When GlaxoSmithKline’s Brazil division reached out to us to support them in a series of medical conferences, we were eager to oblige. The job: designing, producing and directing a custom studio at each large medical conference that they sponsored. The pilot of our relationship was for ATS in Washington, DC, which is how GSK Brazil initially found TalkingTree Creative. The following two conferences of 2017 were ERS and EACS, both of which took place in Milan, Italy. The goal of these studios were to host interviews with attendees, doctors, and specialists and capture thought provoking discussions on conference content, changes in the industry, and new and noteworthy research. All digital “thought leadership” content was to be recorded, edited, and delivered daily for broadcast on the GSK Brazil website.
We worked together with GSK Brazil and Origami Events to design and develop these studio sets and studio-recording systems to their exact needs within the spaces provided. One hurdle was dealing with already contracted space that didn’t quite fit our specifications but, when you’re in our industry, you make it work! Finalizing our aesthetic design for the studio was a huge collaborative effort with the team, but also enabled the client to feel involved and confident in what we were delivering. Once both technical and aesthetic designs were finalized for the studios, we sourced all gear and hard set pieces, and put custom set elements into production. Two of our goals with the studio design was to convey the branding of GSK Brazil and the conference, as well as create as much dimensionality and depth between set elements as possible (all while staying in budget).
The studio recording system was fairly consistent across all three conferences. Each studio was set up as a three camera shoot, with one director/producer, a production assistant, a production switcher (to simplify the editing process), beautiful subject lighting, and crisp audio recording. We brought along editing work stations and at least one dedicated editor who’s sole purpose in life was to crank out video after video for approval.
These full blown custom studio installations were live at each conference for a few days, filming and editing up to 6 interviews or panels a day. We worked hand in hand with the client to make sure we were capturing and delivering exactly what they were looking for. Although we were recording live talk show style programs of panels of specialists, few retakes were actually necessary. We were incredibly fortunate to have a phenomenal crew and on screen talent that was experienced and comfortable on camera.
I can confidently report that this studio series was a huge success and we are very excited to see where we will go, what we will build and what brilliant minds we will meet in 2018! Thank you GSK Brazil for your continued trust and partnership!
