Monday 16th March 2020 - Lucky Generals HQ

HELEN CALCRAFT - "Right Joe, we're making the call as an agency to work from home, I'm going to miss hanging out with you and your incredible brain”

DANNY BROOKE-TAYLOR - "Stay on the phone though Baggers, you're my best friend at work”

ANDY NAIRN - "Phone?!? No way, I want to see his handsome face, let's Zoom all the time"

ME - "Hey hey hey, stop this now. It's not about me. It's about how we can continue to do great work for our clients and any prospective new clients reading BITE, during isolation from the production department's point of view"

______________________________________________________________

There's no two ways about it: coronavirus has hindered the way we'd normally work and closed many doors.

We really felt for all of our clients, and all clients worldwide, in this situation. So much great work to run with pre-booked and paid for media that didn't feel appropriate to use. Group scenes, physical contact, bars, schools, busy streets etc became issues so the challenge was, and is, to act fast to find suitable replacements.

One example we're extremely proud of is Co-op. They had a beautiful Easter spot which they made the decision to pull, as it didn't fit with the new national mood. A wonderful decision was then made to donate that airtime to the FareShare food bank charity that Co-op have partnered with for years, enabling it to raise even more money. The creative idea of using a Zoom call between Co-op colleagues wasn't just a great way to deliver the message of co-operation, it was authentic, empathetic and achievable in a matter of days.

Our production dept relish these executional challenges and producers everywhere have always been judged by their creative vision, effort and how well they adapt. And it's adapting that's the key in these trickier circumstances.

Essentially during this period, we have eyes on the creative work very early. All producers are tasked to think about the idea and how it could manifest into a variety of executions. We then have a quick get together before presenting do-able options to the wider team.

Production and post-production companies are being as brilliant as they always have been for both creative and technical advice. They remain committed, pro-active and intelligent and will be vital in helping as we navigate the current production blockades. There are still options open that are no secret: animation, CGI, existing footage or even a combination of all three. We know we can still shoot in certain countries and find a local director, shoot using directors and DOP's with home studios, shoot/record via Video Conference (tick) and utilise QTake to watch playback from our armchairs.

The ultimate goal is to keep our clients moving forward even in the most debilitating of times with either short- or long-term production. From a work perspective it's exciting times and business as usual. The limitations will make the final output feel different to the norm and I don't mind that at all.

Stay safe, keep isolated but we don't have to stop moving.

And don't worry Helen, Danny and Andy, I'll be back soon. I miss you too.

Co-op, 'Calling all #LocalHeroes' by Lucky Generals