Covid 19 - Spears and Arrows

COVID-19
PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS update
WE're back!

Shooting Now • Remote Production & Video Village • One Stop Production • Our Directors

we're back!

Spears & Arrows is fully open for business. Los Angeles and the surrounding counties are issuing permits. Stages are open. And crews and vendors are eager to get back to work.

During the downtime, we have been preparing for our return to work by keeping abreast of production activity worldwide, researching remote technologies, and devising safety protocols and best practices to keep our cast, crew, and clients safe and healthy.

Using published COVID-19 protocols from the CDC, OSHA, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force White Paper, we have devised a simple set of safety protocols for our office and our sets: a) a designated COVID-19 Safety Officer, b) daily health screening, c) PPE and mandatory face coverings, d) personal sanitizing (regular hand washing and sanitizing), e) environmental sanitizing (office, sets, props, surfaces), and f) social distancing.

SPEARS & ARROWS is ready to do what we have always done: work with our clients to provide solutions and produce stand-out content that moves, touches, inspires, and motivates our viewers.

Shooting now

Spears & Arrows is shooting now. We completed a stage shoot in Dallas, and will soon be shooting on location in the Los Angeles area, and possibly New York after that.

We are working closely with our clients, our production staff, and our crew and vendors to produce successful and SAFE shoots that follow civic and industry guidelines.

We have produced and will continue to produce BTS films to share our safety preparations and protocols and to give our friends and clients a sense of what production looks like in this new era.

Our first film can be viewed here: Covid BTS Film 1

Shooting in the future

Things are opening up — but COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future. Cities and countries may open and close and open again, as the disease ebbs and flows around the globe. So, how do we move forward? By doing what we have always done.

We adapt. We work. We thrive.

We take common sense precautions and observe health safety protocols. We look out for our own health and we look out for the health of our crews, actors, and clients.

Right now and into the future, we can shoot using the following methods:

•Traditional Live-Action. Our international directors can shoot traditional live-action in open cities around the globe. This means that our directors, crews, and actors can assemble, cast, prep, and work somewhat like we used to (with added safety protocols). Agencies and clients can travel to these shoots or use remote video feeds to attend from the comfort and safety of their homes or offices.

•Remote Direction. Our directors can direct remotely using local crews and talent worldwide. However, we don’t recommend this. We believe that directors need to be on the ground with their cast and crew to deliver their best work. With directors in cities around the globe, we can provide this.

•Multi-Director Projects. If international travel is not possible or is undesirable, our team of international directors can work together on a single project, or multi-spot package, to provide creative content from anywhere in the world: USA, Canada, Europe, Iceland, Australia, and South Africa. Our director in Rome, Ago Panini, has already been part of just such a multi-director project for Vodafone.

•Shelter-at-Home Productions. In the event that shelter-at-home once again becomes necessary, our directors are prepared to shoot within their quarantine zones. Spears & Arrows has been creating and shooting throughout the pandemic. To showcase our shelter-at-home capabilities, we are producing a series of short films about living and thriving under quarantine. Our directors live and work in cities throughout North America, Europe, and South Africa. Using their quarantined households and resources, they are creating unique and diverse glimpses of life during this global event.

We have produced four films to date. To view them click here.

Remote production & video village

We can offer remote scouting, casting, production prep, and even shooting and post, if needed. If agencies or clients don’t wish to or can’t afford to send large contingents to attend shoots, we can provide a thorough and immersive remote experience through existing technology. This is a new era and we believe that the demand for remote production, viewing, collaborating, and directing will only increase.

one stop production

SHOOT • DESIGN • ANIMATION • MOTION GRAPHICS • EDITORIAL & FINISHING

We share our Los Angeles office with Cutters editorial and Flavor VFX, and have partnered with them on numerous projects that required an ‘all-in’ production through post solution. They have a dedicated online server connecting all of their worldwide offices and all of their editors and artists are able to work remotely. Our directors can provide creative direction for any project requiring editorial, design, motion graphics, or animation.

OUR DIRECTORS

USA • Canada • Iceland • UK • Europe • South Africa • Australia

All of our directors work internationally and have shot on every continent but Antarctica. (And we’d like to check that one off our bucket list. So if you write it, we’ll shoot it.)

However, during this unique moment in history with travel uncertainty and countries opening at different times and at different paces, we understand that where a director is in the world can be an important factor.

So here’s the scoop.

Don BROIDA

Los Angeles

Don is a director and editor with a deep and nuanced sense for pacing, story, character, and emotion. Don is game for anything. He’ll travel to the ends of the earth (i.e., Antarctica – hint, hint) or create a film in his own backyard.

Phil Brown

Toronto

Phil Brown has a camera in his hands almost constantly—a Canon 7D to be precise. He carries it with him on every job to capture additional footage that always adds scope and richness to his spots.

ROBIN GOODE

Cape Town

Robin Goode is an award winning director, photographer, and visual artist who creates films that are beautiful, immersive, and full of unique, fully-realized characters. And, as Cape Town opened many weeks ago, Robin has had the opportunity to work in this new reality of ours. He very successfully shot a spot with the agency and client attending virtually.

DAVID HICKS

Toronto

David’s past life was as an editor, so he possess a very developed sense of storytelling and the ability to shoot for the edit.

Arni Thor Jonsson

Iceland • Los Angeles

Arni is a descendant of Vikings and is living proof that they had a sensitive side. His films are warm, humorous, and touching slices of humanity. He also owns one of the oldest and most established production service companies in Reykjavik, also a long-time partner of ours, Republik Film Productions.

AGO PANINI

Rome • EU

Ago lives within sight of the Basilica and his favorite restaurant. Art and food are highly valued but they are only a couple of the many genres his unique storytelling has mastered. He shoots celebrities, cars, drama, and humor with a hand- waving passion that you must experience.

Nick Piper

Paris • Prague • EU

Nick specializes in authentic performances, visual storytelling, and the occasional mind-bending warp of time and space. Just watch his reel. You’ll see what we mean.

Michael Shapiro

Los Angeles

Michael Shapiro specializes in sumptuous visuals, naturalistic performances and, emotionally honest storytelling.

David Stoddart

Los Angeles • UK

David has made a career out of directing virtually. He began his career as an award winning hidden camera director, and then created his own genre called “discreet camera” utilizing remote direction. So, the current conditions are business as usual for him.

Michael Uppendahl

Los Angeles

Michael Uppendahl is an award-winning television director (American Horror Story, Mad Men, Ray Donovan, The Walking Dead, Fargo). His latest project, Hollywood, just began airing on Netflix.

Wondo

Berlin • EU

Bernd “Wondo” Wondollek is a director/DP who shoots around the globe for iconic automotive brands, including Audi, Porsche, Chevrolet, Bugatti, and Mercedes Benz. He is widely considered to be one of the best Russian Arm DP’s in the world. Give him a car and he’ll shoot the sh*t out of it.