Taking the Shift show on the Road: Behind the Scenes with Kohler Generators in NOLA
Updated: 5 hours ago
Shooting out of state always brings a unique set of logistical puzzles, but when Discovery Energy (better known as Kohler Generators) asks you to capture a story in New Orleans, you pack the camera and make it happen. We recently traveled to NOLA to film with local meteorologist Scot Pilié, turning a remote production challenge into a highly efficient, multi-deliverable campaign.
Scouting from States Away
When you aren't on the ground, virtual tools become your location manager. We scouted Scot’s neighborhood digitally to map out the best flow for our indoor and outdoor setups before ever stepping foot in Louisiana. We always fly out with our core camera package, an 8K RED V-Raptor, to guarantee our baseline of visual quality. To keep travel agile, we rented the remaining audio, lighting and grip equipment locally and brought on a few talented New Orleans crew members to round out our team.
Building Trust and Dodging Furniture
Even though Scot is a seasoned on-air personality, taking the time to build rapport the day before the shoot always translates to more genuine, relaxed interactions on camera. He was gracious enough to open his home to our crew, and the space worked perfectly.
The next morning, it was time to execute. We squeezed a two-camera setup into his living room for the primary interview.
Letting the Story Dictate the Visuals
After capturing Scot's interview and speaking with a local Kohler generator dealer, we shifted to B-roll. The challenge with supplemental footage is that you often don't know the exact emotional beats until the interview actually happens. Listening to Scot discuss his deep connection to the area's weather, we knew we needed to heavily feature the water systems surrounding his home. That decision perfectly anchored his story in the New Orleans landscape.
We spent the rest of the afternoon capturing that unmistakable NOLA sense of place around his neighborhood and local parks. Just before wrap, his husband arrived, allowing us to grab some fantastic, authentic moments of them together to close out the day.
Maximizing Client Value in Post-Production
Distilling a massive amount of premium 8K footage into a concise narrative is demanding, but it’s where the real value is created. When a shoot requires travel and complex logistics, maximizing the return on investment for the client is our top priority. From this single production, we delivered a comprehensive suite of assets: a flagship 3-minute brand film, alongside three 30-second, three 15-second, and three 6-second cutdowns. By designing our shoots to capture highly versatile content, we ensure our clients walk away with a full campaign's worth of material from just a few days on the ground.
