Producing a professional podcast on location takes more than cameras and microphones. It requires the ability to read a room, recognize risks before they become problems, and adapt quickly without slowing down the client or guests.
Royal Elect Studios recently supported the production of POWERS episode #433, featuring Chris Powers in conversation with Woody Hunt, Chairman Emeritus of Hunt Companies. Filmed at the top of WestStar Tower in downtown El Paso, the setting gave us the opportunity to create an elevated, cinematic look for an important conversation with one of the region's most respected business leaders. We appreciate Chris Powers and the POWERS team for trusting Royal Elect Studios to help bring this important conversation to life.
A Beautiful View—and a Real Production Challenge
The original direction was to use the room's impressive exterior view as the background. From the top of the tower, the space offered views of downtown El Paso, Southwest University Park, the convention center area, nearby freeways, and the Franklin Mountains.
On paper, it looked like an ideal location. In practice, the weather created a serious consistency problem.
It was a cloudy day, but the sun kept breaking through and disappearing again. Every change altered the brightness and contrast behind the guests. For a long-form, three-camera podcast, those constant exposure shifts would have made it difficult to maintain balanced skin tones, matching camera angles, and a polished background throughout the conversation.
Rather than force a setup that would create problems in the final image, Director Frank Lara recognized the risk and explained it to Chris Powers. With the host's trust, the Royal Elect Studios team changed direction immediately.
Rebuilding the Set in About 10 Minutes
The room was not designed as a podcast studio. One alternate wall included a large television concealed behind gray sliding panels, along with a substantial marble conference table. On its own, the area felt flat and corporate, without the visual depth needed for a cinematic interview.
Frank studied the room and found a smaller architectural area with a shelf and enough separation to build a more intentional background. He coordinated with the production team and the on-site staff, repositioned the set, added selected props, placed a tube light for color and depth, and closed the room's blinds so the crew could take full control of the lighting.
Within about ten minutes, the entire production had been turned around. The cameras, lighting, audio, framing, and guest positions were reset before the interview began.
What had been an unpredictable daylight environment became a controlled, professional three-camera podcast set with flattering light, visual depth, and a background that supported the conversation instead of distracting from it.
Why Location Problem-Solving Matters
Location scouting is always valuable, and Royal Elect Studios requests it whenever possible. Photos can help a production team plan, but they cannot always reveal changing daylight, reflections, room limitations, access restrictions, or how a space will behave once cameras and lights are in position.
That is where experience matters.
Frank Lara's strength as a director is not simply choosing attractive frames. It is understanding how lighting, camera placement, sound, room design, and time constraints work together—and finding a practical solution when conditions change.
For this production, the answer was not to fight the available light. It was to eliminate the inconsistency, control the environment, and redesign the room around the people and the story.
Professional Podcast and Video Production in El Paso
Royal Elect Studios provided professional on-location production support for the Woody Hunt episode, including:
Three-camera cinematic coverage
Professional video and audio production
Location lighting and rapid set redesign
Interview framing and background composition
Production coordination with the host, crew, and venue
Post-production support for a polished final presentation
The completed episode explores the growth of Hunt Companies, the challenges Woody Hunt faced while expanding the business, lessons in leadership and risk, and his long-term vision for El Paso.
Watch the full POWERS episode: Inside Hunt Companies: From Military Housing to $37B Holding Company with Woody Hunt (#433)
Need a Podcast Production Team That Can Adapt?
Every location presents different challenges. Royal Elect Studios brings the planning, equipment, production experience, and on-set problem-solving needed to turn real-world spaces into professional visual environments.
If your company is planning a leadership interview, corporate podcast, executive profile, industrial video, or branded content project in El Paso or the Southwest, Royal Elect Studios can help you create it with confidence.
Contact us to discuss your next video or podcast production.
