BMG REWIND: Al Jazeera America’s “Talk to Al Jazeera”

Our newest installment of BMG REWIND revisits our work with Al Jazeera America on their “Talk to Al Jazeera” news series. BMG helped produce 4 episodes of the magazine style program back in 2014, shortly after the network launched.

The Gist:

BMG was asked to provide technical execution of 4 episodes of Al Jazeera America’s news series, which were shot at various locations throughout Washington, DC. The 30-minute program was shot with 3 cameras, each ISO recorded. All footage was exported immediately after the program and provided to the client for posting. BMG provided all production equipment, labor, venue coordination, and on-site technical and production management services.

The Challenge:

Two of the four interviews that BMG helped produce were with politicians – Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Luis Gutierrez. Both interviews were shot at their respective office buildings, which necessitated careful coordination and planning. On both occasions, we were subject to limited conference room availability and tight production windows, which meant we had a short window for completing our technical setup. Additionally, we had to carefully coordinate our movement through each building. All production equipment was subject to full inspection and all crews had to undergo a background check prior to shooting. Given the short production window for each shoot, we had to carefully plan for additional load-in time and navigating through the myriad of hallways at the Russell Senate Building and the Rayburn House Office Building.

The Outcome:

While our primary focus is live production, sometimes it’s nice to have a change of pace and work on a live-to-tape shoot. The Al Jazeera America project gave us an opportunity to meet powerful people in the political and private sectors and produce some meaningful content for the network.

Washington, DC is a unique market for live production, especially compared to our other primary markets – New York and Los Angeles. DC’s political environment offers opportunities for producing content that highlights the men and woman who are responsible for leading this country. With the 2016 election around the corner, BMG is preparing to provide live production services on election night this November. Spaces are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis, so contact us today to get started.