What is the New Normal? It’s something we are all trying to figure out during these times of COVID. So if you’ve been following along, Accord has been back to work for quite some time now. And if you haven’t been, check out this Wyler Works where Max talks about our first shoot after a total shut down. But we’re not going to talk about that time. We want to talk about the day to day. Production is a business that has to evolve and adapt and it is interesting to see how quickly we have adapted this reality- for better or for worse.
Accord is back. And here’s what we’re seeing in the production world.
Livestreaming
Things like speeches, meetings, presentations, and conferences have been able to proceed thanks to the industry stepping up and the technology stepping. Things that would normally happen live in front of an audience are happening on Zoom. And with the technology, we can take a zoom cast someone is doing from their house, and treat it like a camera at an event. We can switch between multiple zooms, show a PowerPoint, create a virtual conference environment without anyone having to leave home.
Studio “Events”
But there are people who want to up the quality. These keynote speakers are being recorded beforehand (or live) and then sharing directly to their audience.
We’ve been able to help quite a few clients by setting up the studio we have in-house and get these segments shot and immediately handed back to the client. It’s an ideal situation because we can utilize a small crew of one or two, the on-camera talent is usually just one person, and we are able to make sure the setting is controlled, sanitized and safe.
Social Media Content and Zooming OUT
You have probably noticed an uptick in social media style content. Think selfie videos, cell phone segments, and many MANY Zoom meeting grid layouts. Show are doing “zoom reunions” our segments of shows are being shot by the cast on their cell or laptop.
But we are seeing the tides turning on this. I think, as a nation, we are zoomed out. People want production value again, so slowly but surely production- and we mean real production- is resuming. Which leads us to our next point…
Small Expert Crews
With audiences all Zoomed out and craving content with professional production value, crews are assembling. But it is by no means operating on the scale it once was. No more massive crews, 20 PAs buzzing around, onlookers, interns, craft service buffets. Crews have to be boiled down to the basics, to the essentials.
This hasn’t been hard for Accord. We already utilize smaller more expert crews. Our team members can usually do multiple jobs on set. They say many hands make light work but we argue a few expert hands can handle the load just fine.
So if you’ve got a project, give us a call. We are masked, sanitized, equipped, and ready to rock.