Like many other industries that were greatly affected by the pandemic, social content creation and production came to a ghostly halt in March of 2020. It was all hands on deck at Socialfly Studios as we tried to come up with ways to pivot our services and creative across the board. Our schedules were filled with countless brainstorms and Zoom meetings to answer the question, “how can we craft content with very little or no existing assets?”
Over the months that followed, Socialfly Studios went through many different phases. What started as two full office spaces quickly downsized to one. Make-shift studios were set up in the homes of the creative team to tide us over until full-scale content capture could resume. Our clients were in dire need of fresh assets and we were determined to find a way to provide them.
Once it became clear that office life as we knew it was gone forever – or at least, for a very long time – we made an unanimous vote to take a radical approach. We took what used to be our main office space and converted it into a production-first studio setup, expanding our ability to shoot authentic lifestyle imagery.
The studio expansion plans were activated over the course of 2020, allowing us to thoughtfully utilize every inch of the office and take advantage of all of the natural light. Using existing layouts of different rooms, we created multiple photo and video rigs, mock bedrooms, living rooms, and other turn-key production setups that could be easily modified to fit the specific needs of each client.
We also found ways to limit unnecessary interaction on set in order to create a safe environment for all cast and crew members. Conference rooms were converted into prop and equipment storage, a hair and makeup lounge and a permanent wardrobe closet. Offices were reserved for talent and clients to ensure everyone could safely spread out.
As we head into 2021, the new and improved Socialfly Studios is perfectly set up to flex as different studio and lifestyle sets to fit our clients’ social content creation and production needs, all while offering bigger and better capabilities. We’re able to run multiple production setups at the same time and can capture more content across a variety of formats. Since making this change, we’ve been turning out 360 video, Instagram Reels content, portraits photography, lifestyle assets, product imagery, stop motion video, and everything in between.
Although the pandemic presented a great challenge, it also gave us the freedom to reconfigure our studio operations and build something custom from the ground up.
Has your brand been patiently waiting for new assets? Visit @socialflystudios and @socialfly on Instagram to check out some of our recent work. Be sure to get in touch with our production team at [email protected]. We’ve got you covered.
Written By: Lindsay Gilbert, Associate Creative Director
