“I bet my voice is the most broadcasted voice in Swedish Television history”
Philip Karlberg tells us about his previous success in producing TV-Shop commercials and what has led him to now providing his current film production service in Silicon Valley. We are proud to have Philip Karlberg and Johan Ring, Armstrong Film, as SACC-SF/SVs newest partners.
Philip Karlberg is the founder and executive producer, while Johan Ring serves as the creative director at Armstrong Film. SACC-SFSV met them on a sunny morning in San Francisco. They are here to network and expand their connections in San Francisco and Silicon Valley because of the service they seek to provide Nordic entrepreneurs and startups in the area.
“We have seen a difference between the way Swedish and European startups pitch compared to the way American startups pitch in Silicon Valley. We believe that Armstrong Film can connect Nordic companies in Silicon Valley with Silicon Valley investors by telling stories, explaining the product and engaging stakeholders with Scandinavian filmmaking and design. By offering our unique viewpoint, Armstrong Film can close the gap between American stakeholders and Nordic companies.”
Philip Karlberg studied at RMI Berghs in Stockholm to become a scriptwriter and producer. He then began producing films for MTGs different companies such as TV1000, ZTV, Metro and also TV-SHOP were Philip did voice-over on all films to keep costs down. the name of the company back then was Trash Television, after Trash Television merged with STRIX Philip explained the importance of coordinating MTGs resources for making commercials and started making TV-shop and continued the previous work for MTG but now as Karlberg Production. This evolved into the production company Short and Simple Production who focused on commercials for MTG and other firms. He founded Short and Simple Production with his former partner from MTG, who remains partner and co-founder. When the different firms they were hired by got bigger jobs the name was a bit criticized even though their business idea was to create short, simple and cost-effective films. At a Crayfish party the name Armstrong came up, they took it and became Armstrong Film.
Johan Ring came into Armstrong Film three years ago. Having always wanted to work with film, Johan strived to become a film director but he took an unconventional route. He wanted to learn about all aspects of filmmaking and started off his career as an actor to learn the emotional aspect and to learn to see the film industry from in front of the camera, not just behind. Today Johan is the creative director at Armstrong Film which means that he is a part of the entire creative process with the client.
“The thing is that all aspects of sales and films need emotional engagement, whether it is making a great movie, selling a chocolate bar or trying to get an investor to invest money. This is what Armstrong Film does, we create stories that engage.”
The dream of opening a business in Silicon Valley has been in Philip Karlberg’s head almost all of his life. He has close relatives living in San Francisco and has dreamt of coming here with his own business ever since he was a kid. Now they have an office here and are reaching out to potential clients to help.
Armstrong Film is reaching out to scale-ups that need to refine their pitch material or product information through moving picture. Philip and Johan believe that the ideal Silicon Valley client is an innovative, upcoming company that perhaps have gone through an acceleration program and are on the verge of seeking their second, or even third round of investments. The companies should be more in the scale-up phase.
Our brains engage better with stories than with numbers and this is what Armstrong Film focuses on the most.
”At Armstrong Film we believe that emotions constitute the platform on which all communication relies. We utilize the power of great storytelling and special effects to visualize the true potential of our clients’ products, services or ideas in a way that sparks curiosity far beyond spreadsheets and powerpoints. Let the audience feel our clients passion by unleashing the emotional power of film”
On our After Work & Happy Hour when SACC-SFSV got to see Armstrong Film work, their story and talk about the emotional power of films and it’s fundraising potential we really saw Armstrong’s competence and strengths in storytelling and creating emotional value. Are you interested in what they can do for you, send an email to Philip@armstrongfilm.se.
