Seeking the content to build a brand

Hewlett grads form a production company

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This past summer, three Hewlett High School graduates decided to take their creative abilities to the next level by starting their own production company.

Valley Stream residents Michael Villani, Richard Lyons and Vincent LoCasto are Them Seekers Productions. The company is seeking to create content for themselves and businesses and individuals looking to promote their brands specifically on social media.

The company officially became a limited liability company in July — a legal designation that permits affirm to conduct business under its name — Villani said the idea for Them Seekers has been a few years in the making. “I coined the name Them Seekers in July 2015,” Villani said. “It is a spoof on the silly names of some production studios.”

He noted that the three have known since middle school and they became closer friends in high school. “Vinny and I were in theater classes together throughout high school,” he said. “By the time senior year rolled around, we became more interested in making content,”

After graduating from Hewlett High in 2014, all three went to different colleges. Villani enrolled at SUNY New Paltz, LoCasto at SUNY Oswego and Lyons at Nassau Community College. Despite the time apart, they stayed in touch and continued producing content such as short videos and creative social media posts.

During Villani’s senior year, he wrote and produced a dark comedy short film titled, “Favorite Shirt,” which co-starred Lyons. “That was my favorite film to work on,” Villani said. “Richard had such a great performance and the process of putting the film together was so much fun.”

Villani and LoCasto graduated in May 2018 and just like most other college graduates, they began searching for a job. They then became content producers for Hicksville and Manhattan-based dentist Dr. Adarsh Mudgil in September 2018. They would work there for roughly a year as they made social media videos for Mudgil to promote his brand.

LoCasto said the experience of working under Mudgil was valuable. “That job is the reason that things came into fruition for Them Seekers,” he said. “We learned so much about social media marketing and what services we should provide to future clients.”

Promoting on social media is a pivotal part of what Them Seekers do. “Businesses have always tried to promote themselves by advertising on TV,” Lyons said. “But today, it’s more about promoting on streaming services and social media.”

Lyons noted some of the challenges the group faces being less experienced and a new company. “It’s sometimes hard to convince business owners to work with us since they view us as young kids trying to make a quick buck,” he said. “Think of someone knocking on your door in the middle of the day trying to sell you something.”

The best part of working with his two friends is the trust they have in each other, Villani said. “I worked with some great people in the past but there’s nothing better than working with Vinny and Richard,” he said. “The three of us all have the trust in each other when it comes to creative decisions.”

More information on Them Seekers can be found at https://www.themseekersproductions.com/about-us.