Bent Wood and Molten Metal

Cooperman Fife and Drum

  • October 2020
  • Photography

Cooperman is a 100-year-old company that makes historically accurate musical instruments (drums, drumsticks, fifes, tambourines, etc.) as well as hand-crafted historical games made from hardwood. They needed some fresh imagery to help with marketing as they work to expand direct sales of their toy line.

We spent half a day at their Bellow Falls factory capturing production processes with both still images and videography, learning about everything from banjo making and drumstick testing (both in a pair must have similar resonance and feel), to creating pewter dice and tin whistles. And we had a great time capturing everything from wood bending with steam and machines, to lathe work, pewter forging, and finishing work.

Afterwards, we brought back a few dozen of their products to the studio and captured product shots on white for their new website.

Then, a bit later, we compiled both a webroll and a short video about how they make a Tin Whistle.