This is not surprising that Hollywood was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. After all, movie sets usually require hundreds of people from all over the world to come together to work close together. In the early spring of 2020, production will be effectively halted until further notice. But slowly, quietly, new films began to appear – films made during the pandemic. How? Filmmakers have found ways to adapt, and now they’re getting even more tools to film them safely.
Of course, not every movie needs high-tech solutions. Smaller movies, like Netflix Malcolm & Marie or the recent Sundance movie How it ends, can cope with smaller crews in quarantine. But for larger, more complex projects – the kind that require visual effects and many extras – technology fills the gaps in socially remote shoots. Here’s how.
Cloudburst
One of the most innovative adaptations to date comes from Frame.io. The company is especially known for basing spaces on the web to pass back daily newspapers and notes during the editing process. However, Frame.io today unveiled a new service: Camera to Cloud, which enables multiple people to start working on a recording as soon as the director films it, significantly reducing the number of people on set and the number who can contribute to a safe, socially (very) remote place.
It works like this: Suppose you have an 8K RED camera on set. Using the Camera to Cloud system, the device will be connected to a transcoding box, such as a Teradek Cube 655, which captures the 8K video and converts it into a smaller 1080p file for easier viewing / sharing. The box is also connected to the internet, just like a Sound Devices deck, which collects sound from all the microphones on the set. Once someone ‘Cut!’ Scream the files are uploaded to the cloud, where anyone who has granted access can review them.
From there, people like executive producers and VFX supervisors can weigh in with real-time notes. Even better, the system allows the editor of the movie to collaborate on the movie, even if they are on the other side of the planet. Once the recording is done, the video files (with separate but synchronized audio files) will automatically appear in DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut, Adobe Premiere or whatever editing software they use. Once there, they can drop the last recording in the timeline, apply effects and filters (like turning on a green screen) and quickly export back to Frame.io so everyone can watch and approve. Back on the set, the director can review the new track and leave notes that will appear directly on the editor’s timeline with accuracy in single frame.
The files loaded from the camera can be from 0.5 Mbps (think Zoom quality) to 15 Mbps (Netflix-ish), your choice. The higher end of the scale is generally more than enough for something like network news and can be broadcast immediately. For movies with a narrow reversal, the proxy files that are uploaded are of editorial quality (and the sound, which is much smaller, is the original) and can be cut together immediately. When the hard disk with all the resolution files ends up in the edit box, it can be swapped in the operation with the click of a button.
Camera to Cloud was used on one Hollywood production: Songbird. Last summer, the disaster movie, which landed on video on demand in December, became the first full-length production to beta test the service. In reality, Songbird was the first film to start production after the strictest Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in California, so he had to do everything possible to reduce the crew, including the recording with RED’s smallest camera (the 8K Komodo), so that the director of photography also functions as a camera operator. Meanwhile, six or more drivers watched from a distance as the shooting unfolded.