How a Production Company Created a Pandemic Documentary from Home
On March 13, the Red Summit Productions team joined the thousands of New Yorkers flocking from their offices to the safety of their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We had stuck it out as long as we felt safe, but the city was starting to lock down and we thought it best to work remotely. We packed our hard drives, put away our equipment, and locked our little nook on the eleventh floor for the last time, hoping to be back as soon as the coronavirus wave had died down.
Fast forward to the end of April, and what we thought was a short detour had become our new reality. Cases nationwide were on the rise, and what had started out as a novelty — a change of pace, almost a vacation — had turned into a tedious routine. After all, video production doesn’t exactly lend itself to remote work; before the pandemic, my coworker and bosses and I had spent all our time either helping out on set, scheduling and researching for shoots, or running errands throughout Manhattan. Social distancing protocol made production nearly impossible, as most projects require a camera crew, a client, and talent to be in close proximity for hours. So without any shoots to coordinate or footage to edit, we hit a major rut, both in terms of work and morale.
Then one day, my boss came to our daily Zoom call with an idea. He had seen firsthand how the pandemic could affect young families. His own children were struggling to adjust to remote learning and staying indoors, and he felt a bit overwhelmed on the parenting side of things as well. So he pitched a project: a short documentary about what children were feeling and experiencing during the coronavirus quarantine, using interview footage filmed by their families.
The idea quickly lit a spark on our team of production professionals, and we immediately started brainstorming and planning. We created a list of questions for children to answer, and another list for parents to answer as well. We drew up a filming guide, showing families how to take interview footage and b-roll on their iPhones. We brought on a psychiatrist to explain the developmental and psychological implications of the stay-at-home orders. We sent out a casting call on social media, and were met with enthusiastic responses from families across the United States. Before we knew it, a simple idea had transformed into a full-blown production.
In the end, we narrowed our talent down to 13 families, each with their own unique perspective on the pandemic. They collectively submitted over 700 pictures and video clips of interview answers and candid moments at home, which we interspersed with footage of a remote interview with Dr. Janet Taylor. We picked music, created graphics, and spent hours poring over and making notes on each iteration of the documentary. The result was a 24-minute piece that gives a voice and platform to children experiencing the reality of the coronavirus quarantine, and that hopefully comforts the audience members who watch it.
COVID-19 is definitely the most dramatic and unexpected challenge that Red Summit has had to face as a company so far, but it also provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We are so grateful that we were able to use our time at home to create a documentary that captures what it’s like to be a child or parent in 2020. We want to give a big thanks to all those involved with the production for their time, talents, and contributions, and we encourage everyone to watch and spread the word about Generation C: Growing Up in the Pandemic!
by Hannah Wong
