Producing a Short Film During Lockdown

Kirsty Dua, is a freelance producer and has worked with us over the years on multiple projects. As a director and writer on Don’t Bloody Look, her new short film in post production, she had to juggle with the new COVID government guidelines to ensure the safety of the cast and crew was taken into consideration.

Can you give a brief overview of Don’t Bloody Look and why you thought such a film is important? 

Over lockdown I wrote a short film to encourage young girls to feel confident in talking about periods. A survey last year found that one in five girls across the UK are teased or bullied because of their period, and I wanted to highlight how ridiculous this is. Period stigma is extremely damaging to young girls and their self esteem, so we need to open up conversations with young girls and boys and normalise this subject at an early age. 

The short film was shot over 2 days and we had a cast of five young talents aged 12-14 and a total of three adult actors. 

What were some of the challenges that cropped up with the changing COVID restrictions and regulations on filmmaking? How did you manage to work within the regulations?

Some of our filming took place on location, and we had to be very mindful with the public and keeping a safe distance from everyone. Most of the scenes I was able to write with social distancing in mind but there were a couple where talent had to be in close proximity to each other. One scene in particular involved a cast member passing a prop to the other actor. Each time in between takes we would have to wipe down the prop to sanitise it. 

How did it feel different from a traditional production?

The main difference was everyone having to wear masks. This did not restrict production at all and everyone was able to carry out their job as normal. We had a COVID Supervisor on set who would continuously sanitise surfaces / props and also ensure everyone kept distanced from each other and wore their masks. 

Were there any instances when you had to be creative with the way the story was conveyed to ensure upholding guidelines? Could you describe those instances? 

No! The story was able to be told the way we had envisioned. It was just making sure the way we conducted the shoot stayed inline with government guidelines. 

What aspects of this production would you take on to future projects?

A COVID Supervisor is vital. Everyone is busy doing their job they are brought on to do, and now there are a lot of extra rules in place it is hard for them to stay on top of this as well. A COVID Supervisor will ensure everyone is sticking to the rules and remind everyone of best practices. They will also have time to keep an eye on surfaces being touched and can sanitise regularly. 

Where to find Kirsty

Instagram - @mindfulpictures
Website - https://www.kirstydua.co.uk/