Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of producing a great piece on Blackstone and its Veterans Initiative- a commitment to hire 50,000 veterans within its portfolio of companies in the next 5 years. They are 15 months in at this point and have already hired over 15,000.
This video focused on the veterans and their stories, to give a personal face to the numbers. This was a p3 production with Morgan Myer directing and shooting, me producing, and Justin Lacroix doing sound- a small 3 man crew. We spent the week in NYC speaking with veterans at their places of employment - a Michaels store, the Hilton Central Park, a La Quinta Inn & Suites in Long Island, AlliedBarton and Blackstone headquarters.
Some of the highlights...
Artichoke Pizza. Morgan doubted me. Then ate our whole pie. One of my must haves in NYC.
Interview setup in the Hilton Central Park, one of the oldest hotels in NYC.
Damage from getting rear-ended while stopped 6 cars in from a light. Took 2.5 hours for cops to show up, whom never did, but finally the third passing cop we flagged down actually stopped to write the report. Thankfully no one was harmed in the making of this photo.
Anything to get the shot. Thankfully (again) this happened after our accident, not during. Candidate for shittyrigs.com.
A discounted stay at the Waldorf Astoria. Here are doors to one set of elevators.
Waldorf lobby. Different world. Drinks here start at $18/per. Yay, Priceline!
September 11th, filming on the Brooklyn Bridge for a few shots.
Morgan did an incredible job putting this together and took the best moments from our interviews and footage to tell a strong story about why these men and women deserve consideration for employment for a wide range of jobs. One of the struggles veterans face in returning to the civilian workforce is explaining how the skills learned in active duty carry over to civilian jobs on a one-sheet resume. The least we can do is give them the opportunity to do so.