This (admittedly, very long) post will focus on the experiences of filming a project during the pandemic. Let’s look at the big picture of what happened when films and television shows shutdown in March before they were supposed to wrap. Let’s dive into the world of smaller budgeted projects that were developed and filmed during lockdown. And, let’s discuss the new Safety & Health protocols that the entertainment industry collaborated on so that new and resuming projects can adhere to a set of standards that mitigates risk. [While putting together this post, I came across an article from Variety: “Inside Hollywood’s Expensive and Exhausting Road to Making Movies During Coronavirus” that focuses on Universal Studios’ Jurassic Park: Dominion with its Blockbuster budget and the much lower $300K budget independent film Rift as their examples of the new safety systems. It’s an interesting read.]
You’ll not only see there are numerous limitations as well as opportunities birthed into this new era of filmmaking for all budget levels, but also I’ve conducted interviews with those who have shared with me their unique experiences.
Thank you to those who participated, your perspectives are invaluable!
Sana Soni and Mikail Chowdhury are co-producers of The Myth of Control, made during lockdown. Sana first learned of the novel coronavirus in mid-January. After landing in India, having just seen Matt Damon’s Contagion on the plane, she saw an article about it from The New York Times: “It was surreal.” In March, she had to cancel her upcoming April wedding and reconfigure her move from London to Washington D.C.. Also being at a turning point in her career, the quarantine gave her an opportunity to “navigate film sales/marketing/acquisitions/distribution in this strange new world. I spoke to a lot of people about my ideas about creating an online film market…I signed up for every online panel I could find on the business of film, excited that I could attend without being physically present. I started to reach out and make lots of new connections…It was a scary but exciting time.”
Summer Crockett Moore and Tony Glazer manage UMBRAStages in New York. They were personally “terrified” with the future being so uncertain but they “knew it was going to be big”. The night they closed the studios due to state-wide mandates, Summer planted a few succulents in their garden, had a martini, and Tony made a firepit, so they can take a breather before having to act on whatever comes next. But for their production company Choice Films, emotions and plans fluctuated between staying creative and handling logistics. Instead of jumping into that dream project those first few weeks, Tony found time later into quarantine “to complete a couple projects that we are now in production/development.”
Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks made two short films Pains and Bed (which I had provided signatory clearance to) as well as an independent feature-length film during the pandemic, Alone With You. Emily’s first recollection of the virus goes back to the end of February while visiting family in South Carolina. Her relatives and the community that gathered for a gymnastics competition discussed it in conversation, and when coming back to New York there were airport announcements reminding people to wash their hands. She’d also seen some social media posts of memes with “what songs to sing other than ‘Happy Birthday’”. But even in mid-March, no one could have considered how widespread the virus would become or how she’d then be “glued to the news 24/7”. Favoring the horror genre for when making her own projects before the pandemic, she and Justin of course mourned what they’d been preparing to make in 2020 but naturally continued “to find a way” (our paraphrasing Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park) to keep making projects themselves, as safely as can by self-taping, being their own crew, and with minimal remote or in-person services with other hired performers.
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