The genesis of SKYFIRE

Skyfire video got its start in 1984 as SKYFIRE. The company was started as an adjunct to CAMRAC Studios. Like many businesses, SKYFIRE was started quite by accident as a fluke. An LA company hired our production company to shoot the 1984 Reno Air Races. The LA Company turned out to be a total scam and they left our own company with about $28,000 in unpaid bills – a lot of money in 1984 for a small production company in Reno, Nevada. What to do? After all employees put their heads together, one man ventured that he had read an article about a new product called “home video.” In spite of television being free, people were actually willing to pay for programs on special interest topics. Using the footage we had shot, we put together our first home video on VHS and Betamax. We called the company SKYFIRE and that is how it all began.

The following year, we arranged a contract with the Reno Air Race Association to produce stories about the annual air races under the trade name of SKYFIRE. From there, SKYFIRE branched out and began shooting aviation related videos on famous aviators like Bob Hoover, Lefty Gardner and other aviation related topics. Soon, SKYFIRE became a household word for aviation videos.

Along the way, SKYFIRE additionally trademarked the name, America’s Video Storyteller. Soon, we branched off into making other special interest videos under the SKYFIRE name. That led us to do a variety of videos on steam locomotives, The Sunken Treasures of Lake Tahoe and other unusual stories that captured the imagination of our viewers.

Today, SKYFIRE can be found on the Internet under the name SKYFIREVIDEO.COM. We have many new videos in store as well as finishing up some train stories that have sadly been allowed to languish in the vault. So now you know how the names SKYFIRE and SKYFIREVIDEO got their start.