All The Right Angles

If a picture can tell a thousand words, then Sean Murphy, Skye Bailey, and Tyler Trant could fill volumes with their art. Impressively, intricate tattoos canvas their bodies—creative works they are proud to share.

“Storytelling is most important,” Murphy says. “We can have all the latest technology and use all the best tools, but what really brings us together as a team and sets us apart in the industry is finding a special angle to our storytelling.”

The Gannet Creative House origin story began when all three worked together at BOTE, a Florida-based company specializing in innovative, high-quality stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, and outdoor water gear. Traveling the world together, working on extensive projects for BOTE, they realized how compatible they were as a team.

Ideas flowed freely, mutual respect was shared, creativity flourished, and work they were proud of came to fruition. Starting out as a side business with just a few clients, they sought to ride that momentum as far as the journey would take them.

By January of 2025, their “fun side project” became a full venture when they agreed to commit more time and talent to becoming a business. July brought their official company launch and an influx of clients, keeping their calendars packed and passports stamped.

Gannet Creative House specializes in high-end photo and cinematography storytelling. This could be a one-day, few-hour photo shoot capturing the essence of a local company in distilled frames. Or, it could include scouting, casting, scheduling, and logistics, all handled by their team for a month-long international production to make a major ad campaign.

When asked to define their roles, they say Bailey is the producer, Murphy is the photographer, and Trant is the cinematographer, but they all agree that each person contributes much more than just these roles.

“Every client is asking for something different, and you have to treat every project differently,” Bailey says. “As a producer, I’ve become a fixer, a problem solver, seeing us through to the end goal and vision.”

“I think Skye’s role is the most interesting and inspiring, especially to young people,” Murphy says. “Her career started in graphic design then transitioned to marketing before fully embracing her role as producer. She’s always learning, adapting, and gaining new skills.”

They work together to make client decisions, to conceptualize shot lists, to write scripts, and more. While they are a core team of three, they have others on staff and have the capabilities to bring on a large production team for high-end projects.

While Northwest Florida boasts the studio location, the team is ready and willing to travel wherever their clientele needs them to go, be it by sea with their access to underwater equipment or by sky with the use of drones.

“This is a great home base for us,” Murphy says. “We don’t have to live in a big city to have access to nearby airports and a wealth of local talent.”

While they have worked on campaigns for national and international clients, including BOTE, Lululemon, Kona Bikes, and Bajio Sunglasses, they delight in getting to shine the spotlight locally.

An upcoming campaign they are proud to contribute to is the B.E. A S.H.E.R.O. Foundation, a grassroots organization founded with the mission of addressing the urgent needs of those affected by sex trafficking.

“The campaign, titled ‘Girlhood,’ shines light on what young girls would miss out on if they experienced sex trafficking,” Bailey says. “It’s very moving and really rewarding to have worked on this. We were able to cast local women to share these stories. It’s really special for a campaign this large to be done in a small town.”

All three call the Panhandle home now, but Murphy was raised on the Emerald Coast. He spent much of his 30-plus-year career working in Los Angeles on global campaigns with an affinity for the music scene.

“We are lucky to have many of the clients we have because of Sean’s reputation, alongside the reputation we built working together at BOTE,” Bailey says. “For those reasons, we haven’t had too much fight for creative control. That stems from having clients that trust us and come to us knowing they like what they’ve seen.”

They all reflect fondly on their time working for BOTE, desiring that type of long-term, build-from-the-beginning-to-the-end relationship. All agree that it’s fulfilling to be a key part of building a brand.

Be it a one-time client, a yearly project, or a retainer client that lasts more than a decade, the thrill and the challenge are to craft something unique.

“I think clients like that while we stay true to us, we never repeat the same idea from job to job,” Trant says. “Not having egos and really listening to our clients gets us a long way.”

Gannet Creative House has embraced the use of AI in some aspects of its work. It’s utilized as a tool for expediting processes such as building treatments, generating script ideas, and organizing shot lists.

With the latest and greatest in camera and video equipment, and as business-minded creatives, they keep with the cutting edge while knowing their minds are their greatest assets.

“No matter how good technology gets,” Trant says, “it will never replace the human element of being on set and creating with a client.” ▪