Jordan Dennis - The Link (Music Video)

Last year May 2020, up against a global pandemic and isolation challenges, we had to stop sitting around and do something, anything. A Music Video was suggested and as story began with Jordan Dennis’ music, it quickly grew into a full-blown film, pioneering and taking a revolutionary step in remote shooting. It was challenging, scary and a lot of people did doubt it, but it turned out great.

Teaming up with an amazing team of dancers, technicians & filmmakers in Tokyo & Sydney and despite the challenges of isolation constraints and cross continental borders, it was quickly uncovered the potential of remote shooting and what has become a new norm in set workflows across the world. Based remotely and connecting in from Tokyo was Director Kensaku Kakimoto from Connection and Producer Ishikawa Shou from TYO Drive. It was essential to emulate what was happening on set as if remote viewers were present like they normally would be if it weren't remote, ensure a consistent, high quality live stream at real time and a clear communication flow between remote locations and set.

After discussing with technicians, the best way to do this, there were three key streaming and communication elements. The QTake software was used to live stream at real time through a secure server along with other standard operations like playback which was easily viewable from a connected user's phone, tablet of computer. Zoom channels were used to communicate between countries through Filmreaktors’ bilingual team on the ground prior, on the day and post shoot across all departments. There was also a GoPro connected to the Zoom channel as a witness camera, allowing remote viewers to see a wide angle of what is happening on set.

A great result, case study and clear indicator that remote shooting isn’t just temporary but a modern day workflow that is here to stay.