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Arts & Entertainment

Silverhook Finds Silver Lining in Marietta

Marietta man finds new business opportunities in video and music production after relocating from Michigan.

From chemical engineer to music producer to videographer and editor, William Bearyman of Marietta-based Silverhook Studios is a man of many talents and perhaps lives up to what he labels himself as a "super nerd."

Having grown up in Flint, Mich., Bearyman’s exposure to music initially came from the church. His mother was the district music director of the Midwest for the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; however, she sang and played piano for her local church where Bearyman picked up the family business.

“I was always interested in music; my momma used to sing and play the piano [in the church], it was in the family blood,” Bearyman says.

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Bearyman developed his skills while singing in church choirs, playing instruments with the choirs, and eventually experimenting, with some buddies, recording and editing music using cassette tape recorders.

He further perfected his ability to play instruments with his participation in his high school band at Flint North Western High. There, Bearyman learned to play the clarinet and later became a drum major. His love for music stayed with him as he set off for college pursuing a degree in chemical engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Bearyman soon found an outlet putting his musical talents to use by playing with the Drexel jazz band. Though it was short lived, it spawned a new interest in creating music for his own private collection while Bearyman kept his focus on his schooling.

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“It [music] was always important to me, but I wasn’t trying to pursue a career in it yet,” Bearyman says of his departure from the jazz band.

Graduating Drexel in 1999 and after a move to Pontiac, Bearyman landed a position as a chemical engineer with a large corporation where he worked until 2004. Throughout that time, Bearyman invested his money in a home, equipment and a space for creating Silverhook Studios, which at inception began as an indie music production company.

During Bearyman’s tenure with his employer, he sought out opportunities which would be the foundation for building his business. He took classes at the Recording Institute of Detroit in 2003 where he studied recording engineering. Also, he received his Pro-tools certification from Digi-Design having training at a major studio in Nashville where he initially became exposed to other music genres which are now reflected in his work. 

Committing eight hour days to his corporate job and working to build his dream in the evenings began to take its toll on Bearyman mentally and physically affecting his productivity on all levels. So, Bearyman parted ways with his employer in 2004 to pursue music production full-time. He says it was a challenge at first because he stepped out on faith without a solid plan in place, but says 2004 was the turning point as he took a step back putting together a business plan to clearly define the direction for his business.

Shortly thereafter, Bearyman refined his business from working solely with independent artists to also include commercials for small business, corporate and event videos and specialized wedding videos.  Some of the artists Bearyman worked with are Melanie Rutherford (R & B) currently signed to Wu Tang member Redman’s label; Tearz (Christian Rapper); Boy Retreats (Rock); ZOD da God (Hip Hop); Bac40 (Hip Hop); and indie label Hip Hop Collective.

With a move to Marietta in 2009, Bearyman set his site for a new course of business with an interest in pursuing video editing (to include production) as well as music production.  What began as a need which arose from indie artists needing music videos has grown into a full fledge editing suite, high end pro-sumer cameras and thousands of billable hours across the mediums of editing, music production and shooting video.

While in Marietta, Bearyman has connected with Solaris Filmwerks, Emory University and Suntrust Bank for production projects. His current clients include Claiborne’s (Marietta), Barron London’s (Buckhead), Salon Red (Decature), Smoke Jack (Alpharetta), Mama Mia’s (Stone Mountain) and other area businesses.

“This is an exciting time in Atlanta with the opportunities on the horizon in the film industry; I’m really excited about the Liberty project slated for later this year,” said Bearyman who has found Marietta to be a silver lining in his move from the depressed economy Detroit is experiencing. 

Bearyman has just released a new single from his forth coming album comprised of digital singles in 2011. The new single is titled Good Music and can be found on iTunes. 

Finally, with the wedding season approaching, Bearyman elected to create a separate unit of his business to handle the particular needs and interests of brides to be. He says he has developed a cinematic highly stylized custom video design for which he creates wedding videos. Each video is completely unique and individual and sure to please he says. 

To contact William Bearyman call 404.421.2477 or visit www.silverhookstudios.com; and for wedding videography visit www.silverhookweddings.com

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