Who doesn’t love puppies? Even if you’re not a “dog person,” it’s still possible to spend way too much time going down the wormhole of cute puppy videos online. Taking that tendency, and putting it into action, Royal Canin aired the Puppy Show as an intro to the American Kennel Club National Championship.
This presented a unique opportunity for us as a production company, but with innovation and collaboration, there was plenty of puppy cuteness to go around.
Of course, the biggest challenge to completing this show was that we weren’t all able to be in the same place. Actors and crews had to stay in their own cities, but we had to create a seamless production that brought it all together.
Next, the format of the show required interaction to happen live between people who weren’t close together, Making sure that all worked so as not to interrupt the flow of the show required a lot of technology and perfect timing.
Keeping everyone safe, and separate, meant setting up spaces in Los Angeles, Florida and New York City. Not only that, but we needed the right technology to feed content from New York, live, to LA, and then send it back.
Our host, Wayne Brady, was on a customized set built in a studio in LA. A big part of his set was the space for the screen, where guests would come in virtually and we streamed video content. The end product had both our host and the guests reacting to adorable home puppy videos which were then judged, live. It flowed like a show where everyone was present, creating proof that remote components in a production can work.
Communication was essential to keep everything timed out right, but also to manage the fact that I wasn’t in the same studio as the host of the show, or the crew filming him. Yet, our team had to be present enough to get everything right.
Trust was also important. With three hubs collaborating simultaneously, we needed to have faith that each location was doing their job. It was all about picking the right teams to support the overall project. From there, our work consisted of managing all the moving parts in the same way we’d do it if face-to-face. We couldn’t have done it without our great partners at Greenlight Productions, King Toledo, B-live, Boardwalk Productions, Beyond the Frame Productions, and Sherwood Productions.
What resulted from our efforts was the Royal Canin Puppy Show in a format that’s enjoyable and adorable. It’s something you can watch and forget that it happened thanks to all its remote parts.
As a production model, creating this show helped me realize this is a process we can replicate for any production. The key to success is that communication must happen in the same way as it does on set.
Serving as a remote producer in this capacity also made me aware that live broadcasts of any kind could survive a technology boost. In fact, it may change the way we create footage for the better. COVID-19 drove us to think outside-the-box, like we did for the Puppy Show, much faster. Being able to work remotely helps us enhance the quality of each item we produce. It gives us access to more resources since not everything has to be on set to get utilized.
Additionally, quality doesn’t suffer when you take things remote. In fact, it sometimes gets even better.
No matter the parameters necessary to work with, whether acting as a remote producer, or working with a talent and a crew on set, Greyline Media can bring all the pieces together for the highest-quality experience possible. From live sporting events to clip montages, interviews and more, we have you covered. Contact us today to learn more about our innovative processes and strategic production practices.
