Following our weekend at NAB in Vegas, we put our focus on the task at hand: location shooting on the West Coast, and can you believe it, on four iPhone 13 Pros. Our clients wanted authentic, veritas-style spots capturing the essence of a Carne Asada celebration, and we were dealing with a very non-traditional cast… To the point, the content featured actual families of untrained actors.

Serious challenges were anticipated because of what we believed to be very real limitations. However, those supposed limitations were not limiting at all. In fact, we were more than a bit wowed at how easily and comfortably our talent opened up before the iPhone screen.

As it turns out, the iPhone is truly a magical portal, one that quickly lends itself to organic storytelling. With the removal of heavy, professional camera gear and huge crews, the set felt less like a production, more personal, more intimate. In other words, our cast came to life before the iPhone in ways that just could not have been anticipated.

Barriers collapsed. Real life emerged. Suddenly, it wasn’t a director yelling action, but crazy Aunt Kara and Uncle Alex in the park with family and friends… The results were immediate and remarkable. Our martini shot came and went with the blink of an eye.

While Team Cobalt and Variety Magazine together celebrate our state-of-the-art Virtual Backlot, with a long list of satisfied clients, we were thrilled to discover that we are more than the sum of our parts. Yes, our stage will be back online shortly. And yet, we could not be more pleased for the chance to adapt and move forward into a bold new space, a simple degree away from our agnostic approach to always find the best way to service our clients.

The recent success of our LA shoots have assured us that now is the time for Cobalt Productions to emerge and compliment our family of professional services to our good friends and clients in the filmmaking community.

Keep a sharp eye on this space. So many exciting details to come!