How 4 Symphony Video Podcasts Boldly Transformed the Lubbock Symphony
Redefining the Orchestra Experience
Hamil Bros Studios exciting collaboration with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (LSO) began in 2024, a partnership that has since blossomed into a multi-faceted creative endeavor. What started as a focused a simple video production project to capture a single, pivotal morning has expanded significantly, yielding a rich tapestry of content that has supported various LSO initiatives.
Our initial engagement was centered around the morning of their highly anticipated performance featuring the internationally acclaimed cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. This singular event provided us with invaluable raw footage. From this initial capture, we meticulously crafted the entirety of the LSO’s television advertising campaign. This campaign aimed to not only promote the upcoming performance but also to elevate the LSO’s presence and appeal within the community.
However, the scope of our partnership quickly broadened beyond this initial TV campaign. A significant expansion of our collaboration involved supporting the LSO’s crucial end-of-year giving campaign. We were tasked with producing compelling visual content designed to inspire and encourage donations. This effort was pivotal in helping the LSO meet its fundraising goals and continue its vital work in enriching the cultural landscape of Lubbock. You can delve deeper into the specifics of this successful giving campaign by visiting our dedicated project page: Lubbock Symphony Orchestra Giving Tuesday 2024 Video.
This evolving partnership underscores our commitment to supporting local arts organizations and leveraging our creative expertise to help them achieve their strategic objectives, from broad promotional campaigns to targeted fundraising efforts.
A New Vision for Lubbock Symphony’s Brand
Innovating Tradition with Modern Storytelling
Our journey with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra took an exciting turn during the Christmas break of 2024. Building on our successful collaboration for their end-of-year giving campaign, we sought fresh, innovative avenues to integrate video into their branding strategy. The Symphony team expressed a keen admiration for the Alamo Drafthouse experience, a unique theater chain renowned for its creative and engaging pre-roll content. Unlike traditional advertisements and trivia, Alamo Drafthouse curates niche, vintage, or quirky media that subtly resonates with the film being screened, enhancing the overall cinematic experience.
This initial discussion sparked a compelling idea: what if we could translate that same storytelling magic and immersive preparation to the concert hall? The concept of producing symphony video podcasts emerged—short, engaging video features designed in the style of a podcast, intended to play before each performance.
These would transcend simple event promotion, serving as a powerful tool to educate, entertain, and prepare the audience. Each video podcast would offer insightful commentary about the music and composers, enriching the audience’s understanding and appreciation for the performance they were about to experience. This new initiative felt like a natural and exciting evolution of our burgeoning storytelling partnership with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, promising to deepen audience engagement and redefine the pre-concert experience.
The Goals of Symphony Video Podcasts
When the concept of symphony video podcasts first emerged, our collaboration with the Symphony was founded upon a clear set of core objectives. These goals were designed to enhance the audience’s experience, broaden the appeal of classical music, and ultimately contribute to the Symphony’s continued success.
- Inform the audience: A primary aim was to enrich the listener’s understanding. Many concertgoers deeply appreciate the musical performance itself but may not be fully aware of the rich narratives behind the compositions. We sought to provide comprehensive context, delving into the historical periods, personal stories of the composers, and the unique interpretations brought forth by the performers. This layer of information was intended to deepen appreciation and connect the audience more intimately with the music.
- Engage and entertain: While classical music is a venerable art form, spanning centuries of rich history, its enduring relevance in contemporary society hinges on its ability to resonate with modern audiences. Our efforts focused on presenting this timeless art in an engaging and accessible manner, utilizing the dynamic capabilities of video to captivate viewers and showcase the vibrant energy of the Symphony. The goal was to bridge the gap between tradition and contemporary taste, ensuring that classical music remains a living and evolving art form.
- Drive attendance: In the digital age, video content continues to be an exceptionally powerful tool for fostering online engagement. By creating compelling video content specifically tailored for various social media platforms, we aimed to generate significant buzz and excitement around the Symphony’s performances. The strategic distribution of this content was designed to pique interest, encourage sharing, and ultimately translate into increased ticket sales and a growing audience for live concerts.
Setting the Stage: RAMAR Studios
To truly bring these symphony video podcasts to life, we recognized the critical need for an exceptional recording space – one that would seamlessly complement the visual and auditory aesthetic we envisioned for the series. Our search led us directly to RAMAR Studios, an ideal location that also serves as the home of Lubbock’s new classical radio station, Classical 105.7. This partnership proved invaluable, as the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra already had an established relationship with the station. Leveraging their largest podcast-ready studio was a logical and highly strategic decision, offering both convenience and a professional environment tailored to our needs.
Prior to commencing production, we undertook a meticulous location scout. This involved a comprehensive analysis of various factors: assessing the existing lighting conditions to ensure optimal video quality, evaluating the studio’s acoustics for crystal-clear audio capture, and understanding any spatial constraints that might impact our setup. Fortunately, the studio’s dimensions proved to be just right, providing ample room to comfortably accommodate our entire crew and the talent without ever compromising the paramount goal of maintaining high production quality. This careful planning ensured that every aspect of the environment supported our vision for a captivating and sonically rich video podcast experience.
The Technical Breakdown
At the core of our Symphony Video Podcasts lies an unwavering commitment to excellence, meticulously crafted through the strategic integration of state-of-the-art cameras, professional lighting setups, and top-tier audio devices. This synergistic combination is designed to forge an immersive sensory experience, transcending mere sound and vision to capture the profound depth of orchestral artistry.
Each technological element is not merely a tool but a carefully selected instrument, harmonizing to enhance the visual storytelling. Our cutting-edge cameras, capable of capturing every nuance with breathtaking clarity, ensure that viewers are not just observers but active participants in the performance. This visual fidelity is complemented by sophisticated professional lighting, meticulously designed to sculpt the stage, highlight individual musicians, and evoke the desired emotional atmosphere, from the dramatic intensity of a crescendo to the serene beauty of a quiet solo.
Furthermore, the integrity of the musical performance is paramount, which is why we employ only the most advanced audio devices. High-fidelity microphones, expertly positioned and calibrated, capture every subtle timbre and dynamic shift, ensuring that each note resonates with unparalleled clarity and authenticity. This commitment to pristine audio reproduction allows listeners to discern the intricate layers of the orchestra, experiencing the full richness and texture of the composition as if they were present in the concert hall.
This seamless fusion of cutting-edge technology and artistic vision serves a dual purpose: it not only elevates the production quality of each podcast to a professional standard but also invites viewers to engage with orchestral music in a way that feels both intimately personal and grandly expansive. By offering a multi-sensory journey, our podcasts transform the traditional listening experience, making classical music accessible and engaging to a wider audience. Each episode becomes a unique exploration into the vibrant world of symphony, an invitation to discover the beauty, complexity, and emotional power of orchestral performance anew.
Lighting the Scene
The Importance of Lighting
Our lighting strategy for the LSO Podcast was meticulously planned to achieve a deliberate and cinematic aesthetic, transforming a standard interview setup into a visually engaging experience. The core of our approach revolved around creating a natural yet polished look that resonated with the brand’s sophisticated image.
To achieve a soft, even illumination on our subjects’ faces, we employed a large china ball as our key light. This diffused light source produced a flattering, natural glow that minimized harsh shadows and created a warm, inviting atmosphere. The intention was to make the hosts and guests appear approachable and comfortable, fostering a sense of genuine conversation.
Complementing this, we strategically incorporated harder, colored light sources for backlighting. These lights were used to create separation between the subjects and the background, adding depth and dimension to the overall image. The choice of colored light was not arbitrary; it subtly referenced the LSO brand’s visual identity, reinforcing their aesthetic without being overtly promotional. This nuanced integration of brand elements ensured a cohesive visual narrative throughout the podcast.
The culmination of these lighting decisions resulted in a warm, welcoming image that exuded a distinct sense of sophistication. The interplay between the soft key light and the more defined backlighting created a balanced and visually rich composition, elevating the production quality and aligning perfectly with the LSO’s established brand persona. This careful attention to detail in our lighting approach was paramount in crafting a refined and memorable visual experience for the LSO Podcast audience.
Camera Placement Strategies
For this comprehensive video production, we leveraged the full capabilities of our Gen5 Blackmagic camera lineup, ensuring exceptional visual fidelity and flexibility throughout the shoot. Our arsenal included the cutting-edge Blackmagic Pyxis 6K, known for its superb low-light performance and dynamic range, alongside the versatile Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, providing a cinematic aesthetic with its full-frame sensor. To capture diverse perspectives and maintain agility, we also deployed the compact yet powerful Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and the nimble Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. This strategic combination allowed us to achieve a multi-camera setup that facilitated dynamic shot compositions and efficient coverage of the event.
Complementing our camera bodies was a carefully selected mixture of high-quality Tokina and Canon lenses. The Tokina lenses provided us with excellent wide-angle and zoom options, perfect for establishing shots and capturing expansive views. Meanwhile, our collection of Canon lenses offered a range of prime and zoom options, delivering sharp imagery and beautiful bokeh, crucial for close-ups and interviews. The synergy between our advanced Blackmagic cameras and premium lenses ensured that every frame of the production met our exacting standards for clarity, color accuracy, and overall visual impact. This robust technical foundation was instrumental in producing a high-quality video that effectively conveyed the desired message and aesthetic.
Audio Engineering Excellence
One of the perks of using a professional radio studio is access to high-quality microphones. Each speaker had their own mic, routed through the studio’s built-in board and recorded into a multitrack system. Clean, isolated audio is non-negotiable for symphony video podcasts, especially when you’re mixing dialogue with music excerpts.
The Coldest Shoot of the Year
Our first load-in day was a frigid 9°F (with a wind chill of -14°). Despite the brutal weather, and one dead tauntaun, we hustled to get equipment inside and set up lighting. Once the rig was dialed in, we moved on to blocking out shots and finalizing our audio routes. That pre-light day made the actual shoot go incredibly smoothly.
The First Symphony Video Podcast
The first symphony video podcast featured a lineup of engaging personalities: Amanda Key, Dr. Kurtzman, Clint Barrick (as host), and Maestro David Cho. Once everyone was in place, filming moved quickly. We captured a few takes to ensure coverage and clarity, then moved into the post-production phase.
The final podcast video was scheduled to play before the live concert at Buddy Holly Hall. As always, we insisted on an A/V run-through the day prior — an essential step when delivering video content at a live venue.
Audience Reaction
The audience response was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees said they felt more connected to the performance after watching the video. They now understood the historical and emotional context of what they were hearing.
The success of that first podcast led to an official decision from the Symphony: keep making them.
Scaling Up: Multiple Podcasts, Multiple Locations
We went on to produce three more symphony video podcasts over the course of the season. One of those remained at RAMAR Studios, but the others were moved to a new location — the Lubbock Symphony’s conference room.
Why the change? While RAMAR was incredibly accommodating, we didn’t want to disrupt their operations. Plus, the conference room gave us creative freedom. We removed tables, cleared the space, and treated it like a blank canvas.
Creative Freedom and New Visual Style
Unleashing Artistic Expression Through Podcasting
The new setup at the Symphony office gave us several advantages:
More visual depth – We could control the background, allowing for a layered, cinematic look.
Pre-lighting flexibility – We could dial in our lighting without waiting on talent.
Audio customization – Since we were no longer tied to the studio’s setup, we could bring in our preferred mics and preamps.
The result was a podcast-style video that felt more like a short film. It matched the prestige of the Symphony while still feeling accessible to modern viewers.
Multi-Platform Utility of Symphony Video Podcasts
Each symphony video podcast wasn’t just played before performances. Clips were optimized for:
Instagram Reels and Stories
Facebook posts
YouTube Shorts
Embedded videos in email newsletters
This gave the Symphony a full range of content to market each performance and build long-term digital equity.
Why Symphony Video Podcasts Work
Here’s what makes this medium so effective:
Context enhances appreciation: When people understand what they’re hearing, they engage more deeply.
Video builds trust: Seeing faces and hearing voices makes the experience more personal.
Content is evergreen: These podcasts remain relevant each season or as archival content.
Localized branding: Each podcast strengthens the Lubbock Symphony’s connection with the community.
The Essentials of Crafting a Symphony Video Podcast
From Concept to Completion
For any arts organization considering a similar project, here’s a basic production checklist:
Pre-production planning (topic, script, talent)
Location scouting and technical prep
Lighting and audio setup
Multi-camera video shoot
Post-production editing and grading
Multi-format export (for venue, web, and social)
Final approval and delivery
This is not a “set it and forget it” production — symphony video podcasts require attention to detail, storytelling finesse, and technical precision.
The Future of Symphony Storytelling
The rise of symphony video podcasts represents more than a shift in how orchestras communicate — it’s a reinvention of how they connect. By bringing education and entertainment together in a polished, digital-first format, the Lubbock Symphony has positioned itself as a forward-thinking institution rooted in tradition.
These podcasts aren’t just an added feature — they’re part of the Symphony’s identity now. They’ve become a bridge between centuries-old music and the digital-first expectations of today’s audience.
And we couldn’t be more proud to be part of that story.
Support the Podcast Through Sponsored Advertising
We believe in building strong community partnerships. If you’re a local or regional business interested in reaching a highly engaged and culturally invested audience, consider sponsoring a future episode of the symphony video podcast. Sponsors are featured both visually and verbally during the video, gaining exposure at live symphony events and across our digital platforms.
Contact us to learn how your brand can be part of Lubbock’s evolving arts story.
Create Your Own Video Podcast
If you’re a performing arts organization, music ensemble, or nonprofit looking to produce your own video-based podcast, we’d love to help you bring that vision to life. From planning and production to post and distribution, we can guide you every step of the way.
Reach out to start a conversation about how symphony video podcasts can elevate your brand, deepen audience connection, and grow your presence both online and onstage.