How We Helped Paramount+ Go Live Against All Odds
ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) launched Paramount+, its flagship streaming service, with everything on the line. In a normal year, a product debut of this scale is a heavy lift. During a pandemic? It demanded invention. Piranha joined a multi-agency effort to help pull it off — shaping the creative approach for the brand’s live-streamed investor and media event.
Shot across green screens in NYC and LA, the live event reimagined the studio lot through cinematic VFX, real-time rendering, and Hollywood-grade set design. The goal: bring top execs and A-list talent together, virtually, for an experience that looked like it was shot on-site — even when no one was in the same room.
1. Cohesion Wasn’t Optional
This wasn’t a glorified Zoom call. The three-hour experience needed the visual continuity of a blockbuster — not just for show, but for storytelling. Through LiDAR scans, lighting design, and Unreal Engine workflows, we recreated the Paramount lot as a digital stage. The result: a fully choreographed production that looked and felt like it was unfolding in person.
2. Coordination at Scale
With over 50 stakeholders across multiple time zones, the event required tight process and zero ego. We leaned into remote workflows — Slack, Dropbox, Zoom — but treated the pipeline with the rigor of a live show. Safety protocols were embedded into every production phase, with daily testing and no margin for error.
3. Contingency Planning Built In
From shifting production timelines to last-minute creative pivots, the team built redundancies into every step. Thousands of clips. Dozens of presenters. One shot to get it right. It was months in the making — and executed in days.
The Takeaway?
Paramount+ needed more than a platform launch — they needed a statement. The success of the event showed that even in a remote, restricted world, great storytelling still finds a way.