A famous soap opera in the US started a work strategy that’s redefining TV production during this pandemic.
Recently, the state of California lifted certain restrictions and the long-running soap opera ‘The Bold and the Beautiful‘ is among the first ones to take this opportunity in shooting their scenes for the series again.
But adapting to the new “normal” requires creativity and a whole lot of thinking way outside the box.
To make it work, the soap is reportedly using the actors’ real-life partners to do intimate scenes, as an effort to reduce actual contact between actors on the set.
The partners will serve as their love-scene doubles in the meantime, according to the soap’s executive producer Bradley Bell.
Moreover, the production team will use different shooting techniques to make it look like the actors are near each other when in fact, they’re actually eight feet apart.
“We’ll really rely on our directors to employ all techniques. [Actors will] shoot eight feet apart, following all the safety standards, but use the tricks of the business. We’ll shoot one side of the couple in a romantic scene alone in the room, but looking at a spot very close to them, and then shoot the other side alone. When we edit it together, it will look like they’re nose to nose,” the executive producer said in an interview with Hollywood Reporter.
“And we’ll probably also be using some of the classic, old-fashioned tricks of soap opera, where when things heat up, we pan to the fireplace or pan to a candle to indicate things are getting hot [laughs]. All in all, I think a lot of it will be done with the eyes and the voice, and there can still be love in the air and romance on the screen from a safe distance.”
For the production people, they’ve modified the set and the post-production rooms to ensure that members are at least six feet apart and divided by plexiglass.
The soap opera has been working with Reel Health, which provides COVID response services, and it has been guiding the group in a safe path back to production.
“We’ve been doing testing — everyone has been tested. Actors will be tested at least once a week, maybe multiple times a week. All production personnel will be tested on Mondays, and we’ll be filming Tuesday through Friday,” Bell shares.
