German TV show shoots Covid-19 report in Brazil
A Story Productions crew shot a report into the impact of the P1 coronavirus variant in Brazil for German lifestyle show Taff
Brazil has been at the centre of many of the international TV headlines during the pandemic. This has kept Story Productions busy, from hosting news crews for the likes of ITV’s News at Ten to filming remotely directed documentaries that follow Covid-19 storylines for international TV networks. Last month, our challenge was to shoot a coronavirus report for Taff - a magazine-style programme on German channel ProSieben, which delves into interesting and topical stories from all around the world.
Mexican production company Romero&Braas, who we’ve filmed for before, got in touch about filming a report into the spread of the P1 Covid-19 variant in Brazil. They wanted to showcase the challenge faced by front-line workers in fighting the spread of the more easily transmissible coronavirus variant.
Filming in São Paulo
We organised a two-day shoot, one in São Paulo during its most restrictive phase, and another in Manaus in the Amazon, the epicentre of the P1 variant. The São Paulo shoot started with B-roll on the city’s main commercial avenue, Avenida Paulista, capturing footage of people with and without masks, the shops all shut, and traffic jams building up as residents went about their business.
Our Brazilian film crew then went to the north of the city to the suburb of Brasilândia, in the low-income periphery, to capture an alternative reality, that of people for whom social distancing and staying at home is virtually impossible. We filmed vox pops on the street with five locals, talking about how the pandemic has affected them.
It’s not just economic hardships that have made social distancing difficult in São Paulo, but also a disregard for the rules, as footage from illegal parties packed with hundreds of youngsters has shown. Story Productions interviewed a police officer who is part of a task force set up to enforce restrictive measures and shut down clandestine parties. Our crew accompanied the police at night on an operation to shut down one such gathering in the outskirts of the city.
Filming in Manaus
Home to more than 2 million people and the largest city in the Amazon, Manaus has been at the epicentre of the crisis in Brazil. A Story Productions producer travelled to Manaus for a second day of shooting, alongside a local DoP. A busy shooting schedule had been planned by our production team in advance, including casting and obtaining all filming permits. The crew of two followed a nurse on the front line of treating Covid-19 patients at the city’s largest emergency hospital, as well as a nursing assistant who has recovered from the virus twice. They also interviewed a doctor and clinical expert in the P1 variant.
With years of experience of
filming in the Amazon, the crew were well prepared for the unpredictable weather typical of the region as they set out to shoot B-roll in the port area of the city. Powerful images showed the intense flow of commerce and gathering of people in and around the river and the markets, many of whom weren't wearing masks.
Filming during Covid-19
Safety remains our main priority when filming during Covid-19, both for our crew and the interviewees, especially in high-risk locations like hospitals. Everyone in the Story Productions crew has completed Safe Sets International certification, and we’re following all updates to the safety protocols for filming in Brazil issued by audiovisual institutions all across the country.
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