There are projects where lighting goes beyond the physical and generates more lightness in life. Such is the case with Brightline’s involvement as a production partner with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation (RSF). Since 2010, RSF has been building Seacrest Studios within children’s hospitals, providing hands-on broadcasting and entertainment activities to patients. The studio broadcasts on each hospital's closed-circuit TV network directly to patients’ rooms.
The studio at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital, which opened on Oct. 11, is the most recently completed project. It was one of four Seacrest Studios opened within an 18-month period, joining New York City, Salt Lake City, and Memphis, TN. Currently, there are studios in 14 children's hospitals, and new studios and upgrades to existing Seacrest Studios are planned in several hospitals over the next two years.
“Children’s hospitals are realizing how important it is to not only care medically and physically for their patients, but to also provide a variety of options supporting their mental health and over all well-being," explained Meredith Seacrest Leach, executive director and COO of RSF. "Seacrest Studios are designed to be a safe space where kids in the hospitals can escape and have fun. It’s been very rewarding to see leading pediatric hospitals continue to apply for one of our studios.”
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For Brightline, being selected as a key part of the “no-poke zone” at hospitals nationwide has made a huge impact on the company internally. “It’s an honor to light Seacrest Studios,” said Kathy Katz, managing partner, Brightline. “They’re bringing real light into children's lives, and we’re all so excited to play a part. Dealing with an illness can be such a serious, dark challenge, but with a full-scale production studio in the building, they get to experience a very different, positive challenge."
“We were looking for a lighting partner known for its support and innovation. We needed a manufacturer that could provide the support we needed for each studio and a company with the innovation required to pivot design plans when needed within a very fast-paced build cycle," added Nicole Mead, VP, business development and operations, RSF. "We have found exactly that in Brightline.”
Behind-the-scenes and on-camera opportunities abound at Seacrest Studios. “Patients are highly encouraged to learn how to use the equipment,” said Mead. “It’s very important to Ryan that patients be hands-on in the studio in areas that sparks their interest. For some patients that means a more behind-the-scenes approach—learning how to use camera equipment or how to edit content. For other patients that means working with studio staff to conceptualize, produce, and even star in their own shows.”
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Unexpected benefits extend far beyond the studio. “We’ve been told that requests for pain medicine goes down when patients are watching and engaging with Seacrest Studios,” Leach said. “The fact that our studio programming can have an impact on the need for care and more medicine wasn’t something we anticipated would happen, but we are thrilled that it does.”
It's not just the kids who benefit from a hospital’s Seacrest Studio, as it provides an entertaining escape for parents and siblings while instilling pride in hospital staff. “When I was at the install at Cohen Children's Medical Center in Queens, NY, I saw families waiting on surgery and test results watching the action at the Seacrest Studio,” recalled Michael Zihmer, national sales manager, Brightline. “It’s much more engaging than staring at a TV monitor of some generic programming in a waiting room. It takes you away from where you are for a moment. Suddenly, they’re not in a hospital anymore.”
The Seacrest Studios feature a core component of broadcast-quality equipment, including Brightline SeriesONE and FlexT lighting fixtures, JVC cameras, JVC and Vizrt production switchers, SAS audio consoles, and Genelec monitors. It’s a package that consistently works within the various Seacrest Studios and a design concept that’s been developed and refined since the first installation.
To create the cleanest look with the greatest mobility, lighting is the first piece of the production package installed. To minimize floor clutter, all Brightline LED studio and in-ceiling architectural lights are placed overhead. This enables wheelchairs and gurneys to maneuver easily inside the space, while providing greater flexibility for equipment placement and different shooting styles.
RSF's attention to each studio’s lighting underscores its commitment to creating the best possible production experience in each hospital. The studio lighting is designed to match the hospital’s architectural lighting nearby, with the goal of bringing studio-quality lighting into a non-studio environment. “They don't want to compromise the lighting look at all,” said Zihmer. “It's made such a difference in the on-camera image and what they're able to do.”
Mead has also noticed the change since standardizing on Brightline lights. “It makes all the difference in the content produced, both live content and photography and videography to be published," she noted. "We have noticed an immense difference in the quality of our content since installing the Brightline lighting packages.”
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Brightline is brought in early to consult on initial plans for new Seacrest Studios. For a studio currently in the design stage, Zihmer reported that architectural designs were altered after he noticed the trademark Seacrest Studio blue ring affixed to the ceiling was too small to accommodate an ideal number of fixtures.
“I suggested they shift the ceiling a few feet north and make the ring larger to accommodate the lights," Zimmer recalled. "They changed the whole ceiling design to fit the fixtures. And if there’s any pushback regarding the lighting design, the RSF team always supports us. They truly want to create the best space possible for the kids.”
