How Emmerdale's production team created a new filmic language
04/06/2020
By Philip Stevens
Published: June 4, 2020
Philip Stevens learns how social distancing is affecting soap production
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Philip Stevens learns how social distancing is affecting soap production
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/how-emmerdales-production-team-has-created-a-new-filmic-language title=Share via Email class=share-email>
The Covid-19 pandemic halted production of ITV's Emmerdale on 20th March. But on 20th May, a phased return to recording was initiated with stringent health and safety measures in place to protect cast and crew.
All scripts and stories will adhere to the government guidelines and medical advice at the time of production, emphasises senior production manager, Nader Mabadi. If the guidance was to change, we would consider the impact on our team and the story, before retrospectively amending the scripts. We are playing stories that allow for some latitude to embellish, it's easy to turn a hurtful look' into a slap', for example.
Although adhering to all the guidelines, Mabadi says that the content will not expressly acknowledge Covid-19. Some of these will be obvious and others hidden through cuts and camera illusions. We try to tell human stories from our society and sometimes that means taking on a topical issue. Any references would go through a compliance and negative check. We have a duty as a broadcaster to behave responsibly, respectfully and lawfully.
New schedule The shooting schedule calls for a slight reduction in episodes from the pre-lockdown timetable. Previously, 13-14 episodes were completed within the two-week production cycle, at present that has been cut to 12.
Mabadi reports that the time frame for shooting an episode remains much the same, although less is being completed each day in order to maintain adherence to guidelines. We have editorial measures in place that have dramatically simplified the content. There are only 14 scenes to shoot for each episode instead of 20, there are more two- and three-hander scenes instead of complicated set-ups with six to seven people. That ensures we can keep social distancing for cast and crew. We have no fourth walls in play, no scripted design, costume or make-up requirements, no stunts, no special effects, reduced background action, less props, and no food consumption. Where we were doing ten scenes a day, we are now doing six or seven, but mathematically that still equates to a similar number of days given the mitigations.
Crew and cast adhere strictly to the two-metre rule The scripts are calling for more use of domestic sets. Where a scene does need to involve more than three people, these will be shot as two conversations in isolation and stitched together in the edit to create the appearance of one scene. The cast members will still be exercising social distancing in the scene; it just helps us manage those on the floor and gives everyone space to perform. Some of the sets are quite compact, so to help we have reduced to single camera working when required. That keeps crew numbers to a minimum.
Before shooting restarted, Mabadi and the production's Health & Safety risk manager assessed each set and decided that some were too compact to be used during the time of restrictions.
Being creative As far as camera moves are concerned, Mabadi says that these will be a little less dynamic in order to social distance. Luckily, our camera teams are still being very creative with their lens work. We have reduced down from three to two cameras in studio. A lot of our location grip equipment requires two people to operate safely, track and dolly, ladder-pod etc so we have had to impose some restrictions.
While those restrictions are in place, programme directors will work from the floor, rather than the gallery. Only the vision operator and script supervisor can be safely accommodated in the production control room. They will be seated more than two metres apart with a Perspex shield separating them as an additional safety measure.
Many scenes are restricted to two actors on set Although all cameras are ISO'd, previously, a vision mixer would also produce a guide cut version of each scene. However, for the time being this practice has been dropped. As we are only using two cameras and reducing the gallery down to two people, we have created more flexibility on the studio floor to concentrate on our safety measures. We want to avoid scheduling pick-ups if possible so the more raw data we have the better.
He goes on, We have stopped all guest location filming. We will only be filming at the Emmerdale Village or extensions of the Village over which we have complete control of and can implement our risk management strategy.
Remote resources Editing, using Avid Media Composer, is carried out both within the Leeds studio facility and remotely from home locations. We have facilities and infrastructure so that the editor and director can work collaboratively from adjacent suites at the centre, explains Mabadi. With home editing, we are using laptops as a remote control for the edit suites in the Leeds facility. The machines there still do all the heavy ingest, so we don't ever run the insurance risk of physically taking any rushes out of the building.
He says that directors, editors, producers and production have all been utilising Google Meet, Zoom and many other video conferencing software.
Grading and dubbing will still be done at Leeds due to the more dedicated control surfaces and the controlled environment required, such as lighting and a sound proof room. These are single occupancy rooms and lone roles.
Mabadi concludes, It is testing us in new ways and asking us to think differently about how
LINK: | https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/how-emmerdales-production-te... |
See more stories from tvb |
Europe Stories
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
17/04/2024
Spotify's Michael Krause Talks Industry Trends Ahead of Our Music and Podcasting Summits in Germany
On April 18 and 19, experts from across the audio industry-including artists, pu...
17/04/2024
Spotify Brings Entrepreneurs and Trailblazers Together to Talk the Future of Tech in the UK
With its particular combination of talent, ambition, culture, and, of course, wo...
17/04/2024
NextGen Partners With Howard University Professor Nikole Hannah-Jones on Student Podcasting Course
At Spotify, we want to equip student creators with the tools and resources neede...
17/04/2024
Colorfront showcases upgrades across product range
Colorfront has introduced AI vision-analysis tools to assist master QC operations with detecting framing anomalies, dead pixels, bright titles and sparkles By ...
17/04/2024
Meet the Founder and director
By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 17, 2024 Rory Springthorpe, founder and director at outside broadcasting company Vivid Broadcast, talks to TVBEurope a...
17/04/2024
Putting the spotlight on Global Shading Day
Posted on 17 Apr 2024 Creating traction and momentum around Global Shading Day was a key objective for the British Blind and Shutter Association in 2024. The ...
17/04/2024
HMS Networks explores the conditions to carry out a directed share issue of approximately SEK 1,400 million
To read about the directed share issue, please verify your country...
17/04/2024
ASTRA Media Factory has won Best of Show 2024 Award at NAB!
ASTRA Media Factory has won Best of Show 2024 Award at NAB! We are pleased to announce that our product ASTRA Media Factory has won in this year's Best of...
17/04/2024
2024-04-17
Apple today announced new progress to expand clean energy around the world and advance momentum toward Apple 2030, the company's bold goal to be carbon neut...
16/04/2024
A Spirit Between Worlds
Directed by H l na Klotz, La V nus dargent (aka Spirit of Ecstasy) presents the tale of Jeanne Francoeur (played by Claire Pommet), a young woman striving to es...
16/04/2024
Adobe previews generative AI tools to streamline professional video workflows
New generative AI tools will enable users of Adobe Premiere Pro to streamline editing all videos, including adding or removing objects in a scene or extending a...
16/04/2024
Atomos appoints Daniel Moore as new chief technical officer
Moore has led the development effort for over 20 products in the AV space By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 16, 2024 Moore has led the development effo...
16/04/2024
UNIT deliver picture post and colour grade for new BBC1 drama series
Coles enhanced colour separation, adding shape and depth to the characters through the use of a soft highlight and shadow roll off, and embracing the natural te...
16/04/2024
MAGYAR TELEKOM (THE COMPANY) HELD ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (GENERAL MEETING) ON APRIL 16, 2024.
MAGYAR TELEKOM (THE COMPANY ) HELD ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ( GENERAL MEETING...
16/04/2024
IRALTA VR's New Immersive Experience: Dive into the Galapagos Islands with Mistika VR
Published On: April 16th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...
16/04/2024
Interim report 2024, January - March
First quarter Net sales for the first quarter reached SEK 616 m (773), corresponding to a decrease of 20%. Currency translations had a negative effect of SEK 3...
16/04/2024
HMS Networks realizes immediate cost synergies and launches cost saving program to streamline the organization
Following the closing of the acquisition of Red Lion Controls ( Red Lion ) on Ap...
16/04/2024
Rodeo FX expands into colour grading with new Baselight suite
Article courtesy of Post Read the article Toronto's Rodeo FX has expanded its offerings into colour grading with the recent opening of a new Baselight gra...
16/04/2024
FilmLight's Nara connects creative teams
Article courtesy of Digital Media World Read the article FilmLight's Nara gives post-production facilities, VFX houses and other media professionals immed...
16/04/2024
Jigsaw24 partners FilmLight on its media tool Nara
Article courtesy of Televisual Read the article FilmLight has chosen Jigsaw24 Media as the first global and exclusive UK partner for its new content managemen...
16/04/2024
La Gran Carpa Catedral reaches new audiences across Europe and MENA thanks to Eutelsat Group satellite coverage
Photo credit: GETTY IMAGES Press release - 16 April 2024 10:45 La Gran Carpa...
16/04/2024
Operation and Further Development of the AOK Website
Arvato Systems Takes over Operation and Further Development of the AOK Website Digital Transformation in the Healthcare Sector Arvato Systems wins tender fro...
16/04/2024
2024-02-29
Apple today announced an expansion of Self Service Repair for MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by M3, with support available today. Since April 2022, Self Se...
16/04/2024
2024-04-16
Today Apple announced it will open Indonesia's fourth Apple Developer Academy in Bali, expanding on its investment to increase opportunities for developers,...
16/04/2024
Bots Now Make Up Nearly Half of All Internet Traffic Globally
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Automated and malicious traffic rises for a fifth consecutive year Bad bots account for 32% of all internet traffic 44% of all...
15/04/2024
SiliconCore adds to XR range with new 1.2mm XR LED Display
SiliconCores patented Common Cathode driver chip delivers frame rates of 240 Hz and a refresh rate of 7680Hz, enabling slow motion, multi-camera view and multip...
15/04/2024
Naphtali Cave joins MOOV
The UK-based virtual studio, sports and events graphics company has appointed Naphtali Cave into a newly created role to drive technical innovation and creativi...
15/04/2024
Finalists Confirmed for 2024 RT All Ireland Drama Festival, as RT Celebrates 20 years as title sponsor
Three plays never-before performed will feature in the finals of the 2024 RT Al...
15/04/2024
Change of CFO in Telenor Group
1 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10> Tone Hegland Bachke, Executi...
15/04/2024
Video confidence at a glance with 360 Live Mosaic
We are delighted to launch the new 360 Live Mosaic application on the Agama Enterprise platform, our central umbrella system. This capability allows for the ea...
15/04/2024
Thales to supply seven additional Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission Compact radars for the Dutch Ministry of Defence
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn COMMIT (Command Materiel and IT), the Dutch mili...
14/04/2024
DPA MICROPHONES UNVEILS AIR1 UNIVERSAL MINIATURE FUR WINDSCREEN AT NAB 2024
A Professional Windscreen Designed for Lavalier and Headset Microphones That Guarantees Highly Efficient Wind Protection and Unrivaled Acoustic Transparency DP...
13/04/2024
Lighting a Horror Scene With LEE Filters
In this video, gaffer Elena Armellini takes viewers behind the scenes as she lights a horror scene. She and her crew black-out the locations windows to give the...
13/04/2024
Blackmagic Design unveils game-changer' URSA Cine 12K
The company has also unveiled DaVinci Resolve 19, which adds new AI tools, as well as over 100 feature upgrades By Jenny Priestley Published: April 13, 2024 ...
13/04/2024
Fellowship Church Drastically Elevates Reliability and Quality With Riedel Communications
Wuppertal April 13, 2024 Fellowship Church Drastically Elevates Reliability an...
13/04/2024
ATK Versacom Excels With Riedel Communications at High-Profile Broadcast Events
Wuppertal April 13, 2024 ATK Versacom Excels With Riedel Communications at High-Profile Broadcast EventsRiedel Communications today announced that it showcase...
13/04/2024
Riedel Enhances Interstellar Technologies' Space Launch With Advanced Communication and Video Transmission Solutions
Wuppertal April 13, 2024 Riedel Enhances Interstellar Technologies Space Launc...
13/04/2024
Riedel's Simplylive Production Suite Empowers Lafayette College to Live Stream High-Quality Sports Broadcasts Simultaneously
Wuppertal April 13, 2024 Riedel's Simplylive Production Suite Empowers Laf...
13/04/2024
Riedel Expands RiCapture Ingest Solutions Portfolio With Release of i8, i44, and i84
Wuppertal April 13, 2024 Riedel Expands RiCapture Ingest Solutions Portfolio W...
13/04/2024
STRENGTHEN YOUR CONTENT PROTECTION STRATEGY BEYOND DRM: A HOLISTIC APPROACH
In todays digital age, where the consumption of media content has shifted towards streaming platforms, the importance of safeguarding digital assets against pir...
12/04/2024
Bergerac is reimagined by BlackLight TV in a brand-new series for UKTV's free streaming service UKTV Play and free-to-air channel Drama
Friday 12th April 2024 Detective Jim Bergerac will be returning to the iconic se...
12/04/2024
KAROL G Teams Up With Spotify and FC Barcelona To Release Special Matchday Shirts, Merchandise Collection, and Matchday Playlist
Spotify is once again bringing together record-breaking legends from the worlds ...
12/04/2024
MediaSilo to Offer Camera to Cloud with Atomos
MediaSilo to Offer Camera to Cloud with Atomos Integration between MediaSilo and Atomos Cloud Studio unlocking rapid transfer of content from on-set to editor...
12/04/2024
Filming in extreme conditions: Mammals production team reveal all
Producer/directors Stuart Armstrong and Will Lawson detail the specialist cameras used to capture the footage for the series Dark and Cold episodes By Matthew ...
12/04/2024
Cinedeck partners with Paramount to create MTV integrated delivery platform
Cinedecks new ConneX Hub master tool leverages Adobe Frame.io and the companys ConneX products By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 12, 2024 Cinedeck'...
12/04/2024
Nikon completes acquisition of RED
The acquisition aims to enable the development of distinctive products, while leveraging the business foundations of both Nikon and Red By Matthew Corrigan P...
12/04/2024
Alison Pavitt joins Blue Lucy
She joins joins Blue Lucy after a number of years at Pebble By Jenny Priestley Published: April 12, 2024 Updated: April 15, 2024 She joins joins Blue Lu...