Creative Media is Part of KC's DNA

Kansas City has a long history of innovative work in creative media. Hallmark was founded here in 1910, which sparked a growing population of creative professionals and companies. Walt Disney moved to KC when he was 9 years old. In 1920, he launched an animation film studio near downtown KC. It's been said that a little mouse in that building was Disney's inspiration for what later became Mickey Mouse!

Near the mid-1900s, a cluster of major film production companies comprised "Film Row." Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney, Warner Brothers Film Exchange, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation and Columbia Pictures all had buildings in Kansas City.

Today, the legacy of creative media in KC has given rise to modern media companies, doing innovative storytelling work using cutting-edge technologies. In fact, Google Fiber has accelerated the growth in the digital media industry. Now, photographers, animators, special effects professionals and filmmakers can upload huge media files that used to take all day in a matter of seconds. And the industry is growing: By 2022, it's expected that there will be more than 38,000 jobs in digital media alone in Kansas City.

Check out Digital Media companies on Chute: http://www.chutekc.com/companies?companyIndustry[]=6

Here are a few creative media companies to keep on your radar:

Hallmark - hallmark.com
Hint Studios - hint.is
BranitFX - branitfx.com
VML - vml.com
Barkley - barkleyus.com
Clickfarm Interactive - clickfarminteractive.com
CremaLab - cremalab.com
MK12 - mk12.com
Wide Awake Films - wideawakefilms.com

Click here to see a full report on the Digital Media industry in Kansas City: http://www.kcworkforce.com/Assets/reports/Digital-Storytelling-Report.pdf