Survey, Part 1. The Pandemic
1) Early on in the pandemic when marketers were formulating their COVID messaging responses, our team produced a project for our HPE client called “HPE- Ready to Help”. This was HPE’s TVC outreach to the business leaders, technologists, and scientists at the beginning of the pandemic to extend a hand of support.
The project was a mix of found footage and a remote live action shoot.
Production/Finishing: Harbor Picture Company
Footage Sourcing: Catch & Release,
Editorial: ThePub NY
VFX/Animation: ThePub NY
Music: JSM.
Location: The shoot was in Florida at the home of the HPE CEO, Antonio Neri
Client: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Agency: Publicis New York
2) “HPE- Ready To Help” being executed in the early days of the pandemic under extraordinary restrictions forced us to adapt to a new way of working without time to refine a process. Luckily producers are always prepared for the unknown. The use of found footage allowed the team to put together content shot all around the world without needing to travel or gather crews in those locations. The live action piece was done completely remotely via a dropkit, delivered to the door of the HPE CEO. We then virtually recorded audio and captured video via zoom and source connect. The production, post, and agency/client teams were all connected to Antonio Neri virtually.
3) The initial concept went through many rounds of revisions until everyone was confident we had the best chance of success in execution. The team was incredibly diligent because of how many restrictions we had to work around. Finalizing the idea took a bit longer, Having to collaborate remotely has been especially tough on creatives. Popping in and out of zoom meetings is no substitution for all agency folks in one room working out the concepts together to move a strong idea forward. Conversations took much longer to reach conclusions simply because rather than troubleshooting in person together, every question required multiple phone calls to get to the right answer.
During this time most places around the world were closed to shooting. Working with a first-rate footage curation resource like Catch and Release was the perfect way to get mass quality and clearable footage from legions of varied outlets. They were able to do this quickly AND comprehensively. The live action piece was more tricky since we were prohibited to film in person. Our OCP talent was a VIP client, Antonio Neri the HPE CEO. Several discussions were had on how to capture both audio and video to ensure there was a super clear and simple equipment setup for Antonio to figure out on his own. Of course the pressures of no time and no room for error were always looming. Harbor and ThePub implemented many sessions of pre-production testing which would never have been needed in pre-pandemic days.
4) The team consisting of the production crew and agency were smaller than usual. Therefore the traditional “director/crew/agency” dynamic did not exist. As a collective we were all limited in time and familiar capabilities. Our production footprint could only be minuscule requiring Harbor to source crew who could wear multiple hats. There were 3-4 people on the crew side playing the roles of what would normally be a crew of 50 covering director/DP/ac/grip/lighting/audio/producer, etc all completely remote from one another.
The post process was also remote between agency and editorial/finishing team making the process a bit longer and tougher to pull together than usual as usually the entire team is hunkered down in an edit suite with all decision makers and creators in one space shaping the final product.
5) Time, time, time! We cannot cheat ourselves out of time, especially in this new world of producing during a pandemic. Conversations taking only 10 minutes in the past can now take an entire day. Production and post teams need much more time to pull together what used to be considered simple. There was very little time to pull this project together, forcing everyone (clients included) to operate without prior experience or personal learnings because it was SO early in the pandemic. “Ready To Help” was a huge success, but it wasn’t easy getting there. There isn’t much to have done differently. Time was the only factor we needed more of because not even money could change the operation of this production. The only advice I could give to my team during this time (and still do) is to operate from a place of safety and caution. Nothing is more important than everyone remaining out of harm’s way. With the support of the clients and agency, the team did everything possible in the conceptual phase to ensure a secure process.
Survey, Part 2. Emerging filmmaking talent.
1) Creatives and directors need to work together even more closely given this is new territory for everyone. Creatives need help from their production partners to be economical in their story telling because new rules apply. Therefore get to the core of the idea, how important the creative is, and determine how to service the creative in the way it is best suited. You could be a huge production or a tiny production, but the most important thing is how you best deliver the creative idea. If there is a simpler way to tell the story, do that.
2) This is pre and post pandemic advice. Stay on top of everything. Never stop learning. There is always emerging talent, new ways to solve problems, don’t rely on the same way of thinking and be open to new experiences, and remember you cannot control everything. Turns out along with weather delays, pandemics are a reality. Address what you can control, and work as a team to tackle what you cannot. I need to heed my own advice often.
3) Overseeing many productions since the world changed, I have noticed two very important, common factors. Firstly the ability to multi-task in the way creatives and producers used to on set or in an edit suite is not doable. One would need multiple monitors and zoom lines to take on as much as we do in the same way we used to. Secondly, while we are all managing and succeeding in getting the work completed remotely with impossible circumstances, the relationship building between client, agency and production partners is getting lost. The little conversations one has from getting their breakfast burrito and walking to video village with the client, bumping into the line producer and having the director check in to say hi, and unwinding with a glass of anything with the client and team after a long day was taken for granted. We forget how important those subtle moments are, and how over time build a relationship with one another. Technology while resourceful and very much needed cannot replace the human interactions that make this hard work more bonding.
4) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) is at the core of Publicis Groupe. My company has made a strong and transparent commitment to us, and the industry, to ensure continued progress both in ongoing measurement and accountability, including appointing a steering committee and mobilizing our work streams with dedicated task forces and clear timelines to operationalize our identified actions. In addition, most of our clients already had guidelines in place to make certain diversity is represented in crew, cast and team. There are mentorships in place, and the commitment to DE&I within the agencies is real.
5) Most recently we produced a small spot to run nationally on the 4th of July to highlight the Black Lives Matter Movement. My associate director of production Tim LeGallo managed to complete this from start to finish in four days. We are particularly proud of this spot because we let the idea come to life in a powerful, simple way and let the strength of the message speak for itself. Creatives and production showed restraint and didn’t overproduce it. This happens to be my personal favorite of the year.
https://vimeo.com/464743912/095ede26b3
