The Fletcher family, long synonymous with Chicago’s camera culture and technical innovation, is entering a new phase of its story.
After decades shaping the city’s production ecosystem through Fletcher Camera & Lenses, and later influencing how audiences experience live sports through broadcast innovation, the family has now launched Momento, a fan engagement platform that turns the lens toward the people in the seats. The technology captures real time reactions inside stadiums and arenas and delivers those moments back to fans as personalized digital keepsakes.
Founded by Tom and Sally Fletcher alongside Tom’s son Austin, Momento reflects a natural evolution of a family career rooted in camera technology, timing, and visual storytelling.
“After spending decades behind the broadcast lens, you realize the most valuable shot isn’t always the one on the field,” Tom Fletcher says. “It’s the one that captures how people feel in that moment.”
Turning the camera toward the fans
Instead of focusing on athletes or performers, Momento’s technology centers on the audience experience. The platform captures reactions during key moments such as joy, disbelief, tension, and celebration, and transforms those images into personal, shareable content for fans.
At the same time, it provides teams and venues with engagement data that offers deeper insight into how audiences experience live events.
Built using modern machine vision, cloud infrastructure, and deep integration with Amazon Web Services, Momento blends advanced technology with a multigenerational perspective.
Early traction across major leagues
As the company heads into 2026, Momento has secured multi year renewals with early partners including the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken, and Seattle Seahawks, while expanding across the NFL, MLS, and NWSL through partnerships with Sports Illustrated Tickets.
Teams are already seeing measurable engagement. During recent NFL games, the Baltimore Ravens approached 25,000 fan downloads per game day. During the Mariners’ playoff run, Momento generated tens of thousands of unique users, hundreds of thousands of photo downloads, and thousands of hours of fan interaction.
A legacy that began on Goose Island
For many in Chicago production, the Fletcher name carries decades of personal history.
For generations of filmmakers, Fletcher Camera & Lenses was more than a rental house. It was where you prepped your first camera package, lingered for a tech demo, and ran into half the Local 600 roster before walking out the door. From its Goose Island headquarters, Fletcher became a hub, a classroom, and a gathering place that helped position Chicago as a serious production town.
From 1987 through 2015, the family patriarch, Archie Fletcher, alongside his children Tom and Sally, operated the Midwest’s largest camera rental operation, supporting commercials, feature films, network television, and visiting productions. Their involvement extended beyond equipment. They were a charter member of the Illinois Production Alliance, advocates for local crews, and hosts to countless workshops and industry events.
The building itself became familiar ground for members of IATSE Local 600, the DGA, AICP, IFP, Chicago’s advertising community, and visiting filmmakers alike. Just as important, it became a training ground. Many who developed their craft at Fletcher now hold leadership roles across the industry, including Stan Glapa (Panavision Chicago), Kevin O’Connor (Sony Electronics), Jimmy James Summers and Al Collins (Keslow Camera Chicago), Megan Donnelly and Kari Hess (AbelCine), and Zoe Borys (Fuse Technical Group).
The broadcast chapter that changed the game
After the sale of Fletcher Camera, another chapter of the family’s work unfolded in parallel within live sports broadcast.
Through Fletcher Sports, led by Dan Grainge, the team built a pioneering division focused on robotic and specialty cameras for live broadcast. It was within this environment that Tom Fletcher and the team originated and popularized camera concepts that later became standard across professional sports. Those innovations reshaped how audiences experience live games and led to Fletcher’s induction into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2023.
Bringing it forward
Today, that dual lineage, deep film craft and transformative broadcast innovation, has evolved into a new application.
Momento now brings that expertise directly to the market, offering advanced fan engagement technology to professional sports venues, broadcasters, and live event producers nationwide. As major arenas explore new ways to elevate both in venue experience and broadcast presentation, the Fletcher name is again part of the conversation.
Austin Fletcher, now CEO, represents the next handoff in a family story grounded in how people experience moments through the lens.
Details and contact information are available at mymomento.com.
What began decades ago in a Goose Island camera prep bay continues today in a different form, but with the same spirit, a commitment to craft, innovation, and the people who make this industry work. For many in Chicago production, it is gratifying to see the Fletcher legacy still unfolding.
ALSO READ:
Old National Bank sends a message only a Bears fan can love
