We are so proud to present our 2024 WashU Nephrology Fellowship Training Program video, highlighting the excellent clinical training, research, and teaching experiences we offer in our two-year fellowship program.
But what makes this video even more special is that it was designed and produced by our very own fellows.
Yasir Baloch, MBBS, now entering his second year of our fellowship, took the lead as Creative Director in heading the project to produce an engaging, fellow-led, fellow-centered video. Along with co-fellows Audrey Netzel, MD and Atlee Baker, MD, MPH, and the fellowship program’s leadership, they brainstormed ideas at a local eatery in the Central West End, not far from the hospital. “Whether it was the creative energy of the place or the excellent appetizers, we soon had a draft filled with great ideas and a storyline.”
The creative team then met with Lauren Nieman, Senior Producer at Spot Content Studio, a local production company with whom the division has previously worked. The shoot took place over four days to accommodate everyone’s schedules. “I anticipated challenges in coordinating everyone’s participation, but to my surprise it was a great display of teamwork,” says Dr. Baloch. He stressed that Dr. Netzel was monumental in organizing the schedule for each shoot day, sending emails to the relevant participants and printing out an agenda for each half-day. “We would not have been able to execute any of this without her support!”
Although there was a script in hand, there was plenty of improvisation during the shoot, with Spot Studio “guiding us wonderfully” according to Baloch. “Spot Studio executed our ideas with 100% precision, enabling us to portray our story with the right cinematics. I felt they purposefully allowed our ideas to be at the forefront and did not offer any generic alternatives, making the video more unique. They not only envisioned our storyline accurately, but also brought great energy, attention to detail, and fun to the shoot.”
Baloch is no stranger to videography. He was the filmmaker for an internal medicine residency recruitment video during his residency at Florida State University, Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and was recognized for his outstanding service and contribution during his graduation in 2021. In addition, he previously worked with National Geographic photographer Matthieu Paley for an assignment documenting the annual Hindu pilgrimage at Nani Mandir Lasbela, Pakistan. Travelling on foot for more than 75 miles over a period of four days, Yasir helped Paley with the logistics of the journey as well as the aerial photography using his drone. See the spectacular documentation of the Hindu pilgrimage here.
Regarding the WashU Nephrology video, he says, “I really enjoyed playing the role of a creative director.” He was able to stretch his cinematic wings to stage unique shots of “fellows at work.” One series of scenes starts with fellows gathered around a microscope. “The camera pans to the image on a TV showing a slide of a kidney under the microscope. As the camera pulls out, it shows the same image on another TV in a different room with Dr. Tingting Li teaching the fellows. The camera then circles the room and transitions to a whiteboard to show a fellow teaching other fellows – something we regularly do as part of our educational activities. This finally transitions to a fireside-style, more informal scene with Fellowship Director, Dr. Seth Goldberg, goes over basic nephrology concepts with the fellows, mirroring a typical Friday afternoon in the fellow workroom.”
For the final scene of the video, Baloch envisioned a group of nephrology division members on the hospital’s rooftop helipad, with a drone panning out to show the magnitude of the hospital.
“I had flown my drone for a similar shot during my residency video,” says Balaoch. “Initially, I thought getting permission to do this would be a nightmare and highly unlikely. However, Ashley Edwards, our Fellowship Program Coordinator, made a few phone calls, worked her magic, and got permission for the shoot.” They had over 25 people on the rooftop, and fortunately, it wasn’t too windy! The scene turned out exactly as Baloch had imagined, sending a great closing message at the end of the video.
“Overall, it was a fun project to work on. I am excited for the video to be released on our social media handles and hope it will guide nephrology applicants in making their decision when choosing the right nephrology program.”
See the 2024 WashU Nephrology Fellowship Training Program video:
On X, follow @Myasirbaloch, @atlee_baker, @spot_cs and @WUNephrology. Keep up with WashU Nephrology news via Facebook, Instagram, and our website.
Behind-the-scene pics from the video shoot (credit, Dr. Yasir Baloch):
