On April 22nd, Charles River Media Group (CRMG) live streamed the Survive and Thrive Covid-19: Celebrity challenge fundraising event for Abacus Health Products to support the Arthritis Foundation. The producers and writers of the event were based in The United States, London, and Israel, and the show was hosted by Matt Iseman (American Ninja Warrior, Celebrity Apprentice).

 

Several celebrities featured throughout the program, notably the NFL’s Rob Gronkowski and model Camille Kostek as they competed against others, including former linebacker Brian Urlacher, fitness trainer Harley Pasternak, and former fullback Chris Gronkowski.

 

Award winning chef Ming Tsai also participated in a special segment where he prepared a full recipe. 

 

Check out the full breakdown of CRMG work on Clutch, or read highlights from our client’s review below along with stills from the event:

Describe the project in detail.

The scope and details of this project kept on changing and expanding almost on a daily basis. What started as an ask for a 4-6 person roundtable discussion hosted via Zoom conferences, turned into a 10 celebrity fundraiser event complete with ex-nfl players competing against each other in video conference challenges, interesting conversations with renowned Chef’s and other celebrity personalities.

We wrote the script, and coordinated on logistics with CRMG, and we needed a partner that understood the nature of this unique event, and be a bit flexible with our team, and as those details changed, CRMG was flexible and accommodating!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was really impressed with their fearless and accommodating nature in the face of a project that wasn’t ideal. It was a beast, it was a challenge, I personally was concerned about a number of possible outcomes or technical snags that CRMG helped us circumvent and plan for.

They were a steady and trustworthy hand, and I knew that whenever I was on a call with Don or Jon or Mike, etc I would feel supported, on the same team, and reassured that no matter what was being asked or thrown at us, we had the team to see it through in a successful manner. Never a moment of panic! Despite many opportunities for such moments… : )

Are there any areas for improvement?

I couldn’t have asked for more from this team. They gave it everything they had, they were flexible enough to understand the unique client and circumstances, and they did it all while safely physically distancing, keeping everyone in their studio clean and healthy, and they helped CBDMEDIC and myself look GREAT after this was all said in done. I hope we get another project like this JUST so that i can work with Don and the team again.

Charles River Media Group’s event team streamed the Class of 2020 Virtual Commencement sponsored by Life is Good. There were 3,500 comments and nearly 120,000 people watched!

The live event included speeches by founders Bet and John Jacobs, performances by folk-rock band The Avett Brothers, musician Michael Franti, poet and songwriter In-Q, frisbee and pineapple tosses. The Boston Globe wrote about it as well.

Check it out below or on our YouTube Channel:

 

The coronavirus is causing many events, conferences, workshops, schools, continuing education courses, etc. to be suddenly cancelled. If you’re dealing with this –  and assuming you get that pesky event space deposit back –  don’t panic!  There are many resources in place to help you still have a successful event, run your training, determine CE credits, fundraise, etc.

So what’s next? You can contact us or read on!

Step 1: Determine Your Actual Need

Do you really need it “go live?”  Many “live” virtual events are actually pre-recorded presentations that are pushed out to internet at a specific time. And the “event” can be filmed at our production studio at 73 TV Place in Needham, MA (off of I-95) or on location (where you may or may not have an audience.)

If it is truly a live event – let’s discuss your audience. How are they interacting with you? Are they typing in questions and responses via chat or Skyping in and being added to the broadcast? Would you like to track their participation for CE credits? Poll them? Raise Money?

Let’s talk content materials too! Is there one or many presenters? Round table discussion? Video playback or Slides?

(Keep reading after the video)

Step 2: The Show Flow and Platform

The next step is to try to flesh out the run of the “show.” What is the order of events? How many people are presenting and what assets are needed when? Do you want to have updated graphics rolling in live? Knowing how many people will be presenting at once – and where the interactivity comes into play is essential in helping determine the best platform for your content. Another factor that is key to determining the platform – or host of the content – is to decide if it’s a a one-and-done event or material that needs to be accessed indefinitely. Let’s also determine how many “viewer hours” we’re expecting and from where those viewers are watching.

Step 3: The “Set”

From a simple black void set or back-lit panels from (no joke) Ikea to multi-wall sets crafted by our Art Directors, Carpenters, Set Dressers or High-Tech Video Walls – your next step is to think about the look-and-feel of the event in studio – or on location (your office, hotel, etc). The look-and-feel is an important consideration and makes a surprising impact on your budget. Which leads us to….

Step 4: Budget

Prospective clients often want to know “about how much does something like this cost” – but having a budget range in mind and communicating that information early on helps determine the scope of the production and the resources a vendor can make available. There are quick webcasts in the 5-8K Range,  roundtables in the 10-20K range, and larger productions in excess of 50K. There are many variables and plenty of options to help everyone!

Step 5: Identify. Inform. Inspire.

The final step is to determine if you trust the vendor. Do they have a producer who will walk you through the process? Do they have a reliable team? A studio? Charles River Media Group has been in business since 2003 and our facility at 73 TV Place in Needham Heights, MA is a great location right off of I-95 outside of Boston. Our tagline is “Identify. Inform. Inspire.” and we’ve got a great article all about it here.  We’ve worked with large corporations ranging from Wayfair to the New England Journal of Medicine, institutions such as M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and the Education Development Center to non-profits and governmental agencies such as The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Families for Depression Awareness, and The United States Senate Commerce Committee.  Check out our partial client list or this featured video for more.

Step 6: Get in touch!

Ask Questions. Send examples of events you love or hate! Let’s talk.

Charles River Media Group, LLC • 73 TV Place, Needham Heights, MA 02494 • 617.467.5540 • info@charlesrivermedia.com

For Immediate Release

Charles River Media Group completes acquisition of Fein Productions

Boston, MA – January 5, 2020 – Charles River Media Group, LLC (CRMG)  a Boston based Video Production Company and Studio announces the completion of the acquisition of Fein Productions. Founder Ian Fein joins CRMG as a partner and the new Director of Production. 

Mr. Fein joins CRMG after fifteen years working in the field as a Director of Photography and Producer. Mr. Fein started his career in production working at Cornell University producing underwater nature documentaries before forming Fein Productions. Mr. Fein has worked with  Charles River Media Group for the past decade in a variety of roles.

“CRMG has been a leader in New England media production for years and I’m looking forward to my new role in senior leadership,” said Fein

“Ian brings a wealth of experience and insights, ” said CRMG founder Don Schechter. “Our new partnership is just one of many exciting developments we have in store for 2020.”

In 2019, Charles River Media Group moved to a new studio facility in Needham Heights, MA, expanding studio and post production capabilities. 

“We’ve doubled our revenue each year, for the past few years,” said Schechter, “and this acquisition will allow us to support this rate of growth and retain the superior quality and reliability of work and resources for which CRMG is known.” 

 

About Charles River Media Group

Charles River Media Group, LLC is a Boston based production company with a studio and post-production facility located in Needham Heights, MA. Services include corporate, commercial, political, documentary, and studio production and post-production as well as live stream, A/V, and motion graphics. Learn more at: https://www.charlesrivermedia.com/about-us

 

Charles River Media Group

73 TV Place

Needham Heights, MA 02494

617.467.5540

www.charlesrivermedia.com

info@charlesrivermedia.com

 

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/charles-river-media-group-completes-acquisition-fein-don-schechter

Check out this class preview from our friends at School of Motion. Last summer we worked with them to film the visual content for their course after months of preparation and a week of filming in our studio and around Boston. We come in around 55 seconds in the video below. Check it out!

From SOM: VFX for Motion is a professional visual effects course for motion designers, focused on the mastery of essential compositing techniques in After Effects, including rotoscoping, matchmoving, tracking, and keying.

 

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This year was indeed Charles River Media Group’s best year ever. We moved into our new facility at 73 TV Place in Needham Heights, right next to WCVB. We hit the ground running building sets and live streaming in our new studio for Wayfair’s Way Day and filming course content for School of Motion. 

We welcomed back many returning clients including Pearson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ACP Decisions, Choate, Mobius, National Media Spots, Weber, Hasty Pudding, and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. New clients included Netscout, Wise Guides, eClinicalWorks, Porter Novelli, ISS World, Alyce, Boomtown Productions, and Deciphera.

2020 is going to be another great year. Stay tuned in January for a big announcement as we continue to grow. Happy New Year and email us at info@charlesrivermedia.com

Read on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/charles-river-media-groups-best-year-ever-don-schechter

 

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Boston Studio Production and Streaming Service

Take a look behind the scenes in 360 degrees as we set up for a two day shoot (and week long set build) for Wayfair’s Wayday Stream. Click and drag your mouse or move your phone around to see all the action. This is the first time we’ve let a 360 camera in our studio so take a good look!

Thanks to Sonic Pixel Media for providing the 360 video and for more information on Boston video production, set building, studio rentals, crew staffing, and more please get in touch!

New to 360 degree videos?

360 degree videos are immersive videos, where an omnidirectional camera (or a rig of cameras essentially stitched next to each other) films in every direction at once. The video looks…odd when edited but when uploaded allows the viewer to move their phone or click and drag their mouse around to see in all directions. Look up, down, left, and right in the video above!

For more information, check out wikipedia’s page for more info or watch the best 360 degree videos on Tom’s Guide.

Charles River Media Group is Recognized by Clutch as a Top TV Media Buying Company!

Charles River Media Group is founded on the goal of bettering our community. By bringing together the top level talent in the area of greater Boston, we aim to attract more corporate work to the area while also increasing the quality of work produced in our community. The importance of media is being realized more and more each year, and our efforts in the community will only increase as time passes. After recently being recognized by Clutch as one of the top TV Media Buying companies, it is clear to us at Charles River Media Group that the community has overwhelming appreciated our efforts to make our community a better place.

Clutch is an established B2B ratings and review company headquartered in Washington D.C. The difference between Clutch and their competition is in their incredibly in-depth review process. Clutch researchers market data, analysis this data, and most importantly, conducts interviews with clients from the company in order to gain the most unbiased reviews possible. Our profile currently has 4.9 stars out of 5.0 stars, and multiple client reviews, which we would love to share with you.

“CRMG has unparalleled video production expertise that positively impacts the quality of our events.” -Director, TEDxCambridge

“They were extremely knowledgeable and had a wonderful disposition.” -Executive Director, Boston Groundwater Trust

Clutch also has two sister sites, The Manifest and Visual Objects.

The Manifest is similar to Clutch, but offers clients a quicker view of a companies by giving a businesses’ size, location, and service focus. Additionally, The Manifest offers a How-To Guide for buying the services of a third party business by showing the client the steps needed to hire out a 3rd party business. We are honored to be ranked highly on The Manifest’s list of the top media buying agencies and look forward to moving our ranking up soon.

Visual Objects is Clutch’s newest sister site and offers clients a greater visual look at a company. This is accomplished by Visual Objects creating a visual portfolio for each creative design and advertising company on their site, which shows the potential client the past works of the company. Check us out on their list of the top advertising agencies.

Charles River Media Group is extremely honored and humbled by the recognition we have received from Clutch and their sister sites. We strive on continuing to stick true to our values, our product, and most importantly, our community. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for our company and clients, especially as we look forward to bettering our community through our work!