Overseas shoot using Zoom and a Green Screen studio in London, South Africa and NYC. Produced and edited by Dreaming Fish Productions.
About the project
“Leaving The Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa“ is a financial thriller by Aig Aig-Imoukhuede, detailing his struggles and path to success. In 2002, Aig-Imoukhuede and Herbert Wigwe acquired Access Bank, then one of Nigeria’s smallest and most crisis-prone banks, with the goal of turning it into one of the country’s largest and strongest. The book shares their setbacks and triumphs, offering unmatched insights for anyone looking to build a business or navigate the high-growth but volatile markets of modern Africa.
The brief
As the book launch was impacted by the pandemic, it was turned into a virtual event. The original event was to feature performances, an author interview and book reviews from industry experts endorsing Aig Aig-Imoukhuede’s blueprint for building a successful business. DreamingFish was approached by MELA Events (based in South Africa) who were leading the project, but needed filming support in the UK.
The challenge
The challenge was to film an interview between Aig-Imoukhuede and Wigwe who were over 3,500 miles apart. Aig-Imoukhuede was based in London, while Wigwe was in NYC. MELA Events asked us to coordinate simultaneous shoots in the UK and US greenscreen studios. The subjects needed to be able to communicate with each other for the interview to run smoothly. Post-production would bring the two together; creating the illusion that they were in the same room. How hard could it be? Oprah & Obama did it!
The production
After sourcing a crew in New York, we carried out pre-production planning to make sure our UK crew were aligned with the US crew. We ordered the same chair for our subjects and started mapping the positions of our cameras and lighting. With the power of Zoom, we were able to communicate with the crew in New York and cross-reference our set up. Simultaneously, MELA Events also joined the Zoom call from South Africa and were able to sign off shots. Our subjects communicated through earpieces, while a Zoom call on a laptop allowed them to see each other. This helped us align their eye-lines to create the illusion they were in the same room. Pretty cool huh?
Post production
The magic happened in the post-production! MELA Events had sourced a crew in Nigeria that had filmed at an authentic location which would become the environment we placed Aig-Imoukhuede and Iweala in. The Nigerian team sent the footage to us and we were able to key out both subjects and insert them into the location. With a nice grade and some clever techniques we successfully pulled it off! Check out the full video below!
FAQs on remote filming production
In post-production, we combined footage from both locations, carefully aligning visuals, colour and sound to create a seamless, cohesive final video
Absolutely. By using earpieces, live video links and careful direction of eye-lines, remote filming can create a natural, interactive experience that feels like the participants are in the same room.
Yes. Remote filming reduces travel, accommodation and location costs, while still delivering high-quality results with the right planning and technical setup. It’s also a great alternative if you have interviewees spread all over the world!
