ATOMIC LODGE
Showing how a Northern Minnesota vacation rental became a real-world home base for a multi-day commercial production, business collaboration and group retreat experience.
THE PROBLEM
Atomic Lodge was already attracting families and leisure groups, but the owners saw a bigger opportunity. They wanted the property to also serve business retreats, masterminds, production crews, and groups coming to Ely for larger outdoor experiences. The challenge was helping people see how the space could actually function for those kinds of stays—not just as a beautiful vacation rental.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Gregg Media was already using Atomic Lodge as the home base for a multi-day commercial production with Cast Outdoors. That gave us a real-world opportunity to show the property being used exactly the way the owners hoped future groups would use it.
Our crew stayed on-site throughout the production, using the lodge for gear management, footage backups and day-to-day production needs. The Cast Outdoors team joined us there for client meetings, route planning and production decisions, including a major pivot when weather forced us to rethink locations and rebuild the shoot plan. Instead of staging a hypothetical retreat or work session, we documented the lodge functioning under real working conditions.
HOW THE SPACE WAS USED
Crew lodging — private sleeping spaces for crew members to stay comfortably under one roof, while giving us multiple spaces to work and relax.
Gear management — room to spread out production equipment, personal gear, and charging stations without taking over the whole house.
Media management — spaces to dump footage, organize files, edit current footage, and prep for the next production day.
Meals + downtime — a large kitchen, sauna, wood-burning fireplace, games, and shared spaces gave everyone room to reset after long days.
Client meetings — comfortable places for our crew and the Cast Outdoors team to sit down together, review plans and make decisions.
Production planning — when weather forced a change in shooting locations, the lodge became the hub for rerouting and rebuilding the plan with our clients.
THE APPROACH
We built the Atomic Lodge video around the real experience rather than a staged property tour. Caleb recorded an on-camera review from the living room while supporting footage showed how the lodge functioned throughout the production.
The story focused on both sides of the stay: the practical value of having a functional home base for a working crew and the comfort of having a place to reset after long production days.
WHAT WE CREATED
Brand Film
A primary brand video built around the real experience of using Atomic Lodge as a working production base. We combined behind-the-scenes footage of our crew using the property with intentional ground and drone cinematography to show both how the space functioned and how it felt to stay there.
On-Camera Review
We recorded a professionally produced testimonial from inside the lodge using professional lighting and clean audio, keeping the review grounded in the actual environment and experience.
Sound Design
We layered in detailed environmental audio — the crackle of the wood-burning fireplace, steam in the sauna and other natural sounds from the property — to make the finished film feel immersive rather than simply observational.
Social Content
We also created short-form reels in collaboration with Atomic Lodge and Cast Outdoors, helping the content reach beyond the lodge’s existing audience and into the communities already connected to the outdoor experience.
THE FILM
Atomic Lodge Brand Film
Created by Gregg Media to show how Atomic Lodge can function as a real home base for business retreats, masterminds, production crews and multi-day group experiences in Ely, Minnesota.
WHY IT WORKED
The strongest part of the project was authenticity. Atomic Lodge wasn’t staged to look like it could support a working group — it was already doing it.
By documenting a real production crew using the property for lodging, planning, meetings, gear management and downtime, the final film gave potential guests a much clearer picture of how the space could actually fit into a retreat, production or group experience.
THE RESULT
The finished video gave Atomic Lodge a clearer way to show how the property could support more than a traditional vacation stay. It demonstrated the lodge as a real working home base for production crews, business retreats, masterminds and groups building larger experiences around Ely and Northern Minnesota.
The owners felt the final piece captured exactly what they hoped to communicate and gave them marketing content they could use to help broaden how potential guests understood the property.
WHAT THIS PROVED
Atomic Lodge didn’t need content that simply showed the property. It needed content that helped people understand a use case they may not have considered before.
By building the story around a real commercial production, we were able to show the lodge functioning as both a working base and a place to recharge — giving future guests a much clearer picture of what the property could make possible.
HAVE A SPACE PEOPLE DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND YET?
Gregg Media creates commercial films and campaign content that help people see how a property, experience or service actually fits into their lives.