Case Study · Internal Communications Film

Virtual But Together

A staff-first film, scripted, produced and delivered in two weeks, for an all-hands audience of 1,500+ during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Title card for the Virtual But Together film: a mosaic of colorful illustrated portraits of staff members above the AdventHealth logo. ▶ Watch the finished film · 2:14
Client
AdventHealth Information Technology (AIT)
Audience
1,500+ AIT staff
Occasion
AIT All Meeting, Oct 22, 2020
Turnaround
Scripted, produced & delivered in 2 weeks
Film
2 min 14 sec, posted Oct 19, 2020
Location
Multiple team members’ homes, full masking protocols

The Challenge

In the fall of 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic reshaping how everyone worked, AdventHealth Information Technology reached out on October 5 with a project for the AIT All Meeting. The meeting was set for October 22, just three weeks away.

The brief called for a shift in emphasis: more intentional focus on staff versus leaders. The audience for the AIT All Meeting is mostly staff, a population of more than 1,500, many of them working remotely. The theme: our team is amazing.

The task: make a large, distributed team feel seen and connected, on a tight timeline, and produce it safely in the middle of a pandemic.

The Approach

We took the brief literally. If the meeting was about staff, the film would be about staff, not about the leadership team speaking to them.

  • Staff at the center. The film's title and visual identity reflect the theme: Virtual But Together. The opening card is a mosaic of individual portraits, a whole community rendered as many distinct faces, and the script speaks to staff directly, celebrating their resilience, creativity and connection.
  • One team, end to end. We scripted, produced and delivered the film ourselves, keeping the creative and the schedule in one set of hands.
  • Shot at home, shot safely. The entire film was produced in the homes of multiple team members, with their families, following full pandemic masking protocols. That kept the production safe and put the film in the same setting as the people watching it: real homes during a real remote-work year.
  • Built for the date. With the meeting fixed at October 22, the film was scripted, produced and delivered in two weeks. The finished 2:14 film was on Vimeo by October 19, three days before the meeting.

Inside the Film

The film runs 2 minutes 14 seconds and moves in six beats, from the awkwardness of remote work to a shared close. It is written in a collective voice, all “we,” “our” and “you and I,” so every staff member could hear themselves in it.

  1. 0:01
    Open in the virtual meeting. Before any narration, we hear the overlapping chatter of a video call starting up, with people joining late and asking who’s next. Anyone on the AIT team would recognize it right away.
  2. 0:15
    Name the reality. “Our new work reality has been a huge adjustment… When normal isn’t normal anymore. When I’m feeling apart… Distanced?”
  3. 0:43
    Turn to adaptation. The team has embraced the moment to adapt and change, and is finding ways to thrive. Staying connected is “now more important than ever.”
  4. 0:53
    Show how staff stayed connected. Virtual coffee talks and themed team meetings became ways to communicate, hold each other accountable and stay engaged. Teams grew stronger by supporting each other through personal challenges.
  5. 1:12
    Celebrate people. “A time to celebrate each other’s success and recognize the value of every team member, every time.” A voice from the call answers, “That is awesome!”
  6. 1:35
    Focus on what we can do. “The only constant is change.” The new normal directs the team toward what it can do rather than what it can’t, and toward each other: you and I.

“Because we are all in this. Together.”

The film uses the pandemic reality of remote video calls, distance and constant change as its starting point. It acknowledges how hard that year was for staff and ends on connection, which gave the AIT All Meeting a warm, staff-first opening. Because it was filmed in real team members’ homes with their families, the setting supports the message: staff were already living this story.

The Result

Virtual But Together was delivered on schedule for the AIT All Meeting, giving more than 1,500 staff a film made for them. AIT's communications and operations leaders responded with immediate praise for both the quality and the speed.

“We really appreciate your amazing work and quick turn around.”

Robyn Valencic, Director | Operations, AdventHealth Information Technology (AIT)

“This is excellent Jared and Allen. Thank you!”

Heidi McBurney, Manager | Communications, AdventHealth Information Technology (AIT)

Scripted, produced and delivered by Jared and Allen, j michael media, for AdventHealth Information Technology, October 2020. Filmed on location in multiple team members’ homes under full pandemic masking protocols.