“It will get us in front of a different demographic,” he said. “Provide a little more exposure.”

He said the extensive memory-preservation services New Age Media Productions has to offer will remain the same.

The Johnsons help people make sure that visual recordings and images as well as audio recordings made in the past are preserved in formats easy to access in the 21st century.

“Film, VHS tapes where do you find equipment to play it anymore?” Joel Johnson said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Joel Johnson, co-owner of New Age Media Productions, packs up some his analog gear in preparation for moving his business from its downtown location to the Crossroads Mall.

Memories and events that were originally preserved on media that were popular in the past often are not easily accessed today. It’s common for households to have old photographs, slides, home movies and videos in an array of formats and audio tapes tucked away for safekeeping in a closet or some other secure spot. Transferring those precious items to DVDs, hard drives or other digital media is a major part of the mission at New Age Media Productions.

“We do film transfers, video transfers, slides, photos, negatives and audio — LPs, reel-to-reel audio, cassette tapes. Basically, antique media,” Joel Johnson said. “Everything other than film development is done in-house.”

He said he and his wife are able to address a multitude of customer needs.

“Someone came in a few minutes ago,” Johnson said. “He was going through his parents’ house and they came across tapes. Another client had kids who are getting married this year and they want to give them their childhood. Otherwise, it’s just family history documentation.”

Making sure that precious family photos and recordings are not lost is at the heart of what New Age Media Productions does.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Joe Johnson, co-owner of New Age Media Productions, at left, visits with customer Wayne Fuhlbrugge, of Webster City recently. Johnson is moving the business into the Crossroads Mall.

“I want to save these videos and photos,” Johnson said. “I’m working on photos right now from the late 1800s and early 1900s. I’m working on scanning all of them in and digitizing them.”

If someone should discover an undeveloped roll of film from long ago, the Johnsons can also help them find out what forgotten images it contains.

“I have found that there are a lot of people who still have film that is undeveloped,” Joel Johnson said. “I can’t do this in-house but it can be done. Extremely outdated film that’s unprocessed can turn out surprisingly well.”

Producing photo montages for important commemorative events and other milestone occasions is one of the services Johnson said he especially enjoys providing. He stressed, however, that what New Age Media Productions can provide is more elaborate that what people can do using do-it-yourself software.

“Everybody wants to do their own,” he said. “I go a lot farther than the consumer montage programs. These are the photo videos that you see at graduations, funerals, anniversaries, first birthdays, weddings. I personalize them. It’s not a template.”

Johnson said the montages typically run seven to eight minutes and are designed to be played on a computer or television.

In addition to the transfer work, Johnson said he does an increasing amount of commercial videography and is anxious to increase that component of the business.

“I have gotten into commercial,” he said. “I have worked with community organizations like Shimkat, Pelham’s, Kingsgate, the radio station and some other smaller businesses. Also Stage Door Productions and Fort Dodge Fine Arts. I am a member of Fort Dodge Fine Arts.”

Johnson said these videos are intended for online use. In addition to the commercial videography he occasionally undertakes work for private clients.

As a sideline the business also can handle DJ assignments.

While DJ work isn’t the principal activity at New Age Media, Johnson said he has extensive experience in that area and has the equipment to do it well.

“I’ve got an audio system, light system, we’re full service,” he said. “I do all types of events. I’ve done corporate events. It’s a nice change of pace, getting to meet other people and getting to see people out there having fun.”

Meet Joel Johnson

Joel Johnson, a graduate of Fort Dodge Senior High, got his introduction to video there. He said Jon Vessey, a teacher at FDSH who is now retired, opened his eyes to the possibilities in the field that was to become his profession.

“I’ve always loved computers,” Johnson said. “I’ve always loved technology. Once I was introduced to video, it just grew on me.”

He went to work for a Memories in Motion, a now-closed local business that specialized in videography and media transfers. Johnson said he was with that company for about four years. Subsequently, he began doing videography out of his home.

“It kind of started as a hobby out of my dining room,” Johnson said.

That progressed to a home-based business and finally a full-blown commercial undertaking.

The customer reaction to the specialized transfer and preservation work New Age Media Productions undertakes makes it immensely satisfying, Johnson said.

“I enjoy delivering the product,” he said. “For example, earlier this year I had a gentleman come in with a home recorded LP. I don’t recall whether it was his father or grandfather, but the person had passed away some 50 years ago and he was very close to the person. That person was on the LP. I was able to salvage three-quarters of the data on that LP. When I played it back for him, it was very emotional. That gives me the drive to continue what I am doing.”

Those types of situations are a regular occurrence at New Age Media Productions.

“Earlier this year, I had a gentleman who was turning 80,” Johnson said. He brought in a 50-foot reel of film. It was 79 years old. He had never seen it. It was him at 1 year old. … I’ve had people come in with a VHS tape of their child who died 20 years ago. They say ‘I haven’t seen it since. Now I’ve got it again.'”

Johnson has a message for people who are delaying taking action to preserve important personal or family treasures.

“You don’t know how important this stuff is until it’s gone,” he said.