Production & Events

Total Media Group creates Marketing Video for TIS & Stryker Endoscopy

Stryker Endoscopy / September 29th, 2009

- Chris Carleson

Things really are bigger in Texas. Lot’s of land, large portions to eat, and big-hearted people.

Our production crew invaded the Texas Institute for Surgery for a HD cross-promotional video for three days this June. And, let me tell you, the legendary Texas hospitality was on full show.

You know it’s true when are able to use the Critical Care room to stage and store the gear, and everyone keeps checking on you to see if everything is OK, and if you need anything else.

We were literally given all-access key cards to the facility and free run of the building, which included the operating rooms, and full cooperation to interview the leading surgeons and staff, even the President of the hospital.

The result was a strong piece, which I understand is yielding great results for the surgery center and the production partner, Stryker Endoscopy.

Thank you Texas!

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Posted in Production & Events, What's New

Working with Analog and Digital Sources

/ August 17th, 2009

-Adam Sturgeon

One challenge that we always encounter is the crossover between the newer digital technology and the older but still popular analog technology.
We take pride in our abilities to work with most formats, whether it is for a simple tape duplication or for a large event production where we provide project management and design, produce, edit projects for our clients to use on a national stage.  Because today’s media technology is rapidly evolving and our clients are interested in using this new technology, we are continually transforming our media capabilities to handle more High Definition media production and editorial within our facility.
As Total Media Group shifts gears to prepare our clients for the future of media technology, we still have requests that are from an analog source such as Beta SP, VHS, 3/4 “ and hi-8.  As a technician here at TMG, it is my job to take these variable sources and complete the job with the highest quality possible.  Usually the types of requests that go along with these sources are DVD dubs, conversions to WMV or QT files, or digitizing.  There is a little more work involved to get these older analog sources prepped and ready to be used for our digital machines.  Although it is a challenge to integrate much older media technology with the latest and greatest technology, Total Media Group has continued to own and operate equipment old and new in order to give our clients the best variety of work possible.

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Posted in Production & Events

Biocodex employees’ “spirit” makes job a lot more fun

Biocodex / July 29th, 2009

- Chris Carleson

We were a little nervous when we arrived at the Paris Resort and Hotel in Las Vegas this July to produce the Biocodex Mid-Year National Sales Meeting.

Everything was buttoned down with the package and the union…it wasn’t that.

It was because our client really wanted to have fun and push it with the Candids Video. It was the first time they were going to produce a Candids Video with all of Total Media Group’s signature sketches and fun, and I wasn’t sure how far we could push it with the hotel, considering everything we planned to do.

Sure enough, shooting is under way in my guest room with the Director of Sales performing a great bit, and I get called away to check the set in the ballroom. As I’m in the ballroom talking with my group I start getting texts and voicemails from the video team upstairs.

I run up there to see the head of security, several guards, and the assistant hotel manager all in my room. Apparently, the shooting got so “spirited” that guests complained about a domestic disturbance…

Well, after we calmed all the hotel folks down, they were really quite friendly, particularly Officer Bob. They let us off with a warning and politely let us know if they received any other calls anywhere in the hotel, we would be asked to relocate…

Luckily everything went smooth from there.

The show went on to be a big hit, the videos all the better with such enthusiasm and “spirit.”

I’ll tell you, having a client so passionate about what they are doing makes the results so much better and the job so much fun.

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Posted in Production & Events

Total Media Group partners with Actuate to host live Talk Show Event

Actuate Corporation / July 9th, 2009

- Chris Carleson

We really felt like we were producing live television when Total Media Group was asked to create a Talk Show themed kick-off meeting in July for Actuate Corporation. Actuate is a leader in open source rich information enterprise applications, and we were excited to take on this new project!

With only 5 business days to finalize the content and production schedule before we went live, our paper walk-through and rehearsal was just 1 day before load-in. We also produced 4 videos for them 2-3 weeks before the show, and all the live elements came together in the final dash for the finish line.

Sometimes less preparation is better. It gives you less time to tinker and less time for the client-talent to think about what they are really taking on. Of course, a big help was that the CEO-host of the event turned out to be a natural raconteur, quick on his feet, and genuinely funny.

Did I mention that the house band was led by one of Actuate’s Senior Directors? He was the real deal and came prepared. The band on stage put the show over the top and it was great.

And just like T.V., everybody rolled with the punches, and when the doors opened, we just plain rolled. We have to hand it to the client for coming up with the idea and for listening to what we advised.  Reports from the audience were that it was the most memorable and entertaining event they’ve had in their 12-year history, which makes us proud that we could be a part of such a wonderful evening.

It’s fun to make business stars into stage stars!

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Posted in Production & Events

Candids for 20 X 40 foot video wall

Cisco Systems / July 2nd, 2009

Patrick Roche

I just returned from Cisco Live 2009, Cisco’s premiere user conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

For the last four days, we had 2 camera crews shooting HD footage and covering all aspects of the event, including a concert by Devo and The B-52s.

We delivered daily montages that were displayed on a 20 x 40 foot video wall as well as shoot and edit a candids module that opened today’s General Session.

For post, we had 2 complete Final Cut Pro HD systems.

This year we were shooting tapeless, which was great but did pose it’s own set of challenges. We had to come up with a system to track and log the large amounts of footage that the crews were bringing us.

We had some really long days and I got very little sleep last night but at the end of the day, we had a very happy client, which made it all worth wile.

Now, it’s time for me to take a nap!

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Posted in Production & Events

REVEAL Registry Meeting acknowledges Study Coordinators

REVEAL Registry/Actelion Pharmaceuticals / June 29th, 2009

- Chris Carleson

The REVEAL Registry is a great thing. Underwritten by Actelion Pharmaceuticals, it is made up of physicians all over the country who enroll patients suffering from Pulmonary Hypertension, a little known but devastating medical condition. The patients’ care is tracked and the data consolidated and monitored via the registry in an effort to better understand the condition and the best treatment options. The study is completely objective.

A few times a year, we have the pleasure of producing the REVEAL registry meetings for Actelion Pharmaceuticals in the best venues and the coolest cities around the country.

This June in Seattle, we had a great meeting with the unsung heroes of the registry, the Study Coordinators. These are the nurses and assistants who do all the heavy lifting for the physicians in entering and tracking the patient data.

It was at this meeting that I ran into something I have never had happen in event production…. the hotel would not approve our outside security vendor without prior clearance to work in the hotel. Apparently, this compromised the hotels stringent security standards for their guests. This is something I’ve never encountered.

Needless to say, it indicated that we were working at a great property. The hotel was stellar throughout and the Study Coordinators had a first class event and some well-deserved recognition!

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Posted in Production & Events

Shooting Around the World

Stryker Corporation / May 1st, 2009

-Atticus Culver-Rease

About a month ago I was approached to shoot and edit a new branding video for Stryker, Corp.  Director Jonathan Gruber and I started close to home in San Jose, then headed off to Atlanta, New Jersey and most recently Hong Kong to capture the stories of Stryker employees, customers, patients and partners.  So in the past two weeks of shooting I’ve spent about 40 hours on airplanes, and I still have one more continent to hit.  Right now I’m on a plane en route to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and next week we head to London, England.

Jonathan and I were excited about the idea of giving this project an engaging visual style that would feel more like a documentary than a typical corporate piece.  We decided to shoot in HD with a 35mm depth of field adapter and prime cine lenses, which has let me get nice shallow focus for a more dramatic look.  If it were up to me, I’d love to shoot every interview this way from now on.  It just gives your shots so much more visual impact than you can get with regular lenses.

Hong Kong has definitely been the highlight of the trip so far, both because it’s a great city that I’d never been to before, and because it’s such a great place to shoot.  The buildings, the markets, the insanely busy streets, and the people all make for some fantastic shots.  I could have shot there for days and days, but I tried to restrain myself since I knew I was the one who would have to cut down the footage later.

Which reminds me, I was going to do a bit more editing on my laptop before the plane lands, so I should get back to it.

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Posted in Production & Events

Client involvement makes the difference

With multiple products to launch, you need multiple environments - in one ballroom / February 1st, 2009

-Chris Carleson

Having such an imaginative and enthusiastic client as Salix Pharmaceuticals, not to mention the genuine Southern Charm that permeates the Raleigh, North Carolina company, makes for a lot of fun on the job for us here at Total Media Group.

From the moment we were invited to produce Salix’s multiple product launch in February this year, the creative juices started flowing. In the case of Aldo at the helm for Total, the juices were in abundance. Aldo put together an awesome team (read: “a bunch of mad creative types”) and paired them with Salix’s collective muse of Brad Bainbridge, Bonnie Long and Debbie Simon, I think everyone (but, perhaps the most crusty veterans) will tell you it was good from minute go. Tremendous chemistry.

It began by deciding to combine and maximize presentation technology and media design to create an ever-changing world that we needed in the ballroom. With the 80’X15’ three-screen-blend projection and Steven Gregory’s inspired HD 3D landscapes of a storm over the Sonoran Desert, sunrise at the Taj Mahal and neo-psychedelic backdrops, the audience experience changed from moment to moment.

You can see some of the work we did on the video.

The show was a riot and the message delivered was creative, clear and concise.

A truly great time was had by all. Thanks Salix!

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Posted in Production & Events

Stryker Spine - We Ride Together

Total Media Group Creates Western Themed Video / December 10th, 2008

-Megan McKenna

This years open video for Stryker Spine was a western that was themed around teamwork called “We Ride Together”.  After months of working closely with our client to develop the messaging, we were all set. We had the script. We had over 30 internal people to act. We had the crew. Now, we just needed a suitable location. Oh, and some horses.

After many phone calls to various places, including Texas, Arizona and North Dakota, we found exactly what we needed in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains in California.

Ghost Mountain Ranch came equipped with the natural beauty, old saloons, and ghost towns that any cowboy would require. They had a sizeable mess hall for everyone to gather in, horse stalls (of which we had 8), and they didn’t object to our huge electric generator to power our lights.

Our wrangler did a great job teaching over 15 different members of the cast how to ride – and the Stryker Spine fella’s did wonderfully. I am still expecting to find out that one or two of them are regular horse riders and just didn’t tell us.

This project really encapsulates why I love what Total Media Group does – we create experiences with our clients, for our clients, and it brings out the best in everyone. In the case of “We Ride Together” we were working in an environment that brought out the cowboy in all of us – even the city folk. The end result was a completely enjoyable experience for cast and crew alike, and an engaging and humorous open video to kick-off their NSM.

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Posted in Production & Events