COVID-Safe Commercial Production: Bathroom In A Church Edition

Ever built a bathroom in the middle of a church sanctuary? The Storyfarm office is not really a production studio. It's a church sanctuary built in 1888, with original floors, large Tiffany stained glass, a pulpit, and much more. We rent studios elsewhere normally. But everything is different with COVID. Our client, Wahl, needed to shoot in a nice, big, and bright modern bathroom, so we scouted lots of real bathrooms looking for that feel and look. The best options were in nice hotels, but they had no opening windows and the crew who be on top of each other for days ...it just was not safe enough. We needed a better option.

So we decided the safest thing was to use the 40+ foot ceilings and big wide open windows in our church office. With the help of a set designer, we built a beautiful 3-wall bathroom complete with running water. Over the course of several days we filmed models using more than a dozen clippers and other mens grooming products. It worked perfectly. We stayed totally COVID-safe, with rigorous pre-shoot testing, social distancing, and masks. Pairing the footage with 3D animated products, we delivered a series of videos for Wahl and their Amazon pages.

We've done really well during COVID and the lockdown, really leaning into the safest approaches. With virtual video village accommodations, clients have stayed safe and involved, reviewing and approving everything as productions roll on. Sure, it's not the same as before. It's harder and slower and takes new approaches and ideas. But you can be safe and still do great work even now. We're really proud of our Storyfarm team.