About Open Flame
Open Flame is a two-person film and design studio creating thoughtful visual work for brands, organizations, non-profits, educators, artists, and immersive projects.
We help turn meaningful ideas into stories people can feel and remember. Our work includes video production, creative direction, design, visibility and visual storytelling, always shaped through close collaboration and a clear sense of purpose.
We’re drawn to projects with depth: work that carries something human, communicates something real, and leaves a lasting impression without needing to be loud.
What Guides Our Work
We believe the best creative work comes from a real connection, from the people behind the project, the audience it’s meant for, and to the story at its core.
That means we approach each project with care, curiosity, and a collaborative mindset. We use modern tools, but we don’t outsource the soul. What we make is shaped by human hands, human thought, and a process that stays close to what matters.
For us, strong work is not just visually beautiful. It is clear, grounded, emotionally resonant, and made to last longer than a quick moment of attention.
Meet the Team
Dominik brings together strategy, design, storytelling, and a humane eye for experience. His path into creative work has been shaped by a wide range of hands-on roles, from high-pressure kitchens in Switzerland and Slovenia to entrepreneurship, marketing, branding, and design across different industries and ventures.
Those early years taught him how to stay calm under pressure, pay attention to the details that shape experience, and create work people remember. That same mindset now informs how he approaches brand direction, web design, concept development, and creative problem-solving, with a growing focus on regenerative, human-centered communication that respects attention, builds trust, and values depth over noise.
Raised in Slovenia, Dominik carries a deep connection to nature, stewardship, and a culture where forests, mountains, and water are part of everyday life. That grounding continues to shape both his creative perspective and the kinds of projects he feels most aligned with. At Open Flame, he leads design, brand thinking, creative direction, and strategy, helping give each project structure, depth, and a clear visual identity.
Ella’s work lives at the intersection of visual storytelling, embodiment, and human connection. Her background includes social media creation, family therapy studies, art, somatic practice, and yoga teaching, all of which inform the way she approaches media as something relational, not just communicative.
She has contributed to media and storytelling work within natural science and public art contexts, including projects connected to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Minnesota, and CODAworx. Across that work, she developed a strong interest in making complex or meaningful ideas feel accessible, grounded, and emotionally alive.
Today, her practice continues across film, immersive media, and site-responsive art. She has contributed creative leadership to Pause 9, an immersive VR experience created through Deep Living Lab, and continues to develop projects that blend video, sound, environment, and presence. At Open Flame, she leads much of the studio’s video direction, storytelling, and production process, helping shape work that feels both cinematic and deeply human.
Why Work With Us
A small team with direct involvement
When you work with Open Flame, you work directly with us. There’s no handoff, no layers, and no distance from the people shaping the work. That keeps the process more personal, responsive, and collaborative from start to finish.
Thoughtful work with real substance
We care about how things look, but also about what they carry. Our goal is to make work that is visually strong, emotionally clear, and built around a real idea, not just content for content’s sake.
Strategy and storytelling in one place
Our work sits between concept and execution. We think about the message, the structure, the visual world, and the final experience as one connected whole.
A process that feels grounded
We want the creative process to feel clear, calm, and collaborative. Good energy matters. Trust matters. And the best work usually comes when everyone involved feels seen, heard, and aligned.
What We Do
We work across film, design, and visual storytelling, with services that can stand alone or support a project from concept to completion.
Video Production
Story-led films, brand videos, mission films, documentaries, campaign assets, and creative short-form work.
Creative Direction
Concept development, visual direction, story shaping, and overall creative guidance from idea to final output.
Design & Brand Support
Web design, graphic design, visual systems, and brand-aligned creative materials that bring more clarity and cohesion to your presence.
Immersive & Experiential Work
Support for art-led, site-responsive, installation-based, and immersive storytelling projects.
Strategic Creative Support
Messaging, structure, project shaping, and other creative support that helps meaningful ideas land more clearly and effectively.
How We Work
1. Listen
Every project starts with understanding: who you are, what you’re making, who it’s for, and what it needs to carry.
2. Shape
From there, we develop the creative direction, structure, and visual approach, building a clear path forward together.
3. Create
Whether we’re filming, designing, editing, or developing assets, we make the work in close collaboration and keep the process grounded and transparent.
4. Refine
We pay attention to the details, shape the final output with care, and make sure what we deliver feels true to the project and strong in the world.
Let’s Make Something Meaningful
We started Open Flame to create work that feels honest, thoughtful, and alive.
If you’re looking for a creative partner to help shape a story, build a visual world, or bring a meaningful project to life, we’d love to hear from you.