Colin Stewart, 27
BS film and television '20
OWNER, FIVE TRIBES CINEMA PRODUCTIONS
Colin Stewart
BS film and television '20
OWNER, FIVE TRIBES CINEMA PRODUCTIONS
Colin Stewart transformed a recession-era leap of faith into a thriving production company, using his ties to the rowing world to break into live sports broadcasting.
Colin Stewart graduated into the post-COVID-19 slump and job opportunities were thin on the ground. So he took a leap into entrepreneurship. As a film and video major, he had some old equipment he could sell to finance the purchase of professional gear, and thus was born New Jersey-based Five Tribes Cinema Productions. “At first we did a couple of interview segments and corporate videos — small stuff,” he recalls. Things took off from there. But it was his experience on the Drexel rowing team that really got the business into high gear. How so? Stewart has been volunteering for years with the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association, and the association leaders wanted to start livestreaming their events so parents and friends could watch the races despite COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on in-person events. Stewart and his team stepped in, and it proved the basis for strong business growth. Today the company does commercial and corporate video work as well as livestreaming, with a client roster that includes NBC Sports, NBC Universal, USRowing, the Olympic Trials, Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the University of Pennsylvania, Habitat for Humanity, Amazon, Aramark and Jefferson University. Stewart also writes, directs and produces original films, and his company supports nonprofits and local schools, producing videos to help districts secure state funding. He’s able to employ multiple Drexel alumni, and he loves being his own boss.
“It’s extremely satisfying to do something that you love, and to be able to do it on your own terms.”
Stewart’s Drexel coursework helped lay the groundwork for success: Filmmaking, operations, engineering live broadcasting — he’s putting all of that to work every day. And his co-op experiences in film production helped to further prepare him. In a surprising twist, it was his rowing team experience that pulled it all together. “Right before the COVID shutdown, they had the US Rowing Convention in Philadelphia,” he says. “That was really what got our foot in the door.”
My Greatest Accomplishment:
For me, the biggest accomplishment so far has been Five Tribes’ continued partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia to produce content for air on their main and secondary channels. What started as a YouTube livestream of the Lifeguard Races in South Jersey has turned into media operations that has aired on their network for five years now with four to five episodes per season. The success of the South Jersey Lifeguard Racing Series on their network has spilled over into our traditional flatwater racing coverage with the addition of the Dad Vail Regatta for their programming. In 2013, I remember watching the Dad Vail Regatta on 6ABC with my high school rowing team and being inspired by Drexel winning the varsity eight. So much so, it became a major reason I decided to attend and row at Drexel. Little did I know 13 years later, I would be getting the regatta back on TV after a six-year hiatus, while also live directing and producing the entire show!
How Drexel Shaped My Path:
Drexel helped shape my path on two fronts. Academically, the Film and Television department had fantastic professors and connections that helped me learn and get a handle of real-world tools and technologies I’d need to do what I am doing today. The co-op program was an invaluable time for me as from it, I discovered that running a production company is what I wanted to do with my life. On the other front, athletically, the connections I made while a D1 rower helped shape the network, experience and knowledge of my sport to craft the live broadcasts we produce now for events around the country. Without Drexel or Drexel Rowing, I wouldn’t have met the people I know and networked with the clients we now collaborate with.
Where I Hope To Be in Five Years:
Our outlook for the next five years is to continue doing the work we’ve been doing and expanding our commercial video production services while moving into making more narrative films. With the summer Olympics being in Los Angeles in 2028, we are working our tails off to have the quality of our work recognized on the national stage and play a part in that broadcast. Whether as a broadcast partner for the rowing events or through some other means, we want to be part of telling those stories. DM
My Greatest Accomplishment:
For me, the biggest accomplishment so far has been Five Tribes’ continued partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia to produce content for air on their main and secondary channels. What started as a YouTube live stream of the Lifeguard Races in South Jersey has turned into media operations that has aired on their network for five years now with four to five episodes per season. The success of the South Jersey Lifeguard Racing Series on their network has spilled over into our traditional flatwater racing coverage with the addition of the Dad Vail Regatta for their programming. In 2013, I remember watching the Dad Vail Regatta on 6ABC with my high school rowing team and being inspired by Drexel winning the varsity eight. So much so, it became a major reason I decided to attend and row at Drexel. Little did I know 13 years later, I would be getting the regatta back on TV after a six-year hiatus, while also live directing and producing the entire show!
How Drexel Shaped My Path:
Drexel helped shape my path on two fronts. Academically, the Film and Television department had fantastic professors and connections that helped me learn and get a handle of real-world tools and technologies I’d need to do what I am doing today. The co-op program was an invaluable time for me as from it, I discovered that running a production company is what I wanted to do with my life. On the other front, athletically, the connections I made while a D1 rower helped shape the network, experience and knowledge of my sport to craft the live broadcasts we produce now for events around the country. Without Drexel or Drexel Rowing, I wouldn’t have met the people I know and networked with the clients we now collaborate with.
Where I Hope To Be in Five Years:
Our outlook for the next five years is to continue doing the work we’ve been doing and expanding our commercial video production services while moving into making more narrative films. With the summer Olympics being in Los Angeles in 2028, we are working our tails off to have the quality of our work recognized on the national stage and play a part in that broadcast. Whether as a broadcast partner for the rowing events or through some other means, we want to be part of telling those stories. DM
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