Filming during Covid-19.
In June & July 2021, we spent over six weeks in Portugal, which had been listed as Amber according to the UK Government's Covid-19 travel guidance. We were in Portugal to film & edit the Pitch Football at the Euro’s, a talk show featuring the likes of Paul Ince, Abigail Davies and Iain Chambers, a spectacular trio.
Firstly, many thanks to Eat Sleep Media for the opportunity, as well as our long-standing collaborator Fine Rolling Media. It was a pleasure to be asked and trusted with the production of this TV Show.
You can watch all of the episodes on the Pitch Footy Youtube Channel.
Okay, so let’s break it down! How did we do it?
The Boring Stuff! #Research.
The excitement of working abroad in the sunshine quickly wears off when you start having to read government website pages to figure out the exact guidelines for Covid safety measures. At the time of writing, we can safely say it’s not as complicated as it looks! Here’s a breakdown for an Amber Country:
Flying out of the UK.
72 Hours before flying - Get Covid tested, we recommend Express Test. We also recommend getting tested 48 Hours before, so if your flight gets cancelled you have a day's flexibility to source an alternative.
Before flying. Passenger Locator form for the country you’re visiting. Upload or print for the check-in at the airline.
Returning to the UK.
72 Hours before flying - Get Covid tested. Find a local in-country one, it’s likely cheaper than any of the UK ones.
Before flying. Passenger Locator form for the country you’re visiting. Upload or print for the check-in at the airline.
0 to 10 Days Isolation. Book a test prior to your return flight, you’ll probably have to upload the document to your airline's website / app. This depends on what country you’re returning to, in Wales, it’s a 2 & 8-day test and you HAVE to isolate for 10 days regardless of testing. In England, you can get a test to release, which means you leave isolation after 5-8 days.
Extra Tip: Check-In at the desk, avoid using the self-check-in right now as the desk will ensure everything is sorted before you fly.
Extra Extra Tip: When you go into the 10-day isolation, day 1 is counted as day 0. So it’s basically 11 days of isolation.
Flying with Video Production Equipment
If you’ve ever filmed or taken any electrical items abroad you’ll know this is a pretty standard faff, especially when it comes down to batteries.
Our setup was two cinema cameras - the C200 & Sony FS7. Bunch of lenses, cables, batteries, monitors, hard cases and camera stands. A pretty simple setup but nonetheless a lot to get on a plane without a security man giving you a funny look.
The simplest way to get it on a plane? Have it in a hard case and suck up the extra baggage prices. Although, if you’re ambitious you can get it through security with hand luggage as my colleague @KyleCamera will now demonstrate!
The trick to taking it all through as hand luggage is to be the happiest person you’ll ever meet! Kyle certainly is!
Extra Tip: You can probably ‘err’ on the number of batteries you have at the check-in desk.
To mask or not to mask?
You can figure this one out quick enough but for example, in Portugal, everyone wears a mask everywhere. Compare this to the UK and well, ugh, intelligence isn't something the UK is known for!
A quick google search will show you what the Covid cases are like in that country, you could also reach out to locals in the area you're travelling to, or even post in a Reddit forum in your field of work. People are always happy to help!
Apart from your mask if you’re working abroad it’s also useful to have:
- Travel / Business Insurance.
You'll find right now normal Travel insurance is actually useless. We couldn't find a company willing to cover business and normal travel due to Covid. Business insurance seemed like the best route, fortunately, we didn't need it.
- Passport with over 6 months left.
Seams obvious till it's not. You can't fly into the EU anymore without 6+ months left on the passport.
- Print out of Drivers Licence & Passport
This is for hotels & rental cars. It's so easy to lose one of these. (Trust me, I lost my drivers on this trip)
- Monzo Card
Helps with expensive currency exchange rates.
Got your own tips you want to see added to this blog? Drop us a DM on Instagram LUNA TIDES PRODUCTIONS
We’ll add any suggestions we think are really good!
