A Fili Story

The Last Lamp

In mid-2021, we completed a project titled "The Last Lamp". We were tasked with recording the manufacturing of the last fluorescent light made at the former Signify plant, also known as Philips Lighting, here in Salina. The factory had produced several billion lightbulbs over its lifetime. Price competition and an industry-wide move to LED bulbs resulted in the closing of the factory and the production being moved to Poland and India. The goal of the project was to celebrate the careers of those who had worked at the plant. Most of the management had been there for ten to fifteen years, and some even reached over fifty years. We were pleased to put the video together and give the employees of that facility some well-deserved recognition.

It was awesome knowing that those employees that had been working there for most of their lifetimes had some memories to take with them and some closure.?

- Amber Benning, Post Production Coordinator & Editor

Great Plains and Kubota

When Great Plains and Kubota announced their purchase of the plant, it was a sigh of relief to the Salina community. Salina wasn't losing jobs but creating opportunities for future eployment.

Great Plains hired us to film the transition and remodel of the plant. Our task was to give visual updates of the manufacturing plant being built to teams across the globe so they could see the progression of the factory. Once the factory was closer to completion, we put together videos for their Grand Opening.

This project had multiple challenges but was rewarding in the end. Projects, that last for more than two to three months can drain your creativity. We were tasked with filming the same space repeatedly, and over time it became difficult to find new ways to film the same space over and over again. Walking the 750,000 sq ft plant was tiring on our bodies, minds, and creative flow.

We kept things fresh by using a number of rigs throughout the filming of this project. We used a jib, time-lapse cameras, sliders, and drones. However, our primary footage was captured by a camera on a gimbal. Using different rigs helped us get distinct shots with creative angles. At times, we filmed plant walk-throughs with the plant manager, Chris Montgomery . These tours helped viewers understand the layout of the plant and how it flowed. Chris gave an overview of how each area of the plant operated and how they contributed to the plant as a whole.

Data storage is always a challenge for larger projects. For this project, we filmed one to three times a month for over a year. Toward the end of the project, we filmed almost every day for over four weeks. We ended up using over two terabytes of storage. To put this in perspective, it's over 36 hours of usable footage.

Grand Opening

In the summer of 2022, we were asked to prepare three videos for the Grand Opening of the plant. One looping video was to focus on employees and aerials of the facility. The second video was to focus on the plant building and its renovation. The final video was focused on the machinery that would be used within the factory to manufacture their products. We spent weeks working with the plant team to finish up the filming.

The team at Great Plains and Kubota were HANDS DOWN some of the best folks to work with. They were responsive, open-minded, and made it so easy for us to get our job done. They definitely made our jobs easier.

- Sydney Reich, Communications Coordinator

The Home Stretch

Two weeks before the event, we completed 95% of the project for the Grand Opening. We were reasonably happy with how the videos were coming together. In that two-week period, we had a meeting with an executive at Great Plains. We learned that the vision for the videos had shifted and we needed to start from scratch on two of our videos. On top of that, we needed the videos completed by the end of the week in order to get the proper approvals from all the staff.

We were a little crushed, as we had been working for weeks to put this project together and now we needed to start over. It was hard to have a project shift beneath our feet, however, we quickly realized the new vision had a lot of potential and we got to work. We were able to keep the initial loop video intact for the most part, which was a relief. However, the other two videos had to be rebuilt. One video would focus on the building of the actual product from start to finish. The other video would be focused on the machinery and building.

Preproduction

The building-focused video was challenging because the footage in some smaller areas of the plant had not been shot yet. We tried several times to get b-roll of some of the offices, but the people we needed were busy doing their jobs. We did get the shots in the end, but it took coordination and persistence to get what we needed. It was important to our client that this video showcased the facility as a safe and efficient working environment.

The product-focused video came with more challenges. At the time of filming, the painting of the products produced in the factory took place in two different facilities that are roughly thirty miles from the main campus. Another challenge was that the parts needed were not always available which caused parts of the assembly line to have to shut down. Gus has a background in manufacturing and helped our production team piece together what shots were needed from specific areas of the plant. If we did not have his knowledge and skill set, this project probably would not have gone as smoothly as it did.

Production

We spent three consecutive days at the plant coordinating with factory staff, capturing time-lapses, and filming the assembly area. We took trips to two paint lines in other factories which involved sitting in one spot for multiple hours late at night. We were able to get our cameras in interesting positions that produced some amazing shots.

The challenging part was that the specific things we needed to film were LARGELY dependent on if they had materials to work with.?

- Shane Clark, Multimedia Specialist & Camera Opporator

The time crunch did help us produce some of the most amazing shots we've caught at the plant in the past year. Not to say that we spent a year getting subpar shots, but we discovered that our creativity can blossom under pressure. Looking back, it was a great feeling that our team accepted the shift in the project and immediately got to work making the client's vision a reality. We grew together as a team and are proud of the work we did.

Post Production

This project's editor, Tim, was put through the wringer for this project, but he did a fantastic job of putting everything together for the final project. Gus and Tim collaborated for almost twelve hours on the final edits to really dial in the project and explain the manufacturing process visually. Tim finished up the final touches the next morning and we sent it off to our client. Collectively, we breathed a sigh of relief and felt like a weight was lifted off the team's chest.

After the Great Plains and Kubota team had a chance to look at the videos, we made small changes and were ready for the grand opening! Our team's contributions didn't stop there, we were asked to film the grand opening ceremony and edit it into a video to share throughout the company. A week later we packed up our gear and headed to the plant for the grand opening.

Grand Slam

We took the team and set up three cameras for a variety of shots. In attendance at the grand opening were Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly; Kansas Senator, Jerry Moran; Great Plains CEO, Linda Salem; and a number of other Kubota and Great Plains Executives along with other state and local officials. We watched as the dignitaries and business leaders delivered their speeches. When the time finally came, the lights were dimmed and our videos started playing. We all held our breath until the videos were done.

Our videos were displayed well on a large screen. The politicians, executives, members of the press, and factory workers watched attentively and gave the videos their applause when the videos ended. The VIPs broke open some ceremonial sake barrels and the event concluded with a Kubota SVL Skid Steer (the product made in the factory) being driven to the stage area. As the morning rounded to an end we got various compliments from folks about the videos. We were elated they were received so well.

Seeing it on the screen at the event was kind of a surreal experience that I don’t think my brain was totally ready for. I was mostly in a state of “dear god please let this go over well”. But hearing the response from the folks watching and knowing that Linda liked it made it feel like we really put together a great set of videos. Videos that I’m proud of.

- Timothy Burns, Multimedia Specialist & Editor

Over the past eighteen months, we produced thirteen videos focused on this new facility. We saw one factory close, and another be built in its shell. There is never a dull moment in videography and this project is proof of that.

Looking back, we couldn't have done it without every single member of our team. This was a team effort through and through, and one we proudly add to our roll of past projects.

Seeing our videos projected in front of a big audience and some VIPs was the culmination of hard work from every member of our team. Easily one of the most rewarding projects I can remember from this year.

- Gustaf Applequist, CEO & Executive Producer