Rio Rancho video production firm’s new home will feature studio space

RIO RANCHO — Kim Smith saw the demand for digital advertising and marketing grow, especially from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith, the co-owner of Rio Rancho-based Edit House Productions, soon realized they needed a digital production studio to help accommodate that transition. She found that space upon buying a new building at 640 Quantum Road on May 4.

Edit House is a video production company, specializing in television commercials, online marketing videos, documentary work and retrospective videos highlighting a client’s history.

The new site features a 2,200-square-foot space, which Edit House will transform into that studio. There will be two 220-amp panels, meaning the company will have more than enough power and lighting.

Edit House will also paint the studio walls black to make good use of the lighting, and build a cyclotron wall to bring in vehicles used during shoots. Film trucks will also be able to park behind a locked gate on the south end, right next to the studio.

“What we wanted was a little more conducive work space instead of two separate suites that had a pass-through in the middle. We wanted a better work flow here… Most of what we do, we film on location. And sometimes, you need a studio space. They’re hard to find anymore. … There is increasing demand for the studio space here,” Smith said.

As the last decade progressed, Edit House saw marketing shift toward the digital side because people could use a search engine online to find what they wanted.

Home improvement was a subject of particular interest the last couple years because people couldn’t travel amid COVID-19.

The automotive industry also joined the list because of the global semiconductor chip shortage impacting manufacturers and dealerships.

“We’ve helped them adapt. We’ve helped them expand so that they’re not just selling vehicles in a local metro market. They are finding buyers on a much broader basis,” Smith said. “There was a period of time for two weeks in November of 2020 where the governor had the car dealerships close their doors. They couldn’t even have staff in the building to process the purchase paperwork and do a driveway delivery. There have been a lot of obstacles to work through.”

Edit House helped car dealerships reach customers in states like Texas and California, Smith said.

Past projects Edit House helped oversee include “ENDWI” commercials and law enforcement recruiting videos. Other projects included working with businesses such as home improvement, finance and health and wellness companies.

“There’s potential everywhere,” Smith said.

Smith, who already has eight commercial shoots scheduled for June, said she’s aiming to launch that new studio by July 1.

Edit House, which launched in 2000, was behind the Walgreens at NM 528 and Southern Boulevard from 2013 until now. That location didn’t have studio space, Smith said.

The new location was occupied previously by Petroglyph Pathology Services.