SHOOT: Creativity & Technology Production Survey Response: Balancing Technology and Humanity; Striving For Diversity
Jim Huie, Director of Production/Executive Producer - Alkemy X
What was the biggest challenge posed to you by a recent project? Or share insights to a recent project you deem notable. Briefly describe the project, why it was particularly noteworthy or what valuable lesson(s) you learned from it.
We recently worked on a challenging but fun project with Teleflora that featured a lot of unique planning and a hidden camera approach. When we send flowers to loved ones, we rarely get to see the reaction of the recipients. But this concept set out to change that. We worked closely with 12 senders to surprise their recipients in the right place and at the right time to allow our hidden cameras to capture each delivery. 12 unexpected deliveries, to 12 distinct people, in 12 different places over a 2 day period. And we went 12 for 12 thanks to tremendous planning and teamwork at every level from PAs to the CMO and everyone in between.
Are you involved in virtual production or experimenting with AI, AR or other emerging disciplines or new technologies? Have you engaged in any real-world projects on these fronts? If so, relative to experimental and/or actual projects, briefly tell us about the work & what you’ve taken away from the experience.
T-Mobile engaged us to produce a series of videos promoting their 5G cellular network. Alkemy X EP Nick Pitcavage and director Jonathan Yi spent a week in Seattle filming this immersive 5G story with the help of celebrity host Jason Silva, and the use of XR technology. As described by Nick, since our worlds were stylized T-Mobile environments, XR was a much more practical choice over physical sets or locations. And by creating our virtual scenes in the Unreal Engine, our environment interacted with our talent and camera in real time - no comping required! Scheduling for an XR shoot is completely opposite than that of a traditional green-screen shoot. With XR, every background has to be fully developed in its final high resolution format before filming can begin. So the schedule is front loaded with asset creation that is typically done at the end of the schedule.
Gender pay disparity, sexual misconduct and the need for diversity & inclusion are issues that have started to be dealt with meaningfully. While the industry has made strides to address these issues, there’s still a long way to go. What policies do you have in place or plan to implement or step up in order to make progress on any or all of these fronts?
We are committed to working to change the demographics of our industry to reflect the world that we live in. We’ve developed our own grass roots initiative to help eradicate the barrier of entry to our industry. We’ve worked in partnership with the national network of Big Brothers and Big Sisters to help identify and connect to young people interested in film production who might otherwise lack access. Our goal in staffing on each project is for BIPOC to represent at least 20% of our team and we aim higher. We regularly collaborate with our clients to develop staffing plans specific to their diversity and inclusion goals as well.
