New Lockdowns, New Tiers, New Normals
With the past year's cycle of Covid induced production instability, it’s been incredibly difficult for filmmakers across the world to maintain regular work. For those in the video production industry, there really is nothing worse than a camera on a shelf with nothing to film. Be it the lost commissions, moving house or my skype graduation, the past 12 months have left me feeling at times, underwhelmed considering the goals I set at the end of 2019. Never the less, as the client work dried up around March, it quickly became clear that I needed to take a more independent approach to continue filmmaking and expand LeafStreet Productions over the course of 2020. A mindset which I'm proud to say I've not wasted.
Short Film Experimentations
Creating my short film ‘The Wanderer’s Lens’ was a great way to scratch my filmmaking itch during the downtime following the first lockdown. This project also functioning as a cinematography demo for potential clients. With this, I set out to explore the sense of liberation that came when emerging from the confinement of a lockdown. The protagonist, a photographer played by Oscar Ingham, wanders the open spaces of the English countryside as the nation opens up again after months stuck at home.
For the shoot, I employed a stripped-down version of my commercial camera rig with my BMPCC 4k and a Super Takumar 50mm f1.4. This paired with an adjustable ND filter that allowed me to shoot with a wide-open aperture to separate the subject from the background. The shallow depth of field, when combined with the slow-motion shots, resulted in almost dreamlike footage.
Making New Clients in a Socially Distanced world
Now more than ever the power of networking through a quick email or zoom call is shaping the way the professional world communicates. With this in mind, Lockdown has presented many of us with the dilemma of either sitting around waiting for things to normalise or to actively start planning what to do when it does. I chose the latter and decided to make the most of those emails/zoom calls, Through this online networking, Covid hasn't stopped me from expanding LeafStreet to establish relationships with some of the exciting new client shoots shown below.
Aims for 2021
In the coming year, the primary aim for LeafStreet is to expand our client base whilst investing in new equipment so to improve production value and speed up our workflow.
If you are interested in being part of this new client base then please feel free to get in touch!
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