Alex Hay + Loren Bradley: Production during COVID
By Alex Hay of Rabbit (right) and Loren Bradley of FINCH (left).
This year has been a little different to others. In the production world, there have been terrifyingly quiet times followed by a year’s worth of work fit snugly into just three months.
If there was one word to describe how production companies, agencies and clients have approached 2020, it would be ‘adaptable’. As New Year’s celebrations ushered in 2020, no one could have predicted what we would all go through in order to get work made. The likes of remote directing, clients and even agencies not physically attending shoots, wearing surgical masks, social bubbles on set, and having to do 14 days in isolated quarantine for a job were not something we could have ever imagined. Now they’re just what we do.
And, you know what? We did it. We adapted and we continued to make work. That is why the AWARD Awards of 2021 is even more exceptional than usual. Not only did we have all the usual hurdles associated with realising a script to its ultimate potential, we were also working under tough and uncertain conditions. In unprecedented times, Australia and New Zealand managed to turn out world-class work and become a hub for international productions.
As our world became smaller we still managed to find scale. We found scale in animation, in found footage, in empty streets, in shooting from unexpected angles, in real families, in their actual homes. We found scale in truth, and in our support for each other. We got through it because we got through it together.
It’s that sense of scale that we want to leave our audiences with. To move them with the grandness of life, the good, the bad, and the big of it.
We’d like to thank our crews, agencies and clients for their can-do attitude. They have proven that anything is possible as long as there’s collaboration and trust. Nothing will ever replace being in the same space and connecting while getting the thing made together. Still, we’ve managed to find solutions and keep things moving.
2020 has made it clear that client confidence and trust in the process of making work is essential. The production community earned that trust by getting through shoots without incident and instilled confidence by getting work on air at the end of it all. We learned quickly that we had to follow guidelines not only for ourselves, but for each other – one misstep could affect the whole industry. Everyone came together to share knowledge, experiences and resources. We joined forces and kept production alive. As a result there have been over 100 shoots this year without incident, an incredible achievement. So many of these shoots will contribute to another year of exceptional work that will showcase the breadth of talent across the industry.
And that is something to celebrate.
Entries are now open for the 42nd AWARD Awards and will close on 11 December. Full details here.