Living in the in-between
I once visited a tiny town on the tip of Alaska called Utqiagvik. The town is so far north that from November through January the sun doesn’t rise at all, a phenomenon known as a polar night.
I asked a resident I met, a woman originally from Brazil, what it felt like to spend months in total darkness. For her, she told me, the hardest part wasn’t the darkness — which was hard but something she got used to — but what came after: that gray, in-between time when the days weren’t completely dark but also weren’t light enough to be carved discretely into day and night.
I think of what she told me as I navigate where we are now, a decidedly in-between place. We’re no longer in a near-total shutdown, but we’re hardly back to ‘normal,’ normal being some past way of living that isn’t possible in a pandemic. But this in-between place is life, and we have to figure out how to inhabit it and act in a way that is both safe and fruitful.
Steph and I have slowly restarted projects. We’ve shot a few things outdoors, wearing masks and being mindful of social distancing guidelines. But for some projects, the best choice is to produce remotely, talking our partners through DIY shoots, gathering b-roll, and transferring large files so that we can edit their footage into something that sings.
Truth be told, we miss being out in the field. But we’re also grateful that we’re doing this in a time when the tools to tell stories are more affordable and accessible than ever. We’re all figuring this out, and we’d love to support you as you continue to share your mission with your audiences.
We’ve put together a Guide to Remote Video Production, which details the tools you might need as well as some tips on framing and lighting. We’re also available for new projects beginning in July.
In the meantime, we hope you’re doing what you need to take care of yourselves in this strange, in-between moment.
— Monica