A BLUEPRINT FOR BUDAPEST
After visiting their NYC offices, we rejoined the BlackRock financial team - this time at their technology hub in Budapest, Hungary. We traveled the city to interview the Head of BlackRock Budapest, Melanie Seymour, who talked to us about intellectual curiosity. She, along with several other employees like Gabor Karmo and Dasha Hargreave, discuss the ways BlackRock is reimagining and reshaping Hungary. One way is by bringing nationals back home with opportunity.
Our team scouted their brand new state-of-the-art facilities and produced the employee videos featured below. The videos are a recruitment tool for BlackRock to use as a way to bring young technologically savvy professionals back home to the country. The team sailed with Janos Csak, who shared with us how BlackRock’s orientation process helped him hone in on his craft to be the best possible employee. We even took the Budapest subway with Ferenc Nagy and went on his morning commute to see another side of Budapest.
Watch how Budapest designs homecoming below and catch our previous BlackRock x Dugud Lab work here.
THE FUTURE OF WORK
Last summer, we had the pleasure of working on a series with The We Company (formerly WeWork). We first traveled to their headquarters in San Francisco to meet John Hjelmstad, the VP of Engineering. He sat with us to talk technology and how their company wants to help people “make a fife, not just a living,” through community & technological advances. Our crew traveled back to New York to visit one of WeWork’s many Manhattan offices. Several employees echoed the same sentiments as John, sharing their experiences with the company. Director of Culture Operations, Anita Shannon, emphasized the culture at WeWork and their commitment to empowering people to pursue entrepreneurship.
“Culture - the energy that surrounds us.”
One thing that really struck us was how Anita described what she considers culture - "the energy that surrounds us." Her main priority is to create a work environment that is proactive in evolving culture through diversity, support, and systematic happiness for the community at WeWork to flourish. Our team was happy to handle production and post-production for such an inspiring bunch of enterpreneurs.
We’ll help you work out your eyes with the series below. Let us know what you think in the comments.
BACK TO BLACKROCK
In May, we spent some time at BlackRock Financial’s NYC office where employees helped us break down myths about what it’s really like to work in finance. We heard inspiring stories from women who are changing the landscape (and face!) of finance. The greatest surprise was a video concept that was conceived on a shoot day. When a scheduling conflict took away talent, we decided to use a prior video for Caesars as inspiration and sat down with all three women from our “Making An Impact” video - where they discussed what it’s like to work in a male dominated field. Watch the full videos here:
FUN IN FRANKFURT
Flying to Frankfurt with Enterprise gave us an appetizer of German culture, customs and more. We saw firsthand how global mobility is woven into the fabric of EHI’s culture. We followed Anna Lee from the Frankfurt airport all the way to her hometown in Rüdesheim am Rhein where she shared stories, traditional food and attire before we lifted off into cable cars above local vineyards.
Upon Arrival
We explored the exquisite Frankfurt main train station. This industrial beauty is known as the busiest train station in Frankfurt. Built in 1888, it’s impressive how well it stands the test of time. The neoclassical architectural style was just a taste of all that was to come in the following days.
Next we traveled along Frankfurt am Main to catch a stunning vista of the city. Being a hub of design, culture, and food, this was the perfect place to learn more about what the country has to offer and how Anna may have spent her time while she worked at the Frankfurt airport.
Frankfurt was a wonderful mix of new and old in a culture that’s ever-evolving. Our first few hours were filled with mapping out the city by foot. We explored neighborhoods, enjoyed a glass of their ever-famous Riesling wine along the river and admired the historical architecture.
Once we made it to the small town of Rüdesheim am Rhein, the team enjoyed carbs as we watched Bācker Dries share their baking process with us. Anna’s mom joined us for lunch before the group headed up the vineyards in cable cars to check out the scenic views.
To wrap our weekend in Frankfurt, we visited the Deutsches Filmmuseum with a permanent exhibition on the various aspects of film. They also hosted a temporary exhibition on Stanley Kubrick. All-in-all it was a great shoot that left us waiting to visit again soon.
That’s a wrap!
EXPLORING WITH ENTERPRISE
Appreciation for years of service is something every employee hopes for. So Enterprise Holdings Inc (EHI) decided to surprise employee, Anna Lee, with a trip home to Germany as a thank you for her dedication. We packed our bags and flew to Frankfurt with Anna for a few days so she could spend time with loved ones. We were able to capture Anna’s story with her mom and a few former colleagues. Global mobility is one of the company’s many perks and we’re glad they decided to let us join in on the fun. For more on Anna’s journey with Enterprise, check out the full video here.
JUMPING IN WITH JOHNSON & JOHNSON
New York. San Francisco. Toronto. New Jersey. These are only a few of the Johnson & Johnson offices we visited to shoot with designers, doctors and entrepreneurs to capture the breadth of all the company does. Most people think of band-aids and babies when they think of J&J but the company is deeply committed to the future, exploring how technology and innovation can help us lead healthier lives. Listen to Sharon Yoo, Breanne Halzcyk and share more about their roles and how it’s making a difference.
Roni Desai | San Francisco, California
Jackie Gaston | Hillsborough, New Jersey
Sharon Yoo | New York, New York
Breanne Halzcyk | Toronto, Ontario
CREATING CAESARS
SEEING ALL THE SIGHTS
To showcase the world of Caesars we spent a week in the desert city learning from some of Caesars Palace's best and brightest employees. Working once again with career advice site, The Muse, we built a series that would highlight some of Las Vegas' key features and some of the perks of forging a unique career path in this city.
Shooting in The Linq Hotel's 550 ft tall attraction, The High Roller, was definitely a first for our crew. We interviewed three employees about the highs and lows of building a career in the enteraimtent industry in "What's it Really Like to Work in Vegas". Filming in the world's tallest Ferris wheel at sunset provided it's own unique set of challenges but it was well worth it.
TRYING OUR HAND
One of our favorite videos to create during this trip was "Table Talk" where we sat down with Eric Hession (Chief Financial Officer of Caesars Entertainment), Martha Morales (General Manager of Nobu Hotel Las Vegas), Dhivy Jayaseelan (Vice President of Marketing Analytics at Caesars Entertainment), and Brandi Ellis (Senior Vice President of VIP Marketing Caesars Entertainment) over a hand of cards. They played a couple rounds of poker but as they joked and took other's chips, we learned a lot about each one of their lives and what it took for them to climb the corporate ladder.
Towards the ends of the week we decided to head beyond the strip and sightsee so we could create our most visual video "What is An Ally?". First up was seeing the art installion Seven Magic Mountains, by artist Ugo Rondinone, along with checking out local restaurants like, PublicUs, in the Fremont District. We ended our trip by taking a helicopter ride over the city at sunset. It was an action-packed week full of adventure and fun stories to share. Thanks to Caesar's Entertainment for showing us a new side of this iconic city. To check out the full series see our previous blog, "Touring The Desert City".
UNTIL NEXT TIME
TOURING THE DESERT CITY
Laying down roots in a new city isn’t always easy, especially when starting a new job. We partnered with Caesars Entertainment to create a video series about what it means to climb the career ladder when you live and work in Sin City. Over the course of a week, we chatted with over eighteen Caesars employees. From discussing personal priorities with C-level managers at a poker table to climbing the corporate ladder as we filmed in the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, we toured the city’s many sights while learning what it means to be an ally in the workplace. No matter what city your career takes you to, there will always be a place to call home.
Caesars’ employees take us on a tour of their favorite views of the city, as we learn what it means to be an ally in the workplace.
In this short social cut, we take you on an inside look of what it *really* means to live and work in this beautiful desert city.
Perfect your poker face as some of Caesars Entertainment's top executive talent share how they navigate the hands their careers dealt.
Sometimes you ride. Sometimes you climb. In this video, we do both as the World’s highest Ferris wheel sets the scene for a convo on climbing the corporate ladder.