A Rockford gaffer has brought a light to the community, giving other creatives a chance to shine.
Josiah Sjöström is the studio manager and co-owner of City Stage Studios. Sjöström works in the film industry and does most of his work as a lighting guy. His musical background sprouted dreams of him becoming a rock star, so he went to Rock Valley College to study audio engineering.
“But the program that they offered was both audio and video,” he explained. “And I quickly discovered that I preferred the visual side of things. So, I didn't actually end up getting a degree in that. But I credit them to whet my appetite for film production.”
From there he said he created a small production company and worked with a group of freelancers. This team produced videos for small businesses. Then things started to evolve. They began to take on projects from agencies and bigger companies. Some of these projects included television commercials and social media content. Sjöström said the team was running out of resources in the city and needed to figure out how to grow. He said the first thought was to find a space in a larger city.
“I have a family. And I was kind of tired of traveling to Chicago all the time to work,” he said. “And I believe in Rockford. And I think that it's a city that can support a thriving film community. So, this studio component was something that was really missing in the Rockford.”
The decision was to stay in Rockford and that’s how City State Studios came to be.
The building was the headquarters of a former heating, ventilation and air condition company. Sjöström said the location made the structure ideal for a film studio.
“We wanted this location because of its proximity to the downtown area of Rockford,” he said. “We can walk to the restaurant shopping district from here. And I have just sensed that creative professionals were kind of wanting to move back downtown into the River District.”
He said another perk is the size of the building. It gives him the room he needs for his production work.
The film studio officially opened in May of last year but some of the offices inside of the building opened in 2021. Organizations like Grassroots Church and Lightwave Creative, which is a web development firm, also have offices inside of the space.
Sjöström took me on a tour the night of the Rockford Area Arts Council Artourage fundraiser.
The first stop was the shared member conference room. It’s used for a multiple of meetings and writing sessions. Sjöström said everyone working at the studio has some type of musical background, so it wasn’t a surprise to see a counter filled with Rockford Area Music Awards.
“These all belong to Jesse Fox, who is from One of the, I'd say one of the best commercial photographers in Rockford. But he also happens to be part of a folk duo and they've won some awards.”
That duo is called The Lone Canary. Heather Camacho makes up the other half.
There’s an open office space and many other rooms. He has plans for something that may give his musician friends a treat.
“We have a little more unfinished space that we'd like to expand into, I mentioned, the recording studio we'd like to build out yet and possibly even expanding to some more properties.”
Sjöström said he wants the studio to become as big as it can -- or at least big enough to bring people to Rockford.
