THE LAST COMMERCIAL SHOW
It’s been two months since I landed back in the United States from Thailand after what very well may be the last “normal” production I’ll ever be on. Not that any production pre-Covid19 was really ever normal. Dropping pianos on wrestlers, bananas dancing on pancakes, lecherous animatronic puppets, murderous fast food robots, Sarah Silverman tanning on a yacht, and burning down a house were all just another day “at the office”. Yep, totally normal. I’m as excited about production “Zooming” from my couch as I was in the days of yogurt parfaits at our beck and call in a crowded video village from the middle of a junkyard.
In Bangkok, I had a glimpse of the future on how to produce live action shoots in the time of Covid19. Temperature checks, face masks, and copious amounts of hand sanitizer while staying painfully socially distant from the co-workers, collaborators, crew, and cast you so want to hug in grateful camaraderie.
In epic fashion those two long months ago, we wrapped the last day of shooting on a Sattahip beach capping off one of the best productions ever. Thank you, Harry Calbom, Jojo Zunke, and the Society/TAPROD team. Not a bad way to usher out the old ways and look the future straight in the eyes. I was to have two weeks in self-quarantine upon my return to be certain I wasn’t bringing the virus into my home. I expected to use that time to recover from a four day shoot in Bangkok and the jet lag of a 20+ hour flight. My jet lag recovery was short lived as on Quarantine Day 3 I jumped into the first of many Covid response spots our agency produced over the coming months. Being sheltered in place didn’t keep us from turning over every rock to find a solution. My fellow producers and I quickly adapted to producing remotely linked to our team through chats and video calls running virtual edit sessions from shared screens amongst glitches and frozen pixels. I’ve seen my producers produce shoots remotely over Zoom. I read decks from trusted vendors on capabilities and producing during Covid. While we all miss the back and forth of being in a room together, we allow the collaboration to continue.
Though we may look back at those halcyon days of production Pre-Covid19, I really am optimistic about what will come out of producing in a new way. I’m inspired by having to learn to do things differently and being open to solutions we may not have previously considered. It’s not that we will walk away from production value and craftsmanship. To me it’s about allowing a great creative idea to live it’s best life. Now we endeavor to find new ways to bring a great idea to life.