AMS Pictures
A Dallas-based American film, television, advertising, and original-content production company.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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History
AMS Pictures began in 1982 under the name AMS Production Group. Founder Andy Streitfeld financed the initial operation with loans totaling about $25,000 from friends and relatives. The company initially operated on a very small scale, at one point working from Streitfeld's bedroom before moving into rented warehouse facilities at KDFI-TV in Irving, Texas. As the business expanded, it relocated to its own offices in the Las Colinas Communications Complex and began securing recognizable commercial clients, including Radio Shack and JC Penney. During the 1990s, AMS broadened its production infrastructure and client base. In 1995, it broke ground on a new Dallas headquarters and studio complex. The approximately 40,000-square-foot facility was completed in the late 1990s and incorporated multiple soundstages, editing rooms, meeting spaces, and highly themed interiors inspired by Disney-style environments. The facility became a central part of the company's identity and enabled it to handle larger commercial, television, and corporate assignments. Reference material describes the construction cost as approximately $4.6 million, although this figure is not treated as a current financial metric. The company also took on politically significant production work. In 1995, it won the bid to manage promotional and media elements for Ross Perot's 1996 presidential campaign. Its activities included campaign-media production rather than political officeholding. A decade later, AMS was hired to create television spots for Kinky Friedman's 2006 independent campaign for governor of Texas. AMS expanded geographically in 2000 by opening an Austin branch office and studio. The facility was designed to serve public-sector markets and clients in the Texas capital region. It included a soundstage, a fiber-connected satellite booth, editing suites, and meeting rooms. The Dallas and Austin facilities together supported studio shoots, post-production, satellite-enabled broadcast work, and commercial content creation. The firm's production portfolio included advertising and marketing material for companies such as Frito-Lay, Home Depot, and Texas Instruments. It also handled broadcast-related work, including national sports spots. In 2000, corporate clients reportedly represented a substantial majority of its business, with Fortune 500 companies accounting for about 70 percent of activity according to the cited reference. The company simultaneously developed television production capabilities, including the model-based production of Jay Jay the Jet Plane in 1994 and 1995. From 2005 onward, AMS placed greater emphasis on original programming. It produced more than 200 hours of original content, including documentaries, factual series, lifestyle programming, and television specials. Its projects addressed subjects ranging from African American history and civil rights to Texas culture, aviation, journalism, food, housing, automobiles, health, and popular entertainment. Programs were distributed or broadcast through a range of American cable and specialty networks, including HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Showtime, WE tv, Veria Living, truTV, Bio, Velocity, and GMC TV. Documentary projects became a particularly visible part of the company's profile. Bodacious Boots examined the history and cultural role of cowboy boots, with connections to Texas identity and interviews or appearances involving figures such as Lyle Lovett, Kinky Friedman, and Sydney Pollack. The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College and projects about the Tuskegee Airmen connected AMS's output to American educational, military, and civil-rights history. Other productions explored Black cinema, newspaper journalism, musicians, entertainers, and regional cultural subjects. In early 2009, AMS Production Group formally changed its name to AMS Pictures. The rebrand was intended to distinguish the company from a purely service-oriented production house and to signal its stronger focus on original film and television content. The available article and reference material document productions through the 2010s and identify a 2023 documentary credit, but they do not establish the company's current ownership, leadership team, financial condition, or operating status. Consequently, the brand's present status remains unknown.
- 2023
Karen Carpenter documentary credit
[1]The company is credited in reference material with the documentary Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection.
- 2009
Rebrand to AMS Pictures
[1]AMS Production Group formally adopted the AMS Pictures name to reflect its emphasis on original programming.
- 2006
Kinky Friedman campaign production
[1]AMS produced television spots for Kinky Friedman's independent campaign for governor of Texas.
- 2005
Greater focus on original programming
[1]The company began concentrating more heavily on original television and documentary production.
- 2000
Austin branch opens
[1]AMS opened its first branch office and studio in Austin to serve public-sector and regional clients.
- 1998
Dallas production studio completed
[1]The company's approximately 40,000-square-foot Dallas studio facility was completed, providing soundstages and themed production spaces.
- 1995
Dallas studio construction begins
[1]AMS broke ground on a new corporate headquarters and studio complex in the Dallas area.
- 1995
Ross Perot campaign media contract
[1]AMS won the bid to handle promotional and media elements for Ross Perot's 1996 presidential campaign.
- 1994
Jay Jay the Jet Plane production
[1]The company participated in production of the children's television series during its original model-based run.
- 1982
AMS Production Group is founded
[1]Andy Streitfeld established the company with approximately $25,000 in loans from friends and relatives.
Products and positioning
A Texas-based full-service production company combining commercial, corporate, broadcast, political, and original documentary capabilities, with an emphasis on studio production and factual storytelling.
Documentary film and television · 2005
Original documentaries
AMS Pictures has produced feature-length and television documentaries covering American history, civil rights, Black cinema, aviation, journalism, music, entertainment, and Texas culture. Documented examples include Bodacious Boots, Flying for Freedom: Untold Stories of the Tuskegee Airmen, In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College, A Colored Life: The Herb Jeffries Story, The Good Fight: The James Farmer Story, and Stop the Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril.
Television series · 2008
Television factual and lifestyle programming
The company has produced factual, reality, lifestyle, and entertainment series for American cable and specialty networks. The documented portfolio includes Home Strange Home, Food Attack, Flightmares, Killer Teens, Chuck's Eat the Street, You Live in What?, Cool Pools, Car Sharks, Amazing Water Homes, Natural Companions, and Girl Meets Gown.
Advertising and branded content · 1982
Commercial and corporate media
AMS provides production services for advertising, marketing, corporate communications, and web-based media. Reference material identifies work for clients including Frito-Lay, Home Depot, Texas Instruments, Radio Shack, and JC Penney. The company's Dallas and Austin facilities support studio shoots, editing, meeting, and satellite-enabled production requirements.
Campaign and public-sector production · 1995
Political and public-affairs media
The company has produced promotional and television campaign material for political and public-sector clients. Its documented campaign work includes media elements for Ross Perot's 1996 presidential campaign and television spots for Kinky Friedman's 2006 independent campaign for governor of Texas.
Broadcast production
Broadcast and sports spots
AMS has produced broadcast-ready promotional and sports material, using in-house satellite booths and related production infrastructure for national sports spots and other televised content.
Marketing campaigns
- 2006Kinky Friedman Texas gubernatorial campaign
Texas, United States
AMS produced television spots for Kinky Friedman's independent campaign for governor of Texas.
- 1996Ross Perot presidential campaign media
United States
AMS handled promotional and media elements associated with Ross Perot's 1996 presidential campaign after winning the relevant production bid.
Brand decisions
2009
Rebrand from AMS Production Group to AMS PicturesStrategyBackground
The former name was increasingly associated with production services, while the company was developing a stronger original film and television identity.
Action taken
The company formally changed its name to AMS Pictures.
Aftermath
The new name was intended to distinguish the business and highlight its original-programming focus.
2005
Increase emphasis on original programmingStrategyBackground
After years of commercial, corporate, and broadcast production, AMS began placing greater emphasis on content it originated or produced for television and documentary distribution.
Action taken
The company expanded its documentary, factual, lifestyle, and television output, reporting more than 200 hours of original programming produced after 2005.
Aftermath
The shift led to a broader portfolio of documentaries and series distributed through American cable and specialty networks.
2000
Open an Austin production branchStrategyBackground
The company sought to serve public-sector and other clients in and around Austin, Texas.
Action taken
AMS opened a branch office and studio with a soundstage, satellite booth, editing suites, and meeting rooms.
Sources1 sources
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