Like many businesses, we were affected at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Production was shut down and our guests didn’t feel comfortable coming in for broadcast live shots. Even though we are recognized as an essential business and could continue working with limitations, we were struggling to stay afloat. However, instead of settling for defeat, we did what we do best, we tapped into our creativity and went above and beyond COVID-19 protocols to keep production going.
Our talented team gathered our resources and produced our own live stream show, “The Great Pause,” a show meant to provide Bay Area residents resources during Shelter in Place. Weekly discussions took place with organizations and small businesses making a difference in communities that are moving forward no matter how challenging times are. With our capabilities, we wanted to provide a source of information to our community that was positive. All is not doom and gloom when there is good progress being made amid this challenging time.
“The Great Pause” led us to evolve our streaming projects, and we found ourselves live streaming virtual events because large gatherings were no longer allowed during this pandemic. Many organizations canceled or took their events online, and we became a resource during this shift. Thankfully, we are a video production company with space and video tech to help many organizations transform their events for an online audience. Not only were we live streaming events, but we were also streaming internal communications for companies that wanted professional high-quality video and sound when it came to addressing their clients. Throughout the pandemic, our projects evolved as we continued to think outside the box and did not limit ourselves. We always went out of our way to problem solve and adjusted to changes in the market. We are continually upgrading and acquiring new gear as needed to enhance our space and services. We didn’t take shortcuts as we take pride in delivering high-quality work.
When guests stopped coming in for broadcast live shots, we didn’t think, “oh well,” instead, we came up with a solution. We built a high-end broadcast home studio for one of our regular guests. We call this “BPSF North,” complete with a broadcast quality Panasonic PTZ camera, Shure microphone, and an LTN connection for transmission. Studio kits like these are great for those guests who do not want to come into our studio and prefer to broadcast from the safety of their own home.
Not only did we expand our services to accommodate the needs of the current market, but we also took measures to go beyond the typical COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of our staff and clients. We felt we needed to do more than sanitize our spaces, limit capacity, physically distance, and wear masks. So we installed UV-C lights into our HVAC systems which kill all airborne viruses, including COVID-19. We thought if we are going to be working inside the majority of the time and want clients to feel more comfortable and protect ourselves, this would add an extra layer of protection. In addition, our team gets tested regularly to prevent the spread of COVID-19 unknowingly. Both the UV-C lights installation and frequently getting tested for COVID-19 have helped us much more in keeping production going and allowing clients to get their projects done. So far, it has worked, and nobody has been infected up to date.
COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, and until everyone is vaccinated, COVID-19 protocols will continue to exist. Taking another step beyond following protocols, our CEO Anita Casalina became Certified as a COVID-19 Compliance Officer, making it feasible for production companies who have projects and need a COVID-19 Compliance Officer onsite.
As a small business, we did not have the luxury to wait for things to get better. We knew we had to get creative and utilize our resources as best we could. This was a sink or swim scenario, the team worked diligently and continued to be innovative with video production and broadcast. We didn’t focus on what we couldn’t do, we focused on what was possible and maintained our space COVID-19 free.
