Will Aker

Happy Mother’s Day to my best friend and the mother of our son, @marybethkaker . Lew and all our foster kiddos have had the amazing privilege of being loved and led by you and for that I’m so grateful. It’s easy to celebrate you because you are worth it.

Instead of paying someone $1500 to repair some damaged and rotten fascia board, I spent 4 round trips to Lowe’s, 3 days of work, $300 in materials, 26.5 mistakes, and a lot of learning. There’s something about being a creative that makes working with your hands and measurements doing physical labor a refreshing task. Don’t get me wrong, I was really intimidated to tackle it but I just accepted the reality that if I really screw it up, I can pay someone $1500 to fix it. I made mistakes (that only me, the caulk, and paint will know of) but on the outside it doesn’t look all that bad.

In the midst of a heavy and hard week, I’m so grateful for the blessings I have. These two are my everything.

FL 041126 On the road again. Traveling is never glamorous when you leave behind your wife and little, but grateful to be able to pay our bills. So thankful for the opportunity to work and a wife and son who are my world. A beach view is also pretty nice.

This is one of the most powerful moments we’ve ever captured on camera. Sheila had daily headaches for 19 years. After receiving a diagnosis preventing her from being able to take over-the-counter medications, she had lost hope. But then she heard of Baylor Scott & White Headache Care. After going through the program, being heard and understood by her provider, she is now living headache free. Watch the film to hear her story in full. Production Company @willowfilmco Director/DP @willraker AC @heathland_creative KG @jonathan.d.blair Gaffer @coreyoconnellproductions_ Photo @rickacortez

Thankful. March was filled with a few sweet little moments and memories. Unsuccessfully attempted to repair our washing machine. A little bit of travel. Lots of time on our porch. Got to photograph the best engagement of all time of my great friends. And we got to celebrate 1 year of our son’s life with friends and family. The best moments. Family. Friends. Togetherness.

Africa Renewal- The Boy In The Fire (swipe to see some vignettes) We have been updating our website to do a much better job at showing what working with our team can look like and how it compares to other production companies and agencies. In the process of that update and adding more and more projects, we wanted to share some work that we’ve done over the years. The Boy In The Fire is a short film that tells the story of a boy who needed immediate medical care after falling into a fire and receiving severe burns on his body. The story is told through the boy’s recollection of the events and the experience he had at Wentz Medical Center in Uganda, showing ultimately how the medical center addresses physical ailments, as well as spiritual. We love partnering with non-profits to tell their stories. This project was incredibly unique because we wanted to tell a “testimonial” without it being a traditional interview and b-roll testimonial. We wanted the audience to experience what happened in a way that can’t be felt in a traditional video. With a script written and directed by @willraker , we captured a scripted true story to tell people about the power of medical supplies and resources in nations like Uganda. The full film can be viewed on our new website! #filmproduction #cinematography #nonprofitstorytelling #videoproduction #shortfilm

It’s been 5 years since we released our last reel. A 5-year journey of personal growth, new clients and partnerships, faithful clients who’ve been with us since the start, new friendships and collaborations, and a lot of creativity. So much has happened since 2021, and with excitement and immense gratitude, we are releasing our 2026 company reel. I am humbled by a portfolio like this because it simply doesn’t exist without a very long list of trusting clients, collaborators, crew, and talent. To each of you who has given so much and brought your expertise and skill to each project (you know who you are), thank you for everything. It is because of you that projects like these are made great and give us opportunities to share moving stories. I am so thankful as I look back and remember all the stories we’ve told, the places we’ve been, and the wonderful people we’ve worked with to make them happen. To my clients, THANK YOU for trusting me with your vision, your brand, your stories. All of you mean the world to me. In a way, releasing this reel is a significant milestone. What started as telling stories at a non-profit has grown into producing commercials, brand films, promotional projects, and documentaries. We’ve grown as a company and helped our clients grow year after year with more opportunities and bigger ideas. More importantly, we’re telling more and more stories that matter. I’m very optimistic about what’s next for Willow Film Company and excited about the projects to come. We are always looking to partner with new clients and collaborators on projects. If you have a project that you would like to bring to the screen in 2026, we’d love to talk. Get the word out. Tell your friends. Together, we can create moving pictures to move people.

FEBRUARY February was a slower month. A few shoots here and there with friends. Enjoying some new recipes. And repairing a fleet of broken and old sprinkler heads. Didn’t use my camera as much as I would have liked but thankful for the little moments I captured. Lew is growing up so fast and my heart has not been prepared.

Last post for this project. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to direct these series of spots by my good friends on the BSWH brand team, Amanda, Megan, Ben, and product team, scripts masterfully written by the amazing creative team at @wolfman.creative and then special thanks to my amazing team, @hbwateska_realtor , @calliebarry , and @heathland_creative and @kylesandersdp , and my wife @marybethkaker who took care of our 3 month old during the whole preparation and production. And of course, huge credits the rest of the cast and crew who worked tirelessly to make this project happen. I learned so much in bringing these spots to life and hope to take those lessons into all the future commercials we produce. It was a stretching project, striving towards excellence with limited time and resources, but we did the best with every challenge and every win that we had in the project. And to that and everyone, I am most grateful. Here’s to more creative projects ahead 🍻 #texasproductioncompany #dfwvideoproduction #austinfilm #wacovideoproduction #commercialproduction

MyBSWHealth Product Spots I am very proud to share one of the biggest projects we produced last year. We had the incredible opportunity to partner with Wolfman agency in Dallas to create a series of social media spots for Baylor Scott & White Health to promote its digital products and programs. Wolfman and their creative team oversaw creative direction and scripting, and we handled all production and post-production. From sourcing and casting talent, assembling the crew and equipment, producing and directing, and assembling the spots in post, we worked with an amazing group of professionals who made these spots possible. Keep an eye out for future posts where I’ll share a few things we learned and how we navigated the challenges we faced in executing the project for each spot. It was a very stressful week, but rewarding nonetheless. I have some fun insights to share on what we learned. A special thank you to my amazing crew and everyone who made this project a reality. Very proud of this set of spots. Client: Baylor Scott & White Health Agency: @wolfman.creative Production: @willowfilmco Written by Brian Dedering and Ashleigh Adams Account Director Cortney Fly Account executive Lucy Galloway Art Direction: Kelley Begley Directed and edited by @willraker Produced by @hbwateska_realtor Location Manager: @calliebarry DP: @kylesandersdp 1st AC: @rylanamccoy BTS: @heathland_creative Photography: @rickacortez Sound: @jonathan_d_blair Gaffer: @gafferjuan BBE: @theccrazy Key Grip: Tony Thomas BBG: @benjamin.cheatham Props and Set: @ladyteratogen Hair and Makeup: @jeannadoyleruhl

January was filled with a trip to AZ to be with family, some pickleball competition, keeping up with a very active and increasingly mobile baby, first steps, a video shoot with friends, working with friends, and a ski trip with the boys. #14 on the carousel is one of my favorites from the month. So so very grateful.