This what Rick Zessar — a highly-successful and experienced Executive Producer for advertising, branded content, animation, production, and post-production for broadcast, digital, and social media channels and companies — was presented with. Rick was asked to freelance-produce a commercial in New Orleans – just as the city began shutting down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As Rick said, “This made production exceedingly challenging. The homeowner who initially agreed to allow filming in her home’s interior backed out just two days before the scheduled shoot. Then, one day before shooting, three crew members bowed out due to health concerns. The main talent in the commercial, a young child, needed to remain isolated from everyone else during the shoot to limit her exposure to the full crew. Instantaneously [I was] tasked with providing hand sanitizer, soap, and face masks for the cast and crew.”
When asked what he did to meet production schedule, Rick said, “I promptly found and secured a new filming location and obtained my corporate client’s approval for of the change. The new house presented obstacles, such as requiring new living room furniture, and totally redressing the house, something not originally in the budget or plan. I secured a motor-home to keep the young talent isolated off set, another line item not initially in the budget. Through my network, I was able to replace the three crew members the night before the shoot. My production assistant was sent to scour the city for safety and cleaning supplies because I was determined that my crew, the home, the client, and my actors were super safe.” It took him eight hours of searching to procure all necessary items.
Rick also stated, “In all likelihood, this was [to be] the last commercial filmed in New Orleans before restrictions ended all gatherings of ten or more people.” I asked him how his client liked the commercial with all of the changes that had now been incorporated. He replied, “The commercial shoot was a big success, the client was very happy, everyone involved remained healthy, and despite the additional expenses, the commercial cost came in below budget which made everyone happy.”
Rick Zessar is a wonderfully creative and friendly guy who would be glad to discuss his ideas further with you.
Contact Rick via LinkedIn, Career WebFolio or email rick.zessar@gmail.com
Watch Full Video Interview with Rick Zessar and Fred Coon, below:
ViewPoint© is a production of The US AT Work Network© and Stewart, Cooper & Coon, a Human Capital Strategies Corporation. Contact: Fred Coon – 866-883-4200, Ext. 200, for more information.
© 2004-2020 Stewart, Cooper, & Coon, Inc. All rights reserved. Limited to personal use and allowable only if this copyright message is left intact. Any duplication, alteration, or publishing of this content without express company permission is prohibited. Contact fcoon@stewartcoopercoon.com.