest ethical, social, and environmental standards – including achieving Climate Neutral Certification.
The demand for stories continues to accelerate, and there is no shortage of stories in the world worth telling well - so what’s your next story?
OUR CAPABILITIES
Story Strategy
Brand Objectives
Film Strategy/Deliverables
What to measure (KPIs)
Distribution Planning
Storyfinding
Purpose
Character Research
Story Framework/Plot
Creative Identity/Treatment
Film Production
Planning/Logistics
Production
Post-Production
Distribution
OUR STORY
Before founding Untold, Braden worked as a Broadcast Journalist and News Anchor for the likes of CBS and NBC, or CBC, CTV, and Global. Whether it was in the field or sitting behind the anchor desk, Braden learned how to share newsworthy stories with people all over North America.
He didn’t expect to fall so in love with what the news calls the “human interest” story. Those local stories, tucked in before the commercial break, that celebrated the little moments that happen in every community and bring people closer together.
But the world of news fell into clickbaiting to keep up with the rise of social media. Braden dreaded the days of chasing bad news, accidents, or the courts; ironically, the online news that drove both the most clicks and the most division. In 2014, Braden left a great career to create a production company that would tell better stories.
The foundation of Untold was that if we elevated the craft of human interest stories, bringing in elements of documentary and narrative filmmaking, we could create films that uplifted the work of brands, non-profits, and causes.
For nearly a decade, we’ve constantly invested in learning from and working with notable filmmakers all over the world. We’ve spent countless hours learning the science of storytelling, like the ideas of Narrative Persuasion, Character Identification, and Narrative Transportation.
We created films for some of the world’s largest brands – Four Seasons, The Home Depot, and Delta Faucet Company, and amazing non-profits like Water First, True Patriot Love, and KidsInclusive (Child Development Centre at Hotel Dieu Hospital).
We’ve filmed in unbelievable locations like a full-scale Space Station replica at NASA, in a remote tribe on the southern edge of Papua New Guinea, from a hot air balloon in Serengeti National Park, and inside Canada’s oldest and most notorious maximum security penitentiary.
We’ve filmed in 27 countries on almost every continent, won numerous awards, garnered tens of millions of views, and screened our work at film festivals across North America.
We’ve collaborated with remarkable Emmy, Webby, and Cannes-winning filmmakers, and partnered with amazing agencies.
We’ve developed innovative and efficient filmmaking processes to keep our crews small and nimble, while always pushing to create breathtaking projects.
We like to think it’s a pretty cool resume.
Through it all, the one thing that always stuck with us is the countless unique and memorable people we’ve met. The friendships we’ve forged. The stories we’ve been told. Learning through the experiences of another has pushed us deeper and deeper into our pursuit to tell real stories in impactful ways.
While we’ve written funny, clever advertising scripts and made commercials with huge budgets, we believe there is unmatched power in real human stories. Each one is a winding journey of highs and lows. Each one is completely unique with an unparalleled ability to connect to a new and unique audience.
Our uniquely human approach to filmmaking has established Untold with an international reputation for crafting films and telling stories that people all over the world love to watch.
OUR VALUES
GREAT STORYTELLING MATTERS.
Characters. Conflict. Plot. Purpose. As storytellers, we are responsible for protecting the characters and the integrity of the story. We constantly strive to create space for important conversations.
BE KIND.
Kindness matters. We genuinely care and respect our clients, our collaborators, our people, the stories we tell, and the results from our work.
Get past the obvious and open people’s minds to new opportunities. There is no end to learning, perspectives, and bias. We will always be open and looking.
ENDLESSLY CURIOUS, ALWAYS LOOKING.
HONOUR TRUST.
Have patience, integrity, and empathy. When we say we’re going to do something, we do it. If we need help, we ask for it. If we can provide support, we offer it. We put people first, always.
RESPECT THE RESOURCE.
The intersection of brand, film, and storytelling can be complex. Valuing what each element brings to the table allows for better relationships and understanding.
BETTER TOGETHER.
When you bring together amazing clients, creative collaborators, and big dreamers amazing things can happen. We all bring perspective and experiences to each project. True collaboration is where greatness lies.
OUR TEAM
Braden Dragomir - Founder // Creative Director
Braden is an accomplished creative director, journalist, cinematographer, and storyteller. You can usually find him talking to, well pretty much anyone, learning unique details about their life. For Braden, it’s all in the pursuit of finding unique stories that need to be told.
From losing himself in “The Hobbit” when he was a kid, to the unending drama of a university athlete, everything in Braden’s life needed a good story. That constant pursuit of overcoming conflict and the journey took him across several countries and he spent most of his 20’s working as a television reporter.
In the thousands of stories he’s told and tens of thousands of interviews he’s conducted all over the world, he uncovered that his passion was connecting with people, learning what moves them, and sharing those stories.
Always seeing the world through the lens resulted in him founding Untold Storytelling in 2014. Through their work, Braden strives to push brands to find stories that no one else can tell to foster unparalleled connection.
Taylor Leeder - Post-Production Lead
Taylor might not have envisioned his days crafting stories at a computer keyboard, spending much of his youth behind the musical one. But his keen sense of pairing audio with visuals gives him an unparalleled perspective.
He learned while working on a factory line that a chop-shop approach to anything can suck the life out of you. Because of this, Taylor treats each story, each film, and each character as a new journey. Bringing with him his experience and perspective, but also his desire to constantly refine his approach.
While refining his skills as a storyteller, he’s woven narratives into everything from short documentaries, to brand films, to broadcast commercials. He typically ends up being the person who builds a unique relationship with each project, even if he’s never met any of the characters in person. Maybe that’s the result of being the office introvert.
Brody McMaster - Filmmaker
Brody’s journey into filmmaking started in the skate park at a young age. Like so young he would sneak away with his parent’s camcorder so he could film his friends then put it back hoping he didn’t break it.
Touring on the action sports circuit as a rider, Brody’s passion for filmmaking grew, capturing some of the best riders in the world. But the more he watched action sports films, the more he found it all started to look and feel the same.
He’s spent the last 5 years working story structure into what he sees through the lens. Creating projects all over the world, Brody strives to have every frame move the story forward.
Brody’s likely to be that person you see silhouetted up on the hill capturing the sunrise, rigging a camera to the hood of a car, or talking about all sorts of numbers that most people aren’t going to understand.
No matter the location, time of day, or weather, Brody’s going to put everything he has into finding that perfect shot in the pursuit of always telling a person’s story right.
Ps. need a cappuccino? Brody’s dialing in his latte art.
