World Cup: Qatar

Qatari balls

I was approached by one of my contacts from the Emmys to build-out an experiential production pitch for the 2022 World Cup. I was given 3-days to return a budget for creating 60 pieces of unique content filmed at 50+ locations: virtual, augmented, streaming, 360° video, website, e-commerce, apps, and the backend systems to control it all. Then create creative and interactive spaces that would be set up around Dubai where this content can be made available to the public.
Oh, also price out the cost of US and regional talent for all the above, as well as creating a temporary (possibly permanent) office in LA with staffing.

Filming on the Sun

Everything starts with a Gantt chart. I needed to know when I could film, because the Qatari sun will melt equipment. I'm not being figurative. Next was to understand production deadlines and using my rule of thumb: 3 days to edit every 1 day of filming. After adding travel time, number of locations, estimated production crew size, training, etc. I was able to budget from the calendar.

Equipment is equipment, but there is no B&H in Qatar. Whatever we need, would have to be shipped out in advance. Customs required that we ship items 4-6 weeks in advance, creating havoc with the budget. What happens when something gets damaged during shipping, and you don't find out until a month later? Other issues come with the unknowns of cultural differences when employing temporary help from a foreign country. All of this requires setting up relationships in advance and working with teams you can trust. Thanks to my Rolodex, I was able to find reliable teams from both sides of the ocean.