When something as dramatic as COVID changes the way you work, it accelerates certain things that you are doing. This can be very positive. But it also shines a spotlight on certain things you are not doing but should be.

Across the creative VFX industry, COVID has not just exposed old-fashioned ways of working, it has accelerated innovation like never before. Any reluctance to embrace new ways of working were washed away overnight in March. This in itself became an exciting opportunity for future-facing studios. 

Smashing through the glass lift

When we formally launched Black Kite, in Spring 2019 it was impossible to predict COVID and lockdown. Yet, our offer of utilising global talent and remote working to provide a more agile way of working meant we were already in a strong position and could respond positively to the overnight change.

What quickly became apparent was that the size of your building and the number of fancy glass lifts didn’t matter anymore. All that remained was how companies could service and creatively problem solve.

Conversations quickly began to be less focused on restrictions and more around the exciting opportunities for creative problem solving. Companies became defined by their talent and not restricted by superficial elements. For independent companies such as ours that can scale up and down easily, we became almost limitless and it felt exhilarating. This reaffirmed our belief in a new working model that empowered a whole new workplace culture.

Embracing collaboration 

One of the most amazing developments of early lockdown was how incredibly unifying the situation was. We were in it together. Competitive natures went out the window; there was even dialogue between rival VFX companies sharing learnings and advice. ‘We hear you’ve learnt a cool new shooting technique!’ No-one was exempt from the challenges and we were all looking for ways to keep the industry moving.

Lockdown meant we had major global companies needing content without being able to travel or access equipment. Before, we would usually get a call from a production company or agency explaining a job on an existing campaign. Now we were being consulted to advise on possible future projects and whether things could be achieved.

Companies like ours became a reliable partner for problem solving and unlocking difficult challenges. We developed work-arounds that would allow, for example, a DoP in Japan to control an iPhone camera shooting on location in Brazil. We found ourselves dealing directly with not just the agency and directors but sound houses and editors. We were all working together and there was a real feeling of a levelled playing field.

Traditional methods quickly went out the window. We tested, reviewed, adapted and pushed our work to its limits. We had to be self-sufficient and then import learnings into a workflow defined by trial and error testing. These early learnings gave everyone a head start and despite certain tasks being out of our traditional remit, it illustrated our changing roles and desire to get things done.

Developing new techniques

The FIFA21 Win As One campaign is a great example of this. We worked closely with our partners, adam&eveDDB and director Terence Neale, in developing a sophisticated remote workflow which enabled the talent to self-capture imagery. The workflow had to provide Terence and the DoP Kaname Onoyama with fully interactive directorial and camera control over the shoot whilst remote.

We embraced a readily-available camera technology which talent could operate. And being the only team members with the new iPhone11 Plus, we became the temporary DoPs out on our bikes in masks using the phone to test in different exposures. After passing our learnings back to Terence, we then supplied key talent with brand-new iPhone11’s that were configured and shipped to them by production. The real life gaming crews in London, Paris, Berlin, LA, New York and South Korea were then all able to self capture footage under strict COVID restrictions. Owing to the size and weight of an iPhone, Terence and Kaname were able to play with dynamic camera movement and push shooting techniques to the limit.

Whilst iPhone cameras are accessible, we learnt how to get great quality, understand the limitations and help teams develop new techniques as a result. We also navigated logistics, giving directors and agencies control over a shoot. We built a responsive and multi-faceted shoot platform, having multiple Zoom channels open for crew, talent and agencies, to replicate a real shoot environment.

The blended workplace

We think it’s fair to say that this collaborative remote working model is here to stay. When we launched Black Kite, we knew we wanted to encourage a sustainable work-life balance for our people and remote working can play a big part in achieving that. Most agencies have been slow at adopting this mindset but COVID has now accelerated this working culture.

Blended workplaces will be the future though. Talent and clients will still always want a physical hub because creativity thrives in an environment where people can bounce ideas around, share views and become excited by a vision. As humans we are stimulated by personal and social interaction. The difference now is people will come in at the right point on a project to engage, share and collaborate and then go back to remote working with confidence.