Our Story
A little history on how SZ Media came to be.
SZ Media was founded in early 2015 by photographer and filmmaker Scott Zielke, but the story really began a year earlier.
Having attended PrairieView School of Photography in Winnipeg in 2008, Scott already had a background in professional photography and a growing interest in filmmaking. At the time, video was barely being used to market real estate in Winnipeg, and the idea of producing a cinematic film to showcase a property was still relatively new.
In 2014, a friend who had recently become a REALTOR® approached Scott with an idea. He had a new listing and wanted to try something different: make a video about the property.
Scott jumped at the opportunity.
What came out of that collaboration was one of Winnipeg's earliest cinematic real estate listing videos. It was shared widely on Facebook, attracted a considerable amount of attention, and helped generate excitement around the listing. The property ultimately sold well above asking price with multiple offers.
It was a pretty exciting result for what had started as a simple idea between two friends.
More importantly, it opened the door to something bigger. There was clearly an opportunity to approach real estate marketing differently, and Scott saw the potential to build a business around it.
In early 2015, SZ Media was born.
From One Listing to Over 12,000 Properties
A lot has changed since that first video.
What started as a one-person operation has grown into a team of photographers, filmmakers, and editors who share a passion for creating beautiful, effective media.
Along the way, we've learned a lot. We've built a team, refined our processes, expanded our services, and spent more hours than we can count figuring out how to do things better.
We've also embraced new technology as it has become available. From the early adoption of drone photography and video to interactive 360° virtual tours, floor plans, social media reels, agent introductions, and custom luxury property productions, our services have continued to evolve alongside the industry.
Since our beginnings, SZ Media has photographed and filmed over 12,000 properties throughout Winnipeg and Manitoba.
That's a number we're incredibly proud of, but it's not just about the properties.
Some of the most rewarding parts of building this business have been the relationships we've developed along the way. We've worked with many of our clients for years, watched their businesses grow alongside ours, and built genuine friendships with people who first came to us simply looking for someone to photograph a house.
More than a decade later, we still love what we do.
And despite how much the industry has changed, our approach has remained pretty simple: create great work, treat people well, and always look for ways to improve.
Meet the Team
Director
Scott Zielke
A graduate of PrairieView School of Photography, Scott founded SZ Media and leads the creative direction of the company. With a background in photography, filmmaking, and advanced drone operations, he's always looking for new ways to push the creative side of the business forward. Outside of work, you'll usually find him chasing his next adventure—whether that's snowboarding in the mountains, riding dirt bikes, or exploring somewhere new.
Photographer/Videographer
Justin Landry
A Vancouver Film School graduate, Justin brings a diverse creative background spanning game design, marketing, motion graphics, and 3D animation. Having worked with major brands and companies, he brings a fresh perspective and a unique set of skills to the SZ Media team. When he's not creating something, he's probably out riding his Onewheel, planning his next trip to Greece, or hanging out with his dog, Sesame.
Photographer/Videographer
Andrew Harder
A Toronto Film School graduate with a serious talent for visual storytelling, Andrew is the creative eye behind much of SZ Media's post-production work. Specializing in editing and colour grading, his experience extends into the film and television industry, where he's edited episodic content for streaming platforms including Netflix and Prime Video. When he's away from the editing suite, he's likely watching a good film, golfing with the boys, or playing guitar.
What Makes SZ Media Different?
A different approach to real estate photography and video.
There are plenty of talented photographers and videographers out there. We know that.
What sets SZ Media apart isn't any one camera, technique, or piece of equipment. It's the combination of our team's experience, our approach to production, and the systems we've developed over more than a decade of working in real estate media.
Here are a few things we do differently.
1. Our Editing Stays With Us
No overseas outsourcing. No unnecessary compromises.
One thing we've always felt strongly about is keeping our editing work in-house.
It's become increasingly common in the real estate photography industry to outsource editing to large overseas production companies. While that approach works for some businesses, we've chosen to do things differently.
Our photography and video editing is handled by our own team, giving us direct control over the finished product.
This means we're able to maintain a consistent look across our work, pay attention to the small details, and make adjustments quickly when something needs to be changed.
It also means the people editing your media understand our standards, our clients, and the way we want our work to look.
There's something to be said for having the people responsible for the finished product working closely with the people who captured it.
We believe it makes a difference, and it's an approach we have no plans to change.
2. We're Really, Really Fast
Beautiful media shouldn't take days to deliver.
If there's one thing our clients have come to appreciate about working with SZ Media, it's how quickly we deliver.
We've spent years refining our workflow, building systems, and finding ways to make the entire process more efficient without sacrificing the quality of our work.
The result?
We offer same-day delivery on nearly all of our standard real estate photography and video services.
In many cases, our clients receive their completed property photos within just a few hours of their appointment.
For real estate agents working with tight listing schedules, that can make a significant difference.
It's something we've worked incredibly hard to achieve, and we're proud of the turnaround times we're able to offer.
Of course, more elaborate luxury productions and certain specialized services require additional time, but for everyday real estate media, speed is one of our biggest strengths.
As for exactly how we manage to turn everything around so quickly?
Well, we've developed a few tricks over the years.
We can't give away all our secrets.
3. We Were Media Professionals First
Different backgrounds. Different perspectives. One creative team.
Something that makes our team a little different is that our experience in photography, filmmaking, and editing didn't begin with real estate.
Each of us came into this industry with an existing background in professional media production.
Between our team members, our education includes diplomas from Vancouver Film School, Toronto Film School, and PrairieView School of Photography.
Our experience also extends well beyond property listings. We've worked on a wide variety of photography, film, and commercial production projects for clients throughout North America.
Why does that matter?
Because real estate media draws on a much broader set of creative skills than simply knowing how to photograph a room.
Understanding composition, lighting, movement, colour, editing, storytelling, and visual communication all contribute to how a property is presented.
Our different backgrounds allow us to bring those skills together, often approaching projects with perspectives and techniques developed in other areas of professional photography and filmmaking.
We don't believe there's only one way to create great real estate media, and we're always looking for opportunities to bring something different to the table.
Ultimately, we're a team of creative professionals who happen to specialize in real estate, rather than a real estate media company that simply learned how to use cameras.
It's a distinction we're proud of.