DIGITAL ADVERTISING+
FILM PRODUCTION
Ascender Communications, Inc. is a digital advertising and media production company, proudly based in Southeast, Washington, DC.
Since 2005, our team has produced award-winning motion-based, branded content for businesses, government agencies, non-profits, and museum exhibitions. We also produce original scripted and unscripted/documentary films and content for broadcast networks and digital streaming platforms.
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OUR WORK
STORY. DESIGN. ENGAGEMENT.
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
- Branding
- Copy Writing
- Print Design
- Editorial Photography
- Focus Groups
- Social Media Content Strategy
- Media Planning / Media Buying
DESIGN & INTERACTIVE
- Exhibition Design
- Digital Displays
- Immersive Presentations
- Interactive / Social Media
- Live Stream Events & Webinars
- Web Sites
FILM + MEDIA PRODUCTION
- Animation
- Archival Media Research
- Motion Design
- Audio Production & Podcasts
- Oral History
- Pre-Production / Planning
- Narrative / Script Development
- Storyboarding
- Talent Selection
- 6K Digital Film & Video Production
- Interpretive Films
- Unscripted / Documentaries
- Complete Post-Production
EXPERIENCE
COMMERCIALS
Let’s Celebrate Southeast DC! Last year, we commemorated our 10th year anniversary as a 100% African American-owned business, based in Southeast Washington,DC with this exclusive collection of merchandise. It’s a celebration of a proud community that has embraced us.
‘SEVEN RISING: An Oral History of the 2024 Ward 7 D.C. Council Primary
SEVEN RISING is an oral history and documentary series by Washington, D.C.-based filmmaker Paul Grant. It will explore generational changes in political leadership in Ward 7–a predominately African American community of 28 economically diverse neighborhoods in Southeast and Northeast, Washington, D.C.
And it will also examine how the Ward 7 community chooses its leadership.
What did we get right? What did we get wrong in the 2024 election process? The project will examine how this local primary in a predominately Black community mirrors our national politics. And how this moment might shape the future of this area.
EPISODE 1: “IF I LOSE” | (2024, SERIES)
In summer 1859, a world-weary, Frederick Douglass (DL HOPKINS) is navigating a mid-life crisis when he gets a surprise visit from outlaw Harriet Tubman (SHALANDIS WHEELER SMITH) —the most remarkable freedom fighter in American history. Their intense conversation forces him to confront their individual struggles and explore what it really means to be free.
ONE CONVERSATION CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.
REVIVAL: PREACHERS OF CUISINE
EPISODE 1: “THIS IS SOUL FOOD” | (2020, SERIES)
In March 2020 we premiered our latest documentary short film series, REVIVAL: Preachers of Cuisine on our Facebook and YouTube channels. Each short film profiles African/African Americans in the food industry who draw inspiration from their shared cultural past to elevate and expand how the world sees and tastes African-heritage cuisines. Taste the revolution!
CLIP: TONYA THOMAS ‘More Women Restaurant Owners’
Tonya Thomas, General Manager and Pastry Chef at Ida B’s Table restaurant in Baltimore, MD explains how she gained experience in the food industry and why the growth of more woman-owned restaurants is a positive thing.
Clip: Chef Omar Tate “A Black Man in High End Kitchens”
In this REVIVAL teaser for an upcoming episode, acclaimed New York and Philadelphia-based chef, Omar Tate talks about the negative perceptions that have been assigned to him as black man working in high-end restaurants.
Chef B.J. Dennis ” Un-apologetically Low Country”
This is a teaser for forthcoming REVIVAL short featuring renown Charleston Chef B.J. Dennis, IV.
COMMERCIALS / PSAs
SPORTS: BILL PICKETT INVITATIONAL RODEO 35TH ANNIVERSARY (2 Mins)
This emotional love letter to fans from Valeria Howard-Vason, CEO of the legendary Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, as the nation’s oldest African American rodeo tour celebrated it’s 35th Anniversary, in 2019.
:60-Second Television Messages
‘Coming Home’| US Coast Guard Civilian Recruitment Spot 2012)
‘Women, Girls & HIV’| ACRIA (2014)
Kate’s Story (2017)
MUSEUM & HIST0RY
Factual, Interpretive and Exhibition-related Short-Films
Over the past eight years, Ascender Films has produced interpretative, promotional films and oral histories for community-based museums and cultural organizations exhibitions. We are passionate about this work. Here are a few examples:
‘Reclaiming Our Past to Preserve Our Future’
This documentary short film shows how the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, a historic African American church based in affluent Georgetown area in Washington, DC is working to preserve a historic cemetery that was also known as safe haven on the underground railroad during slavery in the United States.
BLACK ARTIST SERIES: ULYSSES MARSHALL, PAINTER (2017)
Promotion video for Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center
BLACK ARTIST SERIES: HUEY GADDY, SCULPTOR
Exhibition promo video for Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center
ENLISTED (2012 Docu-Short)
Oral History / exhibition video about Black Veterans for Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center
DIGITAL SERIES
ADRIAN MILLER'S SOULFUL BITES (2019)
Factual Video Series | AFRICAN AMERICAN FOOD HISTORY
E3: Soul Food In Space
We commemorate the 50th anniverary of Apollo 11 moon landing, with Soul Food Scholar Adrian Miller explains how many of the ‘super foods’ that are being “discovered’ and promoted by scientists and nutritionists have long been staples of the African American /soul food plate since the days slavery in the U.S.
SERIES TEASER
Author and Food Historian, Adrian Miller, shares tasty bites of history about the evolution of America’s most controversial cuisine.
E1: HOW BLACK PEOPLE GOT ‘SOUL’
In this first episode, Adrian Miller explains how the term ‘soul food’ was adopted to describe the hybrid cuisine that blended African, European and Native American cooking traditions.
E2: TAKING SOUL FOOD GLOBAL
African Americans in the US Armed Services during WWI, WWII and Vietnam /Korean Wars, became ambassadors of Soul Food–taking the cuisine to other countries where there was a similar culinary palate and greater social acceptance.
PUBLIC HEALTH
TESTIMONIAL SERIES | CDC DIVISION OF TB ELIMINATION
Ascender Films team is pleased to continue its support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the production of TB Survivor testimonials and PSAs. This is our fourth year doing this work and we have now produced more than 20 individual survivor stories. We are always thrilled to work with the talented team at the CDC Division of Tuberculosis Elimination as they document and share the stories to support U.S. TB survivors.
More ‘Personal Stories’ | TB Survivor Series
Kate’s Story (2017)
Shaka’s Story (2018)
World TB DAY PSA (2020)
DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS
DIGITAL PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGNS | Linking Denver, Colorado to Community and Clinical Care
For over a decade, we’ve proudly provided comprehensive communication services to the Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC) and its partners in the Denver metro area. Our recent accomplishments include the creation of ‘FLOW’ (FORM A LIFETIME OF WELLNESS), a marketing campaign promoting linkages to clinical and community care among Africans/African Americans in the Denver metro area. Building on four years of success, we expanded the initiative to enhance health insurance literacy. Our focus groups revealed that while most people had health coverage, there was a gap in understanding how to access services. Through print and social media messages, we informed residents on how to use their insurance to access preventive services in the local area free of charge.
DC Healthy Families + DC Healthcare Alliance
Public Service Announcement (Explainer Video Series) | PUBLIC HEALTH