SUNSHINE AND FULL-SERVICE PRODUCTION IN TWENTYFOUR SEVEN’S MIAMI OFFICE
It goes without saying that Miami is a desirable tropical destination — with vibrant energy, warm weather, and beautiful beaches, it’s no wonder that people flock to this Florida city. All of these qualities also make for a captivating and versatile filming location, one that Twentyfour Seven is taking full advantage of with our recently established Miami office. Executive Producer Olga Jabal and Executive Producer & Head of Production John McWhirter share what inspired our expansion into Miami and detail what we’re able to accomplish in this exciting location.
How did Twentyfour Seven decide on Miami as your newest office location?
Olga: When our longtime creative partner Leo Messi made the move to Miami, we knew that it would make the most sense to set up a Twentyfour Seven office here as well. We wanted to be able to continue servicing and producing work for him when he’s here, as well as expand our client base here. With a base in Miami, we’re able to provide continuity of our services to clients in a new city — not only to Messi, but also to other clients, agencies and production companies. We’re aiming to provide the same full-service capabilities here as any of our other offices throughout the world, as well as extend our production services and expand our network.
What are the benefits of shooting in Miami?
John: Of course, Miami has absolutely beautiful weather, especially through the winter months. The locations are beautiful, and in the winter vegetation is green when everywhere else is brown around the country. For a long time Miami has held the imagination of the world because of its diverse culture, sounds and flavors. It has been alluring to people for a long time and for that reason is home to many celebrity personalities. A large number of elite athletes call Florida their home, and they tend to want to work close to where they live. Having an office here gives us an advantage, as we can offer that convenience and help drive commercial production. We also are lucky to have some of the best crews in the country, which helps us keep our quality of work so high and our production running smoothly.
What kind of unique locations does Miami and the surrounding areas offer?
John: Throughout Florida there's a lot of different topography — lots of flat land, some low hills, lakes, rivers, forests, small towns, rural areas and of course, many beaches with white sands and gorgeous water. As the largest metropolitan area south of Atlanta, Miami offers all the metropolitan locations expected in a large city as well as a variety of residential neighborhoods. There are a lot of visually interesting modern and historic architectural elements in the different metro areas around the city. We’re bordered by the Everglades, which is truly a very unique natural feature teaming with wildlife. It’s also important to note that Miami is an excellent jumping off point to the Caribbean. Over the years I’ve developed excellent working relationships throughout the Caribbean — the Bahamas especially, but also Grand Cayman, the Virgin Islands and Barbados among other places.
What about the capabilities there in terms of crews?
John: I truly think we have some of the best crews in the world available to us here. I have directors who after working with our local teams have taken their Miami camera department with them on the road. These are directors that shoot internationally, and they come here and find some of the best professional crew available to them. Between the beautiful weather, gorgeous and unique locations, and elite crew, Miami truly stands out.
What are some memorable projects you’ve produced out of Miami?
John: The spot we produced for Pennzoil, “The Last Viper,” felt like a real accomplishment. We closed down city blocks of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and raced a Dodge Viper through the streets. It required so much planning and was a huge project in terms of logistics, and we pulled it off pretty seamlessly. “Heartbeat Billionaire” for Stella Artois featuring Lenny Kravitz was another memorable project, shooting at Mr. Kravitz’s home studio in Eleuthera, Bahamas. It later aired during the Super Bowl. The Swedish House Mafia documentary was another exciting logistical challenge — we had helicopters, speed boats, celebrity talent, and a massive music festival for that shoot. I'm pretty proud of those, as well as the rest of the work that’s featured on our site.
What makes Twentyfour Seven the best choice for a client looking to shoot in this area?
John: What Twentyfour Seven does really well, and what I pride myself on personally, is understanding the integrity factor and the trust factor. When you depend on a company to provide production service, you are putting an immense amount of faith in that company to represent you well. It's such a personal relationship — you're really trusting your team to do their work to the best of their ability and represent you well to your clients. Our team always keeps that in mind and strives to do that for our clients.
Olga: When clients choose us to work with, no matter where they are in the world, they choose us because of our vision, our attention to detail, and the way we work, and we’re replicating that experience for them in Miami. We’re excited to expand our offerings to a new location — as a global company, there are so many unique possibilities here for us to create great work and provide clients with that reliable service they look to us for. We really are so happy to open the Miami office, and are looking forward to the great work we’ll do here.
