Give your county astory worth watching.
A cinematic annual address for the community you serve, made with the care of a documentary so that residents don't just sit through it, they carry it with them long after the room clears.
Jackson County
State of the County · 2026
Narrative
One story, told with intention
A year in the life of a jurisdiction is not a list. It is a story about the people who chose to build something, the pressures they navigated, and the ground they gained. We spend the time to find that thread, and we build the whole film around it.
Reach
Made for the room, and the year that follows
The long form film carries the address itself. From that same shoot we cut a suite of shorter pieces sized for social, press, internal comms, and the next budget cycle, so the story keeps working long after the lights come up.
Ownership
The footage, and the film, are yours
You own the finished films outright and you own every frame of footage we capture. No licensing renewals, no usage windows, no fine print. What we make together belongs to the community it was made for.
Jesse Hill
Partner | Lead Creative
Blake Houston
Partner | Lead Strategist
Hi, we're Jesse and Blake, the pioneers behind Hilltree.
We started Hilltree because we believe the story of a place, told with the care it deserves, has the power to move people toward something better. Municipal storytelling asks for patience and attention, and it rewards both. It is the kind of work we set out to do together, and it is still the work we are most proud to put our names on.
When you bring us on for a State of the City, the two of us are the ones guiding the work from the first conversation through the final cut.
Recent work
Films we've produced
Mississippi Gulf Coast
City of Gulfport, 2026
Mississippi Gulf Coast
Jackson County, 2026
Four seasons of work, shaped for one room.
From the first conversation to the night of the address, the arc of a State of the County runs roughly two to three months. Here is what those months look like when you work with us.
- 01
Week 1
Sit down with leadership
We start around a table, not a camera. What was this year actually about, past the talking points? Who moved it forward, and what do residents need to feel and understand by the time the film ends? We leave that conversation with a story worth chasing.
- 02
Weeks 2 to 3
Shape the narrative
From that conversation we build a tight outline: a few honest threads that carry the year rather than a survey of every department. You see it, you push on it, and we lock it before a single camera comes out of the case.
- 03
Weeks 3 to 6
Shoot across the jurisdiction
Sit-down interviews with leadership and the community voices that make the story credible, paired with cinematic B-roll across the neighborhoods, parks, projects, and civic spaces that show the year in motion.
- 04
Weeks 6 to 12
Deliver the full bundle
The long form film for the room, a shorter cut for press and web, vertical clips for social, and a folder of stills. All finished, all yours, delivered in time to rehearse the room before the lights go up.
Built to fit a municipal budget cycle.
Every jurisdiction is shaped a little differently, so we scope each film to the size of the community, the number of interview subjects, the amount of location work, and the deliverables you actually need. The number below is a starting point, not a ceiling.
Productions start at
$15,000
Final investment varies with the scope of the production.
Council-ready proposal on request.
We are happy to build a written proposal you can carry into a council or commission meeting, and we can structure billing across two fiscal years when the calendar calls for it.
Let's talk about your community.
We take on a small number of State of the County and State of the City productions each cycle so every film gets the attention it deserves. If your address is on the calendar within the next twelve months, now is the right time to start the conversation.