Pair balance classes at UNLV, CSN with running video-production company

Ari Goldstein and Gibran Arroyo are taking the road less traveled into the business world, starting their video-production firm right out of high school and balancing entrepreneurship with college courses.

They established 4Spades Production in June, the name inspired by Las Vegas’ gaming industry.

Each project is customized, and they don’t accept pay by the hour. Instead, they work until they feel they have enough footage to pull together a piece for a client.

One of 4Spades’first projects was pro bono work for Nevada’s Big Give, an annual fundraiser that supports various charities. Another was an ornate party for a Filipina’s 18th birthday at the Emerald at Queensridge and included traditions from her homeland such as her being handed 18 treasures, one for each year of her life. The pair were at the event for six hours, then spent 15 to 20 hours editing and splicing the video together.

The four-minute resulting video was delivered the following week, with a price tag of $700.

Charmaine Hornick hired 4Spades for her mother’s 75th birthday, choosing them because their online response time was fast and 4Spades worked with her budget. She said the team did a “great job of covering the entertainment aspect while keeping the guest of honor foremost. No one noticed the guys were even there filming. It was nice because they were set up to be unseen by others and they were not in the way.”

Production gigs work around their school schedules. Goldstein is working toward a degree in entrepreneurship at UNLV; Arroyo is majoring in secondary education at the College of Southern Nevada and intends to become a math teacher.

Goldstein and Arroyo dabbled in video as young teens.

“When I was in middle school, my parents got a camcorder and we went to this place with planes, and I was in charge of the camera,” Arroyo said.

The two met in a video-production class in high school West Career & Technical Academy, a Las Vegas magnet school. They collaborated on school projects and worked well together.

Arroyos’s specialty is audio engineering. Goldstein is more into visuals and capturing a story with pictures.

Both participated in the SkillsUSA competition this year in Lousiville, Kentucky. Goldstein entered a piece on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in the TV-production category and won gold at the national level. Arroyo was part of a team that entered the broadcast journalism category and won gold at both the state and national levels.

To get 4Spades off the ground, the pair invested more than $5,000 to secure two cameras, four lights and portable audio, among other things.

Both said their philosophy for their work involves shooting “for as long as it takes to get the best shot,” which is why they offer unlimited hours.

“We don’t want to be looking at our watches,” Goldstein said.

Visit 4spadesproductions.com.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.