How SALT Filmed a 3-State Advocacy Video Campaign in 4.5 Days for FTI Consulting

The Challenge

FTI Consulting and the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance needed more than a policy explainer. The cost of prescription drugs already looked brutal on paper, but advocacy work does not move on spreadsheets alone. They needed real people, real homes, and real stories that showed what impossible choices feel like when medicine becomes unaffordable.

The challenge was not just speed. It was sensitivity. We had to move through North Carolina, Utah, and Georgia on a 1.5-day schedule per state while filming people at different stages of life inside deeply personal conversations about health, money, and pressure. If the production felt cold, crowded, or staged, the whole campaign would lose its center.

Our Approach

We Deployed a Three-Person Strike Team

We kept the crew lean on purpose. A three-person team moves faster, fits better inside lived-in spaces, and lowers the emotional temperature of the room. That mattered here. Our subjects needed space to speak with honesty, not a wall of gear and strangers staring back at them.

That smaller footprint also let us keep the schedule aggressive. We could set up fast, pivot fast, and protect interview time instead of burning hours on a heavy production footprint. The result was intimate testimonial filmmaking that still felt cinematic.

We Scouted Every Location Before Cameras Rolled

Even on a brutal timeline, we still physically scouted every location before filming. That is how we kept the visual language steady whether we were working on a golf cart in North Carolina, inside a Utah living room, or in a Georgia home. We chose angles, light, and movement with intention so each story felt personal while the larger campaign still held together as one series. That same lean setup made the travel math workable. Flight days, drone scouting, trail coverage, and fast resets between locations all had to feed the same visual system, or the campaign would start to feel stitched together instead of whole.

That work started before wheels-down. Jenna pre-interviewed each of our three story subjects before we landed in their state. That is a common SALT best practice. It gave us history, tone, and trust before the first light stand came out. By the time we arrived, we were not strangers with cameras. We were familiar faces picking up a conversation that had already started.

We Designed One Shoot for Multiple Fronts

We Directed for Trust, Not Performance

We came in relationship-first. That means we build trust fast, listen hard, and guide the interview like a conversation instead of a script read. With subject matter this personal, that approach is what opens the door to the moments that matter most. We were not chasing polished soundbites. We were making room for people to tell the truth.

We Planned the Cutdowns During Production

We did not wait until the edit to think about short-form deliverables. We built for them while we were filming. That gave us the exact lines, beats, and visual moments we needed to cut three full story films, three 30-second versions, and three 15-second versions without draining the emotion out of the shorter pieces.

The Impact

The finished campaign became the emotional center of PRA's advocacy push. The series gave lawmakers, advocates, and digital audiences something numbers alone could not: patient stories with weight, texture, and lived consequence. That is when policy stops sounding abstract and starts sounding urgent.

The delivery gave FTI Consulting and the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance nine total assets from one production cycle: three full-length videos for websites, presentations, and earned media, plus three 30-second cutdowns and three 15-second cuts for paid media and social distribution. We covered three states in 4.5 shoot days and never traded away subject comfort or cinematic consistency. That balance is the whole point. Move fast. Stay human. Make the story land.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of advocacy video campaign did SALT create for FTI Consulting?

We created "High Cost, Greater Toll," a testimonial-based advocacy campaign for FTI Consulting and the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance. The final package included three full story films plus six cutdowns built for presentations, paid media, and social rollout.

Why did FTI Consulting need a nimble production partner?

They needed patient stories that could humanize a complex policy issue without feeling staged or exploitative. The schedule was tight, the geography was wide, and the subject matter demanded a crew that could move quickly while still building trust inside each home.

How did SALT film across three states in 4.5 days?

We built the production around a lean three-person crew, physical location scouting, and Jenna's pre-interviews with all three story subjects before we landed. That gave us 1.5 productive shoot days in each state without losing the intimacy or precision the story needed.

What is the best crew size for testimonial video production?

For sensitive testimonial work, we love a three-person crew. It keeps the room calm, speeds up setup, and helps people speak more openly than they usually would with a larger production team.

How do you keep a multi-state testimonial series visually consistent?

We scout every location, then build one visual language that can flex across different homes, landscapes, and light conditions. That is how this series stayed cohesive from North Carolina to Utah to Georgia instead of feeling like three disconnected shoots.

How did SALT turn one shoot into full-length films and social cutdowns?

We planned the shorter cuts during production, not after the fact. That meant we captured the exact soundbites and visual beats needed for three 30-second cutdowns and three 15-second cutdowns that still carried real emotional weight.

Can SALT produce similar advocacy or issue-based campaigns for consulting firms and coalitions?

Yes. This project shows how we handle advocacy, coalition, and public-affairs storytelling when the message needs both strategic discipline and real human truth. If the work needs grit, speed, and trust, we know how to build it.

Where is SALT located?

We are a woman-owned creative video company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We produce advocacy, documentary, branded, and commercial work locally, nationally, and internationally.