One day before Halloween, Digital Marketing Coordinator Karli Burns was working in the office. It was a Saturday, so there weren’t many people around. She ventured downstairs to buy a Pop-Tart, and that’s when she realized that Midtown Studio was underwater.
“Wear your waders,” warned Sr. Copywriter Dennis Johnson during his call to David Whitson, Director of Editing. Word traveled fast that the situation downstairs required backup.
David and Dennis were among the first to witness the true damage of the flood. Not only was much of the building’s lower floor soaked, but the two also discovered that the floor tilts toward the studio. That was where most of the mysteriously leaking water was concentrated.
Determined to find the source of the leak, Dennis ventured into the first-floor women’s restroom to find a commode spewing water. It wasn’t clear what caused the leak, but the water was unrelenting.
Rushing to the studio, David and Dennis began trying to salvage equipment. Luckily, the computers and cameras were high enough off the floor and came out undamaged. Power cords, control boxes, and the carpet were another story.
With the building’s plumber en route, it would still be several hours before the leak could be stopped. In the meantime, David and Dennis thought about the silver lining behind this unexpected Saturday.
“We realized the studio is probably due for an update anyway, and now is the perfect time,” David said. “The flooding gave us a chance to rethink how we want it set up, and how we can build it back better.”
An Opportunity for Modernization
Since the power boxes for the studio lights were damaged by the water, Production will have the chance to replace them with more modern technology. When the studio was built, fluorescent lighting was the highest-tech option. Now, the lights will be LED, giving the team the ability to change hues and colors during shoots.
There will also be a riser added to where the cyclorama (cyc) wall is, helping elevate this backdrop to prevent warping from humidity on the ground-level floor. The cyc wall will be replaced with a newer version as well.
Of course, new carpet is required, as well as new baseboards and a fresh paint job for the studio. Overall, the studio’s configuration will remain the same. But the upgrades mentioned above, along with new additions like a pneumatic camera pedestal (like the rolling camera stands at TV stations) and cable management devices will help modernize the studio and its capabilities. Luckily, insurance funds are able to cover the cost of these upgrades.
Construction is set to begin this week. Be on the lookout for the grand reveal of Midtown Studio 2.0!
[…] The Production department celebrated the completion of Midtown Studio, located on the first floor of SAM’s headquarters. Due to flooding a few months back, some of the studio was damaged, giving us the opportunity to upgrade both the space and its equipment. You can read more about the studio redo in this article. […]