How Remote Working Changed The Way We Do Things
by Clare Cassidy
Looking back on the past two years it’s hard to believe how quickly we have adapted and shifted our entire way of working. When Covid hit Curious Crab was in its infancy, a video production agency set up in the heart of London to cater to the dynamic food and travel industry. We have the ideal location in Covent Garden, convenient for client travel and production resources. Usually, clients gather on the set with us, a monitor is set up in a quiet spot so that they can view the shots and comment directly as we go. That changed overnight in 2020, and we really weren’t sure how we were going to adapt and conduct shoots remotely. We have come a long way since then, and here are five learnings from our lockdown experiences that shaped the way we conduct our projects.
Don’t be afraid of informal communication channels
Thankfully, we are a production agency, which means a lot of our work is purely visual and we have been using visual aids to communicate with clients from the start. Storyboards and mood boards are part of our vocabulary, and so the shift to online meetings was rather seamless. A simple zoom meeting, with some great mood boards to discuss propping and style, along with a detailed storyboard, to plot every frame of the shoot, is all you need to kick off the creative flow. On one particularly project the client wanted to be very involved with the propping. Our solution? A WhatsApp group with the production team, marketing team and food stylist. The food stylist sent live updates as she shopped, and everyone had a chance to comment before the purchases. It’s an informal solution, but one thing Covid has taught us is that any form of communication is better than nothing, and at the end of the day it got the job done efficiently and with all parties signing off immediately.
Livestream your shoots to clients
The shoots proved a little more challenging. We did a lot of research to find a system that could livestream multiple shots as we worked, creating mini monitors for the clients sitting at home. We settled on the Blackmagic Atem Mini, which is a switcher that plugs your cameras into a laptop, allowing you to switch between multiple cameras as you livestream over zoom. In our shoots the director simply switched the screens as we shot, allowing the client to view all angles. We have even found a way to switch remotely so that a director could produce a shoot from their bed if need be (you never know in Covid times.)
Not all clients can dedicate an entire day to shoots so we have set up a system whereby we upload the shots on WhatsApp once they are set up and then discuss them over zoom if need be. That way brand managers can get on with their daily activities while we get on with the shoot, involving them only at critical points.
Diversify your skillset
During Covid we were also forced to work with smaller, more agile crews. Less hands on set meant a little more work, but we simply took more time and made sure our days were planned out into manageable chunks. This is when a crew with various skillsets really benefits a team. For example a producer/ director can absorb the logistics on a shoot, while steering the creative. A director of photography with directing experience can assist the director in making the best creative decisions. A camera operator who has production experience, can assist with production management. At Curious Crab we actively encourage our team to diversify their skillsets, and not box themselves into one job title (you should see what our creative director can do with some skewers and a glue gun). With a talented team like that it is amazing what you can achieve with a crew of six.
Remote viewings give everyone time to think about their feedback
And finally, viewings, which are no longer done in a crowded edit suite. Instead, the videos are uploaded to a programme called Replay. Its a great tool where viewers can comment as they view the footage. Timecodes are then stamped onto their comment. You can also view as a team on Replay. Small tweaks like this make all the difference in remote working and, I feel, have actually improved the system. We are no longer scrolling through a timeline, trying to find a clients timecode, and figuring out what they mean when they say “move this here.” Simply click on the timecode provided and it takes you directly to the exact moment on the footage. It also gives everyone time to sit with the footage for a few hours and gather their thoughts on the matter before hitting send.
There are no limits
Once last point about remote working, it really has opened up the world to us. You could own a food brand in Texas and hire us to shoot your campaigns in London and conduct the entire project from your home office. So think big and open up your world of possibilities with Curious Crab.