Pandemic One-Year Series
A year ago today we boarded a flight to Mexico for what would be our last travel trip for a while (unbeknownst to us at the time obviously). A week later we would be stressfully trying to make it back home to Canada before borders shut down and everyone went into lockdown. I am envious of this person from one year ago – this person who thought nothing of jumping on a plane and heading off into the unknown with no thought of masks and sanitizer and obsessive hand washing!
2020 was certainly a year and we thought it might be fun to give some perspectives of what the year taught us overall, but also across productions.
To me, it felt like a year of juxtapositions:
Time seemed to go so slow at times while in lockdown but then somehow here we are a year later and a year has never seemed to pass by so fast!
A “quiet” year when we couldn’t work for a lot of it due to restrictions somehow felt busier than ever – both with throwing myself into creative and charity projects and then with the rocket-ship approach to coming out of lockdown with a bunch of clients trying to catch up on their marketing and advertising objectives.
A year that was risky from a health perspective somehow never felt so safe. Our protocols on set and in general life in trying to avoid COVID also meant that I have not been sick for well over a year. Normally a common cold blazes across a production but not this year! Cold and flu be gone!
And to me, while 2020 was hard and stressful trying to work out if we were going to keep working again at first, and then trying to work out how to keep working safely when the demand hit – it reiterated what I’ve always believed 100%. It is the people and the relationships that matter the most and that is what I want to continue to fight for and maintain across productions going forward. During the scariest times of starting up small productions again, we were all relying on each other to maintain safety protocols, to respect each other, to try and limit the crazy long film days, to keep people energized and well-fed for good health and to know that if someone needed something we would band together and make it happen. Even on the small side of things – like grabbing someone soup if they didn’t sleep well, letting a Mom go home early to spend Halloween with her toddler, or bringing birthday cupcakes to the Director on set knowing they wouldn’t get to have a party after work! We banded together to keep working but to do so safely. In a time when we couldn’t have social gatherings with our friends and family – these gatherings in a work sense meant everything.
So for anyone I had the pleasure of working with in 2020 – I want to say a huge THANK YOU!
In the spirit of reflecting back we sent out some questions to some of our regular team members to see how 2020 was for them:
Q: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT 2020?
HUBERT: Workwise, my favourite thing is that we rose to the challenge and started to reinvent ourselves. A big part of our business is in the tourism and hospitality industry so we were hit hard, but it's was really cool to see our colleagues rallied together, checked on each other along the way, and started figuring out a new way forward. The comradery is something I'll always remember and treasure. Personally, in 2020, I got to spend so much time with my dog, Sammy. It was a blessing that we recently moved to Squamish so it was lots of trail and river time. I loved it.
SARAH: Mid-day naps and 12 pm wine became socially acceptable. And loungewear as fashion.
AMY: Getting to shoot in Mexico right before everything changed - beaches, cenotes, tacos and a killer team of people!
AIKEN: Overall 2020 was terrible for everyone, but being forced to reflect on life was nice. It helped put a small pause on my life and get my goals in order. The social distancing measures also made me realize how thankful I am for my family and friends, and how much I value seeing them in person. Human connections are such an important aspect of life that I often take for granted... After this pandemic, never again!
ANNIE: I got to sleep a lot.
ANGELYNE: Best thing about 2020... More time with my dog :)
CARSON: Spending more time with family.
LEAH: Spending more quality time with family.
MIKE: Getting to learn new skills and adapt.
Q: What did you learn from a work perspective in 2020?
CARSON: Be hopeful!!!
LEAH: Stay flexible!!!
MIKE: COVID has created all sorts of interesting problems to solve, from remote video and audio, to livestreaming, to making footage feel natural with 6ft spacing and masks. Some of these things I look forward to not having to deal with in the future, but I think a lot of the new ways we've learned to work will carry on and just make us more productive and efficient in the future.
AMY: That we are all a super resourceful and passionate bunch who were very quickly able to adapt to keep doing what we love!
ANGELYNE: I learned how to manage client expectations. We are not saving lives. Found our best with limited stock and colossal lineups. All good. Remember to breathe :)
SARAH: Being in a pandemic allowed for better management of client expectations. Something I think had gotten out of hand in my field. It was expected to find anything anytime for no budget... the pandemic gave us real limitations on sourcing things which finally gave us a real excuse to say no sometimes. Or say sure but it will cost you. Risking your health to be in stores, on set, in public places made me value my time and skills much more than before.
ANNIE: I'm privileged to be able to work from home.
HUBERT: Patience and perspective. 2020 was a real lesson for me to just take incremental steps one at a time. I thought the year was going to be a big disappointment work wise. But looking back, I am surprised to see how much we have done incrementally and collectively. I also learned a lot about perspective. As much as I am passionate about my work, it's nothing compared to health and safety for everyone. It's only one year of my life. I'd take that over jeopardizing anyone's health.
AIKEN: I'm thankful to be working in an industry where working from home is an option but seeing how people have adapted to working on set and with smaller teams has been quite amazing. As much as I value having saved commuting time, my biggest takeaway is how much I enjoy a balance of working from home and being able to collaborate, chat and see the people I work with. Freelancers often tell me it's a lonely job, but I never understood that until the pandemic.
Q: What WAS YOUR MOST WORn WORK OUTFIT IN 2020?
SARAH: The Vancouver set special - Blundstones, Jeans (not Duer hah!) and blacktop. Maybe an Arcteryx jacket? And now a mask 🤦🏼♀️
CARSON: Black t-shirt + jeans.
ANNIE: Sweater + sweatpants.
HUBERT: Nothing specific. The only thing that jumped out for me is that nothing fits because of all the online shopping.
AIKEN: My amazingly soft, pink oversized sweater with a print of The Return of Spring by Neoclassic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It features the painting, with a small addition of the woman in the center holding a corded phone.
MIKE: UNIQLO stretchy pants that look like work pants but feel like sweatpants.
LEAH: Slippers and sweats out of view and a button-up shirt on top!
AMY: Probably hiking clothes - got out into the woods almost everyday for a break from the madness
Q: WHAT DID YOU STOCK UP ON WHEN THE LOCKDOWN FIRST HIT?
CARSON: Rice
ANNIE: Sanitizer
AIKEN: I tried to grab a pack of toilet paper whenever it was available. Right now, I'm trying to stock up on a foster dog but they're pretty limited in quantities. :(
LEAH: Noodles!!!!
MIKE: So much of everything. Except yeast, unfortunately. Never managed to make a good loaf of bread!
SARAH: Wine wine wine wine. Then I got pregnant and couldn’t drink any of it. Truly tragic.
ANGELYNE: We stocked up on thieves oil and vino.
AMY: Funnily enough - a months supply of dehydrated hiking/camping foods packs from MEC - I’m not sure if I thought food shortages were coming or if I was ambitious about doing a tonne of overnighter trips over the summer but whatever it was - I’m not going hungry anytime soon!
HUBERT: I am ashamed to say that I bought camping freeze-dried food in case the apocalypse hits. But I only did it on the advice of Amy.
Q: IS THERE SOMETHING FROM OUR COVID PROTOCOLS ON SET THAT WOULD LIKE TO SEE CONTINUE??
HUBERT: The face shield of course. Love all the fog! Actually, I like the morning check-ins the most. Even though it's brief, it's nice to start the day with some care for each other.
ANGEYLNE: Love the vivid protocol of check-in 😘.
SARAH: Individual snack boxes!
LEAH: I'm sure you guys do it all perfectly all the time, but a key lesson from all of this is for folks to stay at home when they feel sick. No matter what.
ANNIE: I haven't been to one.
CARSON: Remote setup.
AMY: I would love to try and continue the “realistic expectations” aspect to continue - to not burn people out!
AIKEN: I would love for people to be more cautious when they are sick and working in general. Having a cold/flu sucks and people should be mindful of spreading everyday common illnesses. Face masks are commonly used in Asia when an individual is ill so I hope that trend catches on here. Other than that, more hand-washing is nice too!
Q: BEST LOCKDOWN SNACK??
AIKEN: I have learned to drink more water during this pandemic. I use to drink about one small cup of water per day. I don't know how I'm alive. But hands-down best snack is chips, obviously.
LEAH: Charcuterie board! Became almost a daily ritual of snacks when the workday was done.
SARAH: I went for Nanaimo bars... not sure why 🤷🏼♀️
ANNIE: Hubert's homemade salty granola.
AMY: Probably chocolate and brewery beer.
HUBERT: Way too many chips.
CARSON: Chocolate.
ANGELYNE: Best lockdown snack ... Homemade lemon squares.
Q: first place you will visit for work or fun when you can travel again?
LEAH': My grandma's yard! ❤️
ANGELYNE: When we are free to travel.. Back to Kauai to do the Napoli trail hike again. Miss that tropical magic 🌴
HUBERT: I actually want to go back to the last place I visited before Covid – Mexico. I love everything about it. The people, the culture, nature, the food... It's magical
AMY: Locally I desperately want to get to Tofino for some surfing, and then ideally I can get home to Australia for Christmas in 2021!
SARAH: Anywhere with a beach, pina coladas and babysitting services included.
MIKE: My parents in the interior. Greece.
AIKEN: I have a long list of locations I'd love to visit one day that includes Paris, Morocco, Reykjavík, Tokyo, Jeju Island, Chengdu, Portugal, and London. However, the first place I would go to when it's safe is Shanghai to family.
CARSON: Japan.
ANNIE: Taiwan to visit my family.
Thank you to the following rockstars for contributing answers: