Introducing HearSay Multimedia Studio
When the Marketing and Communications team first unlocked the door to G-125 in Gambrell Hall, they stepped into a room full of storage boxes and old office furniture. What the space lacked in aesthetics, it made up for in possibility. For months, the team had been asking themselves: What would Emory Law’s storytelling future look like if we had the capabilities to tell it ourselves?
Across higher education, video has become the language of connection. Prospective students search YouTube before they ever tour a campus, alumni expect dynamic digital engagement, and faculty thought leadership is increasingly consumed in visual formats. The 2025 Marketing & Communication Plan for Emory University School of Law called for more robust digital storytelling, that included an ecosystem rooted in video and audio content such as podcasts, social media, YouTube, and moving Emory Lawyer magazine to a digital format with the goal of showcasing the principled and sophisticated Emory Lawyers of the past, present, and future. Coupled with Dean and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law Rich Freer’s Top Five priorities—especially student flourishing, academic eminence, centers and clinics, organizational culture, and fiscal accountability—the need for an agile, in-house studio became undeniable.
The idea was shaped through internal conversations about how to remain competitive in the digital law school landscape. Until now, the team relied heavily on outside videographers and photographers, a model that strained budgets, slowed turnaround times, and limited spontaneity. An in-house studio meant ownership, agility, creativity, and the ability to meet audiences where they are.
“For me, the most meaningful part of this project is knowing that the stories produced here will outlast us. Years from now, students and faculty will look back and see their experiences, their scholarship, and their impact all captured because we built a space that made it possible,” says Jamillah May, communications specialist at Emory Law.
Naming the space became its own act of storytelling. In law, “hearsay” refers to a witness repeating someone else’s words—a concept centered on voice, perspective, and the act of carrying a story forward. The studio’s name, HearSay, plays on that idea. It is a place where members of the Emory Law community speak to their own experiences and where those stories captured. The name reflects both a familiar legal term and the deeper purpose of the studio: amplifying voices that deserve to be carried into the world.
Building the studio is a collaborative and dynamic effort that combines the strengths of the MarCom team. Jamillah May led ideation, drafted the proposal, and produces the podcast content—filming, soundengineering, and editing. A. Kenyatta Greer, senior director of communication, ensures strategic alignment and branding, manages community relationships, directs content production, and edits. Tayo Fayemi, associate director of marketing and communications, built the visual mood board for the aesthetic layout of the studio, manages budget and operational planning, films, and partners closely with information technology colleagues to select technology that will optimize and grow with the space.
The team used inspiration from well-established studios on Emory’s campus—Woodruff Library Production Studios and Goizueta Business School Live Studio—to gather insights that guided their work to build the HearSay Multimedia Studio.
The studio’s first major project is True North: Navigating Law with Dean Freer, a podcast reflecting the mission, values, and direction of the school. With production underway, the team is outlining its next major initiative: a documentary-style video series capturing the journeys of 3Ls and alumni—stories aligned with student flourishing, centers and clinics focus, and academic eminence.
Though the studio may be small, its impact is expansive. The HearSay Multimedia Studio now facilitates the MarCom team’s producing content that attracts prospective students, highlights the work of centers and clinics, elevates faculty scholarship, and strengthens belonging across Emory Law.
HearSay stands as both a beginning and a promise: a collaborative effort, built with care and creativity, that will shape how Emory Law tells its story for years to come.
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