Tigé Boats
I produced, directed, shot, and edited Tigé's 2026 Z3 and ZX Class walkthrough films, plus on-water motion assets, across Austin, Possum Kingdom Lake, and Abilene. The whole production ran through Geared Like A Machine, from the estimate to final delivery. The Z3 film won a Gold and four Silver Telly Awards in 2026.
The brief
Tigé Boats builds wakeboarding boats, and its two flagship models for the 2026 model year were the Z3 and the Ultre ZX. Each one needed a walkthrough film. Tigé hired Geared Like A Machine directly for both, with no agency in between. The Z3 film was released in June 2025.
The same work also produced on-water motion assets, so the deliverables went beyond the two films.
My role
I ran both productions through Geared Like A Machine, from the estimate to final delivery. I hired the crew for the shoot days, and I produced, directed, shot, and edited both films. That means the person who priced the job, planned the studio days, and held the camera was the same person who cut the picture.
I rode professionally before I ever picked up a camera, which is why boat work feels familiar.
How we shot it
We worked in Austin, at Possum Kingdom Lake, and in Abilene. On the water, the day gets decided by wind, glass, and the sun. The frames from these shoots include spray at golden hour, a boat on a still lake at dawn, riders relaxing on the stern, a straight-down drone view of a boat in a narrow tree-lined channel, a Tigé passing under Austin's Pennybacker Bridge arch, a Z3 running at speed in full profile on dark green water, a wakesurfer in the air shot from the water line, and a driver at the helm backlit by the low sun.
The walkthroughs themselves are scripted, two-camera breakdowns of the new models. Each one is delivered on camera by a Tigé insider who knows the boats inside and out, and one of them is the company's president. One of the behind-the-scenes frames shows the blue-lit set built between two boats for the walkthroughs.
The result
The Z3 film took five 2026 Telly Awards: Gold, Craft-Videography & Cinematography (Non-Broadcast); Silver, Craft-Directing; Silver, Craft-Editing; Silver, General-Corporate Image; and People's Telly Silver, General-Non-Broadcast.
Watch the walkthrough and my Tigé montage above.