What We Do
We tell
visual stories
for the
CENTRAL COAST

How it Started

Red Canary was hatched back in 1997 when Todd Peterson and his friend Noah started making movies in their apartment. A red bird painted by a friend’s 10-year-old sister was on the door. “It’s probably a canary,” they agreed, and Red Canary studio was born.It’s been almost 30 years, and while our production process and team has evolved, our commitment to creating a friendly, collaborative environment for our clients is still the same.

Our Team

Todd Peterson holding a cup of coffee.

Todd R. Peterson

Director/Editor
For nearly two and half decades Todd has been guiding Red CANARY with a passion for excellence and commitment to his clients. As director and editor, Todd helps craft a look and feel that is unique for each project. Todd's produced videos on astronauts, big shots at Google, blogger phenoms, CEO's of fortune 500 companies and a entrepreneurial NFL star.A graduate of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department, Todd passions are making movies, Pez dispensers, anything to do with Space, and spending time with his lovely wife Holly their son Huck, and daughter Lily.

Ismail Abdullah holding a camera on a boat.

Ismail Abdullah

Videographer/Illustrator
Ish is also a Graduate of the Cal Poly SLO Graphic Communications Department with a concentration in Design. While he spends most of his time as a free lance designer, photographer, and illustrator Ish has a passion for all Design, Photography, Cinematography, and the Fine arts.Outside of his creative pursuits, Ish enjoys strong coffee drinks, quoting movie lines that have never been written, making music, learning new languages, cooking, marinating in new cultures, archery, rock climbing, scrambling through frost-bitten mountains, movie popcorn, and has a pretty solid camel clutch.And in case you were wondering- Yes, he is the Mortgage Sherpa. Ish's true love is his family though, his wife Lindsay, and sons Beckett and Dawson hold his heart in a full Nelson.

Gary Weyel in Yosemite.

Gary Weyel

Writer/Marketing/Gaffer
People love stories, not sales pitches.

Throughout the past decade, Gary has helped companies like The Hearst Corporation, Conoco-Phillips and Tenet Health engage their audience with stories. As Senior Producer for Red CANARY, Gary writes and directs videos that connect brands to their target audience on an emotional level through laughter, poignancy and felt needs.When he’s not making videos, Gary enjoys spending time with his family, kayaking off the shores of Morro Bay and watching 49er football.

A yellow lab resting his head on a blue couch

Fig

Encourager/Praiser
Fig is a pretty good dog. He is there for you when your feeling low and also loves to celebrate the good times too. While Fig is not at the studio everday, you can always find his dog hair stuck to Todd or various pieces of production equipment.

Fake Testimonials

Red haired man with bird
"Finally, bird videos without birds."
Happy guy

Bob Jinkleheimer

Unhappy lady
"They refused to edit my 3-hour documentary on my cat. Clearly, they have no vision."
Sara Smith is unhappy

Beatrice Calico

Man holding ball
"I asked if they would convert my high school sports ball highlight reel to DVD. They said no."
A man

Doug Chowdington

"Apparently the Red Canary name comes from a painting a friend's little sister did way back in 1997."
Photo

Kale Brune

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