GREENSBORO, NC – Emmy-winning production company 7 Cinematics celebrates the conclusion of another exceptional live streaming event in the time of COVID-19 with the North Carolina Folk Fest Sept. 11-13. Held in Greensboro, NC the annual festival pivoted in mid-June to make the decision to move the event entirely virtual. 7 Cinematics sat down with the President and CEO of the festival, Amy Grossmann, in planning meetings to brainstorm how to elevate the event to the next level and craft the concept of shooting different bands at different iconic locations across Greensboro, showcasing the music and the city, all while applying protocol to keep the artists and crew safe during filming.
More details from 7 Cinematics (www.7Cinematics.com):
What evolved was a master plan to shoot 10 different bands at 10 different locations across the city over 8 days of filming and 3 weeks total calendar time.
After the sessions were recorded, 7 Cinematics had a total of 2 weeks of editing in post-production to ensure the streaming and video quality was to the highest standard, culminating in a three-night streaming event with the pre-recorded performances for 2 hours each evening airing via Nugs.net, YouTube, the NC Folk Facebook page and the Greensboro Television Network.
“This event was special to us because it was a hometown affair. We had been in talks with Amy starting in 2018 about streaming the festival someday, and that timeline was moved forward with the pandemic,” Adam Paul, CEO of 7 Cinematics notes. “It was an exciting challenge to shoot in unconventional locations that included a minor league baseball stadium, various historic buildings, and a very remote spot in the woods where we had to bring in everything, including a generator to power all of our gear and the musicians. All while observing COVID safety measures with masks, distancing, and limited personnel on site.”
The result was beautiful world-class video footage of bands such as The Hamiltones at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Mandolin Orange live at First National Bank Field minor league baseball park, Chatham County Line at The Old Mill of Guilford, Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba at the Rotary Carousel and more, showcasing top-quality musicians and the iconic city of Greensboro.
“When we made the decision to take the North Carolina Folk Festival virtual this year, we immediately sought a partner with video production and streaming expertise that could make our event stand out in the now crowded space of online virtual programming. From our initial conversations with 7 Cinematics about being that partner, there was immediate synergy and consensus on the objective to retain the feel and aesthetic of a live performance while showcasing the stories and history of culturally significant locations around our home community of Greensboro as a backdrop. 7 Cinematics brought our creative vision to life, and together we made exactly the mark we hoped we would in producing a unique, high-quality, virtual arts program that made our community, funders, and supporters proud,” Amy Grossmann President & CEO NC Folk Festival.
Once again, 7 Cinematics delivers an incredible production while contributing to the execution and creation of moving a large-scale festival entirely to the digital space.
Photo Credit: Brendan McLean
