How a Pittsburgh Video Production Company Produced a Manufacturing Promo Video in Under a Week
There's a version of video production where everything goes according to plan — weeks of pre-production, a relaxed shoot day, plenty of time in the edit. And then there's the version where a client calls and says they need a finished video in six days.
We're Meridian Media, a Pittsburgh-based video production company, and we recently produced a promotional video for Sojo Industries showcasing their Sojo Flight™ robotic palletizing system. It fell firmly into the second category.
The Client and the Technology
Sojo Industries is an automation company pushing the boundaries of what's possible in CPG manufacturing. Their flagship product, Sojo Flight™, is an autonomous robotic palletizing system built around rovers with mecanum wheels — a design that allows them to move in any direction, crab-walk sideways, and rotate in place. It's impressive technology, and it presented a compelling visual story worth telling.
The goal was a 2-3 minute promo video for an upcoming investor and conference event — something that could communicate the sophistication and capability of Sojo Flight™ to a room full of decision makers.
Why the Timeline Was Tight
The compressed timeline wasn't arbitrary. Sojo wanted to film as late as possible in their product development cycle to capture the most complete, polished version of the technology on camera. That's a smart instinct — the difference between a rover at 80% and 100% development is visible on screen. But it meant we were filming on a Thursday and Friday with a hard delivery deadline the following Wednesday.
Six days from first shot to final cut.
Shooting in an Active Facility
We arrived at the manufacturing facility with a two-person crew. The environment presented real challenges — an active production floor with moving equipment, varying light conditions, and limited control over the space. We had to work efficiently and decisively, capturing what we needed without disrupting operations.
Our approach centered on three visual layers: ground-level tripod work to establish the scale and mechanics of the system, drone footage to capture the full scope of the production line and facility, and executive interviews to anchor the technical story in human perspective.
The mecanum wheels became one of the most compelling visual elements — close-up shots of the distinctive roller design combined with wide angles of the rovers crab-walking across the floor gave viewers an immediate sense of how different this technology is from conventional automation.
The Edit Sprint
With footage in hand, the real work began. The challenge was building a coherent story from interviews, b-roll, and drone footage that could hold the attention of a sophisticated audience while communicating genuine technical depth.
We worked through the weekend, iterating closely with the Sojo team through review sessions that shaped the narrative in real time. By Wednesday evening, the finished video was delivered — color corrected, audio polished, captioned, and scored with licensed music.
The video debuted at the conference and has since been posted to Sojo Industries' LinkedIn page, where it has generated strong engagement across their network.
What We Learned
Projects like this sharpen your instincts. When you have six days instead of six weeks, every decision matters more. You learn quickly what's essential to the story and what isn't. You get comfortable making creative calls under pressure and trusting your own judgment.
A two-person crew in an active industrial environment with a hard deadline is not the easiest condition to work in. But it's also where some of the most focused, efficient work happens.
Work With a Pittsburgh Video Production Company
If you're based in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or anywhere in between and need a video production team that can execute at a high level — for a product launch, investor presentation, manufacturing showcase, or brand video — we'd love to hear about your project.