2023 USC Marshall International Case Competition

The annual USC Marshall International Case Competition, presented by Oracle, returned this spring and ESI was tasked to cover the week-long event. Students from nineteen top-ranked international and U.S. business schools arrived early in the week. After they settled in, a welcoming dinner and networking opportunity was held at the USC Hotel and students were greeted by the USC Trojan Marching Band. Students had the opportunity to network and explore Los Angeles over the course of a few days and on Thursday they were given a business case study where they had 24 hours to research, analyze and prepare their presentations to a panel of judges. Preliminary rounds took place Friday morning and then final presentations were held the next day on Saturday.

The finalists presented in a forum at the Fertitta Hall. We setup our video control and three cameras, using the Newtek Tricaster Mini-SDI as our switcher and Panasonic CX350 and Sony FX9 for our cameras. The presentations were streamed live to family and friends around the globe.

Oski operates the close-up camera.

Gerald switches between the close-up camera, wide camera, reverse of the judges and presentation slides.

Jimm and David capture interviews of students from each group.

In between presentations we asked students from each group to give us testimonials about their experience during the competition. Interviews and b-roll were captured using a Sony FX-3 on a DJI Ronin S3 gimbal stabilizer.

We also interviewed a few of the judges from the competition. They shared their experience as a judge and why case competitions like this one are so important for business students to grow and learn in a highly competitive real world scenario.

Later that evening, students and faculty attended the awards banquet where the top 3 winners were announced. This year’s winner of the coveted Marshall Cup was the University of Auckland.

Here’s the highlight video we produced that recaps the week-long event.

2022 OneOC Community Cup

OneOC’s 2022 Community Cup brings together over 1,000 participants to take part in a fun, athletic event designed to help organizations increase employee engagement, promote teamwork, and support nonprofits. Companies and nonprofits form teams and compete to win a donation to their charity of choice.

Two teams play tug-of-war during the 2022 OneOC Community Cup

The Community Cup is OneOC’s newest signature event. The inaugural event was a big success in 2019 and they were back in-person in 2022. The Community Cup is a chance for companies and nonprofits to form teams and partake in a day-of friendly physical competition that fosters teambuilding and employee engagement while doing good. Teams will participate in games like human foosball, soccer shoot outs, cornhole, tug–o–war and more! Each team selects a nonprofit to play on behalf of.

The team in first place, after competing in all the games, wins a $5,000 donation to their charity of choice. Second and third place teams win a donation of $3,000 and $2,000 respectively. We encourage all teams – companies and nonprofits – to meet and mingle as you play. It’s teambuilding, networking, doing good, and having fun all in one event!

ESI Video was there to capture all the fun activities and awards received by the teams. We shot mostly handheld with the Sony FX9 and captured some aerial drone footage using the DJI Mavic Pro.

2022 LAEDC Eddy Awards

The 27th Annual LAEDC (Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation) Eddy Awards was held on November 9, 2022 in Inglewood, CA at So-Fi Stadium. The Eddy Awards is a cocktail reception, dinner, and awards gala to support the fulfillment of the LAEDC’s mission of reinventing the local economy to collaboratively advance growth and prosperity for all. The Eddy Awards were also pleased to present the Most Business-Friendly City Award live on November 9th on the field at SoFi Stadium. Each year, more than 600 of the region’s leading business, government, civic, and education leaders attend this annual event.

LAEDC Mission

The non-profit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation champions equitable economic growth across the LA region.  

Collaborating with community, government, business and education partners to inform and advance our data-driven and evidence-based approach, we endeavor to achieve a reimagined regional economy – growing, equitable, sustainable, and resilient -that provides a healthy and high standard of living for all. 

LAEDC staff and members represent the diversity of Los Angeles County and act as trusted conveners, thought partners, valued service providers, regional stewards, and catalysts for transformational change. 

ESI Video was tapped to produce several videos for the 2022 LAEDC Eddy Awards. The production team was on location in many areas around Ingelwood, CA including shooting in front of the “jewel of the city” So-Fi Stadium.

The lighting setup across the pond at So-Fi Stadium.

Interviewing the CEO & Founder of Three Weavers Brewery.

First interview at Santa Monica College’s Center for Media and Design.

Interviewing the president of KCRW at Santa Monica College.

Interviewing the Creative Director of the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

2022 CHOC Charley Awards

On September 22, 2022 the CHOC Foundation held their annual Charley Awards Luncheon at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA. The Charley Awards, which is named in remembrance of Charles W. Hester, a beloved former board chairman at CHOC, recognizes and honorees individuals and organizations that exemplify his ideals of philanthropy and volunteerism in the CHOC’s community. Each recipient demonstrates the generous giving of time, skills and support that have nurtured CHOC ever since its founding in 1964.

Back in 2019 we created this introduction video to the Charley Hester Awards.

During the months of July, August and September ESI was busy capturing interviews and b-roll footage of not only presenters of the awards but also grateful families who had spent time at CHOC and were directly affected by the charitable support from the award recipients.

One of many grateful families we interviewed.

Behind the scenes of a green screen setup for one of the presenters.

The ESI Production team moved throughout the foundation and other parts of the CHOC Campus to create ideal recording locations that would help tell the story of the amazing recipients and families.

The ESI team also went on location to conduct several interviews with individuals and organizations.

Checking the lighting setup on location at the Marriot in Anaheim, CA.

Interviewing a student at La Quinta High School in Garden Grove, CA.

Not only was ESI responsible for the recording and production side of the videos we also spent several weeks editing, adding motion graphics, music, and photos to the videos. After a few rounds of feedback and approvals from the CHOC Foundation team the videos were mastered and delivered to the venue to be shown at the Awards Luncheon.

EWTN's "In Search of America's Catholic Founders: Father Serra"

ESI was contracted by The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) to handle the production of a documentary series following the lives and works of several saints who are credited with founding Catholicism in the United States.

The first episode covers Saint Junipero Serra and the missions he founded in California. The episode premiered on Sunday, June 26 and will play again on July 4th at 8:00am PST. So far, the show has had favorable reviews in the National Catholic Register and we hope to work on the future episodes,
as this is the first in a nine part series.

We traveled to Carmel, California and interviewed Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. The Carmel Mission was beautiful and it was wonderful being able to film there.

We also traveled to San Francisco to visit the Mission Dolores Basilica and interview the Mission Curator, Andrew Galvan.

ESI provided field production, the equipment, and all the post production for the entire episode.

2022 USC Spring Semester Events

ESI Video was back on campus at the University of Southern California (USC). The spring semester was underway with many exciting in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. We were tapped by the USC Marshall School of Business and USC Alumni Association to help produce several engaging events in several venues around campus.

First event for the month was the Athena Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit in the beautiful Town and Gown Ballroom. An event at which female founders and allies meet, present, share, and connect. Presented by the Lloyd Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, and the USC Marshall School of Business. We provided video and audio equipment as well as lights for the stage. We also installed several large monitors around the ballroom to display cameras, logos, and video roll-ins.

Candace Parker at the Athena Summit.

Willow Bay moderating the next panel.

Wide Shot of the panelists.

The next event was the USC Women’s Conference held in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center ballroom. This event celebrates International Women’s Day. The conference brings together women of all ages and backgrounds—alumnae, parents, students and friends—for a day of programs and activities designed to inspire and empower them to create positive change in their personal lives, their communities and the world. This event stretched across campus in multiple venues. ESI covered this event by providing camera equipment, a video switcher, and livestream link for those attending virtually.

Panasonic CX350 on a Cartoni Tripod.

ATEM Television Studio Video Switcher.

Another exciting event we covered was the USC Marshall Research Fair. The Research Fair is an opportunity to discuss some of the most engaging research developed by the faculty. It promotes the dissemination of knowledge and ideas, pointing to the application of research into business practice. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the faculty and share some samples of the research developed at Marshall.

The Research Fair is organized by the Marshall Committee on Research and Faculty Recognition to showcase and share faculty research and insights.

This was another hybrid event allowing in person attendees as well as people to watch virtually. ESI provided camera equipment, video switcher and a livestream link.

Panasonic CX350 and ATEM Switcher.

Check out the Research Fair below!

Production will Travel - 2022 KBIS in Orlando, FL

Beko Booth at KBIS 2022

The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) is the North America’s largest trade show dedicated to all aspects of kitchen and bath design. ESI Video was tapped by Rocket Launch Agency to help cover the Beko Appliance USA Booth at the 2022 KBIS. We shot the booth inside and out capturing footage of all the appliances as well as interviewing key players involved in bringing Europe’s top appliance manufacturing company to North America.

Jimm on camera for one of many interviews at the Beko Booth.

Traveling with production equipment is always a tricky proposition. It’s a balancing act of trying to reduce the number of bags to check with everything you’ll need to cover a week long shoot. Besides multiple cameras we needed lights, light stands, audio equipment, batteries, tripods, extra lenses and camera stabilizers.

Jimm on camera again for another interview!

Jimm managing two cameras for the panel talks. One wide shot and one close-up.

We also covered panel talks with a few members from the Beko team. First thing we had to do was make friends with the local A/V team who helped us by providing an audio feed from their audio board to our cameras.

We used the Panasonic EVA-1 cinema camera for all our interviews, panels, and presentations. We also took with us the Panasonic S5 DSLR as our “B” camera along with a DJI Ronin camera stabilizer to capture b-roll footage and other supplemental shots. The EVA-1 and S5 are different sensors but they match well when cutting their footage together. We had on hand the Panasonic GH4 as a “C” camera to assist on the lengthy panel discussions.

Connecting Delta flight in the Twin Cities.

It was a fun filled week of long days and nights but we managed to cover everything we needed for the event. The journey back to the West Coast had some excitement as our connecting flight in Minneapolis encountered a little snow.

Qruisen PCH Car Show

Qruisen PCH hosted another car show & cruise this month. Nearly 300 cars filled the parking lot at SOCO, cruised PCH, and ended at Westminster Mall. We shot a ton of Hot Rods and customized cars with Nadine, the host of Throdle, interviewing many of the participants. Mike and Suzanne from Beard Boy Productions wrangled the interviewees and kept us on point for this segment to drop soon on Throdle.com.

The 2021 EDDY Awards

The purpose of the Los Angeles Economic Development Council's annual EDDY Awards is to recognize leadership in economic development in business, education, and government throughout Los Angeles County, but this year the awards meant more than that. This year the award program, which took place on November 10th, honored the LA community’s extraordinary resilience and collaborative efforts in such an unprecedented time.

The chosen honorees — the Hospital Association of Southern California, the Employees of Los Angeles County, and the Community Colleges of Los Angeles County — reflect these themes in the important work they have done and continue to do as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.To recognize the impact of this work, the ESI Video team were asked to create a videos spotlighting for each organization which were then shown during the in-person event at So-Fi stadium.

CHOC - Epilepsy Awareness Day EXPO

In order to participate in the 2021 Epilepsy Awareness Day EXPO, a virtual event, CHOC's neurology department called on ESI Video to produce seven recorded presentations.

These presentations which ranged on topics from the Ketogenic Diet to understanding an EEG, were recorded over two days at the CHOC campus. The speakers then sent over their presentation slides so our team could animate and embed the slides into each video.

Family Promise - House of Ruth

The focus of Family Promise's annual gala this year was their new capital campaign House of Ruth. House of Ruth will include transitional housing, a navigation center, and much more to increase Family Promise's ability to help families in need.

ESI Video was hired by Rocket Launch to create a video highlighting the services House of Ruth will provide and bringing attention to the necessity of such services. For the video we interviewed individuals who are championing this project as well as a former resident of Family Promise's transitional housing. This interview as well as b-roll we recorded with a current family in transitional housing helped drive home both the need for this new facility and the positive impact it will bring to struggling families.

BEKO Launch at Primland Resort

Rocket Launch Marketing and PR took us to the Primland Resort in Virginia to capture the events around the introduction and launch of new eco-friendly home appliances by BEKO, Europe’s largest manufacturer of home appliances.

We captured and interviewed cooking influencers and kitchen designers while they learned about the new technology offered by BEKO as the brand emerges in the American market.

Creating a Virtual Guide Through Orthodonic Treatment

MacGinnis Orthodontics wants to ensure the success of their patients at every stage of treatment, and since the majority of treatment time is spent outside of the office, they called on ESI Video to produce quick informational videos for patients to reference at home or wherever they may be.

The videos cover topics such as how to identify an orthodontic emergency, how to use an expander, and how to keep braces, retainers, and clear aligners clean. Prior to the arrival of the day’s first patients, we filmed introductions for each video and demonstrations of each treatment or care technique.

After returning to our edit bay, we began building the footage into separate videos along with building their respective graphic elements.

A New Coat of Paint for OC Educational Arts Academy

As summer winds down schools are gearing up to welcome students back, some for the first time since March of last year. At OCEAA — Orange County Educational Arts Academy — a TK-8th grade school in Santa Ana, preparations for the new academic year were special for an additional reason. Partnering with PPG’s Colorful Communities, UC Irvine’s School of Education, and local artist Brian Peterson, the school was able to reimagine their playground area. The ESI Video team was onsite to record the volunteers as they transformed the inner-city blacktop with color and engaging educational opportunities.

Along with capturing b-roll and time-lapse footage of this process, we also conducted interviews with the key creatives behind the project.

SPANCO Over-Head Cranes Soar on Camera

This month ESI Video had the pleasure of partnering with still photographer Robie Capps on a shoot for SPANCO Inc.

The shoot took place at Woodbridge Glass, a glazing contractor that uses SPANCO’s overhead cranes in their assembly plant. As Robie captured photographs of the cranes in action, we recorded b-roll using our Ronin stabilizer equipped with our LUMIX camera. We also pulled out our EVA-1 cinema camera to cover multiple angles while shooting the crane’s motorized movement and then to interview the Principal at Woodbridge Glass for his testimony of the SPANCO product.

Fit-Line Global's Tube Fittings Face Rigorous Testing

We kicked off July with a totally tubular shoot — recording validation testing for the Nexus Connect line of tube fittings at Fit-Line Global.

Using our EVA-1 cinema camera we were able to document the strength and physical integrity of the Nexus Connect fittings as they were put through burst pressure and tensile force testing procedures.

We made sure to record these tests in slow motion, as well as in real-time, in order to demonstrate the durability of the fittings in detail.

Concluding the 2021 Commencement Season at California Southern University

To wrap up our annual graduation season, we recorded speeches and introductions for California Southern University’s 2021 virtual commencement.

The online-only school called on our expertise in video production to shoot a more professional and polished final product for their pre-recorded segments. Back in the office we edited and color graded the footage before sending it off to the CSU team to embed in their commencement ceremony.

Overhaulin's Chip Foose on a mission to restore engines and aches

This month we had the pleasure of working with hot rod designer and star of the television show Overhaulin’, Chip Foose, to get the buzz going on his rebranded topical pain relief cream RUBITON. Our work began at Navy Air Station Point Mugu where RUBITON sponsored a car show put on by the sailors at the base to show off their own classic cars. Chip not only judged the car show, but also provided the service members with complimentary tubes of the product as part of his goal to donate free pain relief. We were on sight to capture the event, including testimonies from attendees who tried the pain relief cream.

At Foose Design we were also able to get action shots of Chip in his automotive element — using heavy machinery, reaching down into an engine, and other physically taxing movements required when working on cars — to demonstrate his own need for an effective pain reliever.

For these action shots we used a GH4 on a Ronin gimbal, which allowed us the flexibility to follow Chip into the tight spaces of a car’s cabin or under the hood while ensuring we captured smooth, stable footage with some sweet camera movement. We were able to get creative with light placement, lighting up car interiors with our LED panels and using our Aputure 300d to create dramatic lighting while Chip threw sparks in his shop.

Securing Sacramento with Securitas

Our eventful month continued with a little ESI Video Road trip! Members of our crew traveled to the state’s capital to work with our good friends at Securitas Security Services on a new recruitment campaign. In addition to taking dynamic video of their officers on duty throughout Sacramento, we also provided technical support for the still photography needed for the campaign.

Bonjour from the Glass Slipper Guild's Annual Gala

Guests of the Glass Slipper Guild’s 27th Annual Gala finally had their “Passport to the French Riviera” stamped on the evening of June 26th.

Not only did ESI Video provide the Pre-Recorded content for the show (as highlighted in last month’s newsletter), but we were also on-site running the slide deck, confidence monitor, and live streaming the event to GiveSmart.

The live-virtual hybrid style of the Gala allowed guests several ways in which to donate and participate in the event. Between the live and silent auctions, in person donations, and donations from those viewing the show at home, Glass Slipper Guild is well on its way to fulfilling its $2 million pledge to the new Fetal Care Center of Southern California.

You can watch the full show here or check out our video on the Fetal Care Center here.