The Film
Three doctors. Three cities. Three completely different worlds of care. Snowy Peak Films traveled the country to capture the real, on-the-ground stories of clinicians using Cepheid diagnostics where the stakes are highest.
The Challenge
Cepheid needed three stories filmed in three cities, each in a radically different environment — an emergency room in Shreveport, Louisiana; a pediatrician's office in Russellville, Arkansas; and the streets of Buffalo, New York, alongside a doctor running a clinic for the homeless. Every location came with its own space constraints, lighting conditions, patient-privacy considerations, and pace. The travel schedule was tight, and each story needed to feel distinct while still belonging to the same series.
Our Solution
We took a small, nimble team and all the necessary gear, and filmed in a cinematic documentary style. Working lean let us move quickly through live clinical environments without disrupting the work happening around us. Keeping lighting to a minimum meant we could stay out of the way and preserve the authenticity of each setting, while still delivering visually engaging films. Each story was shot to stand on its own — the urgency of the ER, the warmth of a pediatric exam room, the grit and humanity of street-level care — all while keeping the feeling real and unstaged.
How We Made It
- Camera & lenses
- RED V-Raptor with DZO Catta Zoom Lenses, FX3 and RED Komodo 6K, DJI Mavic 3 Cine
- Crew & lighting
- Four-person crew with a small travel light kit, 2 camera setup for interviews, and Gimbal rig for motion shots
- Talent
- All talent were real doctors and staff filmed on location in their real-world environments.
- Schedule & locations
- Two day shoots on each location across 3 cities in different states. Shreveport, LA, Russellville, AR, and Buffalo, NY
- Deliverables
- 3 Mini-documentaries in the Always Onward series.
Where It Ran
These three mini-documentary style videos were used on the Cepheid website in a series called Always Onward.
“Snowy Peak are highly skilled in their craft, and no project - big or small - ever feels they're running through the motions. They come to each and every project with enthusiasm and passion, always looking to get the best possible production for the budget available. They're a class act.”
Mark Witherow, Pebble Studios
2 cuts from this shoot
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