It’s been two years since our current CEO Anita Casalina bought San Francisco Media Group (formerly known as Beyond Pix), and since then a lot has changed. Since April 2019, several upgrades have been made. We faced a pandemic that has really challenged us in a way we had not expected. Although times have not been ideal, we helped many of our clients with their productions, utilized our downtime to work on our own projects, and revamped our spaces.
There are very few turnkey soundstages throughout the Bay Area and even fewer production companies set up for both broadcast and video production. Our CEO Anita Casalina had every intention to transform San Francisco Media Group into today’s premier location. And it is indeed now a space that clients can look to for producing a wide range of creative projects.
Our Battery Street Stage (formerly Studio D) underwent a complete renovation, including building a complete lighting grid, adding HVAC, and remodeling the surrounding spaces. We also completely modernized our third-floor broadcast insert studios, upgrading technology and renovating the physical spaces. We have multiple backgrounds on our oversized monitors, and a green screen can be incorporated in either of them for full-body images. We also can live-stream simultaneously between our now state-of-the-art studios and stage, making it easy for clients to use multiple spaces at once. This came in handy when the pandemic started because clients could keep their on-screen talent at a safe distance.
As technology continues to evolve, so does video production, and in keeping with the times, we can offer more options and higher quality to clients. Entering our second year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we made adjustments to prevent the spread of the virus and invested in installing UV-C lights in our air conditioning systems that kill all airborne viruses. We believed this investment, among others, was necessary for our future as a business in video production.
When our CEO Anita Casalina purchased San Francisco Media Group formerly BPSF in 2019, one of her first priorities was to consolidate. She inherited an enormous amount of production gear. Enough to fill three full storage units, to be exact. After carefully selecting the gear we wanted to keep, we decided that instead of selling the rest, we would host a two-day “Great Gear Giveaway” for the production community as our way of giving back. Production gear tends to be expensive, so this means a lot that we can make a difference by helping many industry professionals save money on many items since we had plenty to giveaway.

This past year we explored beyond what we could do for clients by looking at how we can use our own resources to contribute to society. We produced two online shows, “The Great Pause” and “Earth 2.0”. The Great Pause served as a weekly live stream show for Bay Area residents during the Stay at Home order that included conversations with organizations providing services to the community and how some industries were pivoting during the initial shutdown. Earth 2.0 is a visionary show of short discussions with thought leaders working on solutions for a more humane and sustainable post-pandemic world. Our CEO Anita Casalina interviews leading experts on subjects such as the environment, racial equity, and tackling COVID-19. In such an uncertain time, we wanted to be a source of information for people since we can professionally produce video content.

These past two years have been full of projects, renovation, pivoting, and thinking outside the box. Our resilience and creativity were put to the test. Our willingness to keep moving forward helped us stay focused and be a resource for many organizations that were also pivoting, especially those with planned events. We were able to assist many with their projects, including non-profits who had limited resources. Our dedication to keeping San Francisco Media Group covid-19 free allowed various small to medium-size productions to continue. Everyone adjusted and did what needed to get done so people can continue working during these challenging times.
We faced some challenges, but we have also made a lot of progress. We celebrate the great work we have done with our clients and are happy to be here still to celebrate our second anniversary under new ownership. Without the support of our clients, the incredible leadership of our CEO Anita Casalina, and the hard work & dedication of our team, we wouldn’t have made it through this past year.