For Immediate Release

Boston, MA – January 6, 2021 – Charles River Media Group, LLC (CRMG), a Boston based video production company and studio, announced the completion of the acquisition of Sonic Pixel Media (SPM). Jon Shedler joins CRMG as the new Director of Engineering and Mike Damiano joins as Technical Director. 

“Charles River Media Group relied on SPM for the past five years as a valued live streaming and virtual events partner. In 2020, CRMG was fortunate to thrive with exponential growth in our virtual, hybrid, and studio services. It seemed no better time to officially bring SPM into the company,”  said Charles River Media Group founder Don Schechter. 

Together, CRMG and SPM have worked with Fortune 500, pharmaceutical, and technology companies, as well as creative agencies, universities, musicians, event planners, and non-profit organizations to engage online audiences through full-service live streaming production.

“Having CRMG as a strategic partner over the past few years has been a positive experience for both our businesses and our clients.” said Sonic Pixel Media founder, Jon Shedler. “Our complementary services have allowed us to produce a large variety of projects. By officially combining our teams and resources, we will continue to grow and provide added value to our clients.”

Schechter added, “Last year’s acquisition of Fein Productions boosted our in-house video production capabilities and SPM’s team will continue to lead us in the virtual events space. Their expertise, combined with our investments into our online event platform, which we will be detailing in the coming weeks, will propel us into 2021.”

 

About Charles River Media Group

Charles River Media Group

73 TV Place

Needham Heights, MA 02494

617.467.5540

www.charlesrivermedia.com

info@charlesrivermedia.com

 

On December 8th, MIT Sloan School of Management premiered their latest installment of the MIT Sloan Expert Series: ‘Human-Centered AI’: How can the technology industry fight bias in machines and people? CRMG produced this video, which included remote recording from our control room using VMix call and editing the final product together. 

The show is hosted by Rebecca Knight, and features Renée Richardson Gosline, Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Principal Research Scientist at MIT’s Initiative on The Digital Economy. 

She is joined by two experts in the field: Cathy O’Neil from ORCAA, author of Weapons of Math Destruction and Kathy Baxter,  Principal Architect of The Ethical AI Practice at Salesforce. They discuss the biases inherent in AI technology, how companies can mitigate them, and the ways AI tech plays a role in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Check out the full episode here: 

 

Video has become the most sought after medium when it comes to marketing. As technology progresses, more and more people are consuming video content on the daily compared to other mediums such as blogs. In turn, more companies are starting to produce video content to attract consumers to their product/services. 

It’s no secret that video content, when done right, has the potential to generate leads. No one understands this better than us. Charles River Media Group can provide your company’s online channels with engaging and genuine video content. Our wide range of services can cover all your business needs. From creating a series of informational videos to producing live streams.

But thanks to our wonderful clients and Clutch, we received the honor of being recognized as a Top B2B company in the Creative & Design category!

Clutch is the leader in connecting global service providers with corporate buyers from around the world. The ratings and reviews platform publishes the most extensive and referenced client reviews in the B2B services market. 

Every year, Clutch honors the highest-performing B2B companies in Massachusetts across industries. For the consecutive year, we were highlighted by Clutch as one of the top video production companies.

This is such wonderful news because it assures our team that we are always producing valuable work for our clients. Clutch’s team has to go through hundreds of companies like us and we’ve been selected again to receive this honor.

“We are thrilled to once again be singled out by Clutch. Their recognition is quite meaningful to us and we value their service.” – Don Schechter, CRMG Founder

But don’t take our word for it, here’s what our lovely clients had to say about our recent partnership.

We pride ourselves in the satisfaction of our clients. To be assured that the work we love to do is being positively received by our clients is an amazing feeling.

If you want to know more about how we can help your business, check out our Clutch profile! If you want help on your next project, talk to us now!

On August 25th, the Life is Good Playmakers: Open Up with Optimism live premiere event, produced by CRMG, aired on Facebook and YouTube. The event was hosted by Steve Gross, Founder and Chief Playmaker with Alicia Barnatchez, Associate Director of Training from Life is Good Playmakers.

From our studio, Steve gave several presentations for teachers and parents alike on the value of optimism for themselves and their students going into the upcoming school year. In the event announcement from PR Newswire, Steve says, “Life is Good Playmakers are uniquely positioned to help childcare professionals realize the benefits of eternal and practical optimism to build those life-changing relationships to help our most vulnerable kids heal.”

The event featured guest appearances from country singer/songwriter Garth Brooks, Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, and Bert and John Jacobs, co-founders of the Life is Good Company. The program concluded with a song from a local Haitian artist called “Rejoice,” following a story from Steve about his time in Haiti. Check out the program below: 

 

On July 28th, Charles River Media Group live streamed “An Evening with Ceres (at home)” fundraising event, which featured multiple pre-recorded segments about sustainability and philanthropic efforts from members of the organization and affiliates. Guests included producer Norman Lear and Chair of the Elders Mary Robison,  as well as a live fireside chat between Indra Nooyi, Former Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo and Mindy Lubber, CEO & President of Ceres.

 

The event was hosted by Ceres Vice President Anne Kelly, live from our studio, and Senior Manager Anthony Toppi from his home in California. The program featured regular appearances from Susan Sayers, also in our studio, to highlight hosts, sponsors, and incoming donations.

 

Throughout the evening, viewers played several rounds of trivia, with live results appearing on the screen. As donations came in, a dynamic donation bar at the bottom of the screen updated on screen. After the pre-recorded and live content, a slideshow composed of photos sent in by viewers who participated in the event was shown as part of the post show material. The show closed with a second performance from the pre-show band, the Hannah Mayer Quartet. 

 

Check out some of the highlights below:

 

On April 22nd, Charles River Media Group (CRMG) live streamed the Survive and Thrive Covid-19: Celebrity challenge fundraising event for Abacus Health Products to support the Arthritis Foundation. The producers and writers of the event were based in The United States, London, and Israel, and the show was hosted by Matt Iseman (American Ninja Warrior, Celebrity Apprentice).

 

Several celebrities featured throughout the program, notably the NFL’s Rob Gronkowski and model Camille Kostek as they competed against others, including former linebacker Brian Urlacher, fitness trainer Harley Pasternak, and former fullback Chris Gronkowski.

 

Award winning chef Ming Tsai also participated in a special segment where he prepared a full recipe. 

 

Check out the full breakdown of CRMG work on Clutch, or read highlights from our client’s review below along with stills from the event:

Describe the project in detail.

The scope and details of this project kept on changing and expanding almost on a daily basis. What started as an ask for a 4-6 person roundtable discussion hosted via Zoom conferences, turned into a 10 celebrity fundraiser event complete with ex-nfl players competing against each other in video conference challenges, interesting conversations with renowned Chef’s and other celebrity personalities.

We wrote the script, and coordinated on logistics with CRMG, and we needed a partner that understood the nature of this unique event, and be a bit flexible with our team, and as those details changed, CRMG was flexible and accommodating!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was really impressed with their fearless and accommodating nature in the face of a project that wasn’t ideal. It was a beast, it was a challenge, I personally was concerned about a number of possible outcomes or technical snags that CRMG helped us circumvent and plan for.

They were a steady and trustworthy hand, and I knew that whenever I was on a call with Don or Jon or Mike, etc I would feel supported, on the same team, and reassured that no matter what was being asked or thrown at us, we had the team to see it through in a successful manner. Never a moment of panic! Despite many opportunities for such moments… : )

Are there any areas for improvement?

I couldn’t have asked for more from this team. They gave it everything they had, they were flexible enough to understand the unique client and circumstances, and they did it all while safely physically distancing, keeping everyone in their studio clean and healthy, and they helped CBDMEDIC and myself look GREAT after this was all said in done. I hope we get another project like this JUST so that i can work with Don and the team again.

Charles River Media Group’s event team streamed the Class of 2020 Virtual Commencement sponsored by Life is Good. There were 3,500 comments and nearly 120,000 people watched!

The live event included speeches by founders Bet and John Jacobs, performances by folk-rock band The Avett Brothers, musician Michael Franti, poet and songwriter In-Q, frisbee and pineapple tosses. The Boston Globe wrote about it as well.

Check it out below or on our YouTube Channel:

 

The coronavirus is causing many events, conferences, workshops, schools, continuing education courses, etc. to be suddenly cancelled. If you’re dealing with this –  and assuming you get that pesky event space deposit back –  don’t panic!  There are many resources in place to help you still have a successful event, run your training, determine CE credits, fundraise, etc.

So what’s next? You can contact us or read on!

Step 1: Determine Your Actual Need

Do you really need it “go live?”  Many “live” virtual events are actually pre-recorded presentations that are pushed out to internet at a specific time. And the “event” can be filmed at our production studio at 73 TV Place in Needham, MA (off of I-95) or on location (where you may or may not have an audience.)

If it is truly a live event – let’s discuss your audience. How are they interacting with you? Are they typing in questions and responses via chat or Skyping in and being added to the broadcast? Would you like to track their participation for CE credits? Poll them? Raise Money?

Let’s talk content materials too! Is there one or many presenters? Round table discussion? Video playback or Slides?

(Keep reading after the video)

Step 2: The Show Flow and Platform

The next step is to try to flesh out the run of the “show.” What is the order of events? How many people are presenting and what assets are needed when? Do you want to have updated graphics rolling in live? Knowing how many people will be presenting at once – and where the interactivity comes into play is essential in helping determine the best platform for your content. Another factor that is key to determining the platform – or host of the content – is to decide if it’s a a one-and-done event or material that needs to be accessed indefinitely. Let’s also determine how many “viewer hours” we’re expecting and from where those viewers are watching.

Step 3: The “Set”

From a simple black void set or back-lit panels from (no joke) Ikea to multi-wall sets crafted by our Art Directors, Carpenters, Set Dressers or High-Tech Video Walls – your next step is to think about the look-and-feel of the event in studio – or on location (your office, hotel, etc). The look-and-feel is an important consideration and makes a surprising impact on your budget. Which leads us to….

Step 4: Budget

Prospective clients often want to know “about how much does something like this cost” – but having a budget range in mind and communicating that information early on helps determine the scope of the production and the resources a vendor can make available. There are quick webcasts in the 5-8K Range,  roundtables in the 10-20K range, and larger productions in excess of 50K. There are many variables and plenty of options to help everyone!

Step 5: Identify. Inform. Inspire.

The final step is to determine if you trust the vendor. Do they have a producer who will walk you through the process? Do they have a reliable team? A studio? Charles River Media Group has been in business since 2003 and our facility at 73 TV Place in Needham Heights, MA is a great location right off of I-95 outside of Boston. Our tagline is “Identify. Inform. Inspire.” and we’ve got a great article all about it here.  We’ve worked with large corporations ranging from Wayfair to the New England Journal of Medicine, institutions such as M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and the Education Development Center to non-profits and governmental agencies such as The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Families for Depression Awareness, and The United States Senate Commerce Committee.  Check out our partial client list or this featured video for more.

Step 6: Get in touch!

Ask Questions. Send examples of events you love or hate! Let’s talk.

Charles River Media Group, LLC • 73 TV Place, Needham Heights, MA 02494 • 617.467.5540 • info@charlesrivermedia.com