How filmmaking has changed in the wake of coronavirus

Pivoting to new kinds of work

"The first couple of days were very much about working out what we could do as a business to weather the storm," says Stitch, who launched a specialist business arm to focus on quarantine-friendly production, including animation, working with stock footage and producing live TV to be streamed over social channels.

"Before, we could work, produce, and share face-to-face," says Sébastien. "Now, we all have to communicate screen-to-screen. It's the new way." Anticipating that virtual interactions would continue to grow, he transformed his camera storeroom into a home studio, where he's been shooting during lockdown. Patrick, meanwhile, juggled home schooling his children with renovating his new kit van in anticipation of working closer to home rather than abroad for the foreseeable future.

Unable to travel to Iraq for her documentary, Francesca turned to the news story on her doorstep, as northern Italy became the first epicentre of the virus in Europe. Embedded with Red Cross volunteers, she documented the critically ill in their homes and the region's overwhelmed hospitals. As one of the first and few filmmakers in Bergamo, she was commissioned for networks across Europe and the Middle East, including Channel 4 News, ARTE and Al Jazeera.

A committed community

Although lockdown brought with it great isolation, there has also been a sense of the industry rallying around, says Patrick. "The community that we have online is so important. You can get your finger on the pulse of what other people are doing. You were also aware that, during the peak of lockdown, no one else was working. You felt that you weren't the only one in this situation."

The many online resources that sprang up are something Sébastien has both explored – watching webinars, Instagram Live and Canon Connected videos – and participated in by running kit tutorials about the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III and the Canon XF705 4K camcorder. "It's a real pleasure to share my experience during this lockdown and to improve techniques I never took the time to study," he says.

The future of filmmaking

As shoots have begun to restart, "things have changed dramatically," says Patrick. "You've got gloves on, you've got a mask on, you're staying away from people. You've got to clean your equipment before and after each shoot. Coming out of lockdown, having lightweight, efficient equipment is really important. I'm having to work much more on my own now, or in much smaller teams."

Patrick's Canon EOS C500 Mark II and Canon EOS C300 Mark II are small enough for him to carry both cameras himself. "I'm thrilled to be able to use the full-frame Canon EOS C500 Mark II," he adds. "It's a whole new optical world."

As well as prioritising safety, the new environment also brings creative challenges. "You think up shots and, more often than not, now they have to be modified to fit within the guidelines of what's safe," says Patrick. "Social distancing has huge implications for how you shoot drama, and how you shoot people interacting." Patrick is developing new techniques including separating himself, a director and an interview subject with thick black fabric when shooting interviews.

"Going forward, I think it's inevitable that we'll continue to see a lack of travel, a need for small, agile crews, and crew members wearing multiple hats," says Stitch, who hopes this might be an opportunity for the industry to become more environmentally conscious. "Film production historically has been quite a wasteful industry. I hope that a big change will be a lower carbon footprint."

"I think the really interesting thing for filmmakers now is that the rule book has been ripped up," says Alex. "What I'm hearing from commissioners and funders now is that they're really open to new ideas. I think this is a tremendous opportunity for us to take on new perspectives, to absorb new voices into our industry and tell new stories in different ways."