No kissing for 'Neighbours' cast, but show is back shooting following strict distancing rules

Record ID: 1551677

  • Title: No kissing for 'Neighbours' cast, but show is back shooting following strict distancing rules
  • Date: 13th May 2020
  • Summary: MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA (MAY 12, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF ''NEIGHBOURS'', JASON HERBISON, SAYING: ''This is an unprecedented situation, there is no rule-book for it. There's no one, there's no hot-line you can call up and find out what to do when you're a television company making six episodes of a television show each week. So what we really had to do was just stop, listen to the government advice. Look at the way we film the show, and in consultation with our cast and crew, really formulate a plan where we felt we could all return to work safely.''
  • Embargoed: 27th May 2020 17:49
  • Keywords: Jason Herbison Neighbours coronavirus drama filming soap opera television show the coronavirus
  • Location: UNKNOWN LOCATION/ MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
  • City: UNKNOWN LOCATION/ MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
  • Country: Australia
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Television
  • Reuters ID: LVA002CDRMA8D
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: They won't be able to shoot any actual kissing or fighting scenes for a while, but Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' has found a way to go back to work and continue filming, despite the difficulties the coronavirus puts on production.
    The hit television show, which is now in its 35th year, had a break from filming for a month while producers re-worked scripts and stories so that they could be filmed in a way that adhered to government guidelines.
    ''This is an unprecedented situation, there is no rulebook for it,'' Executive Producer of ''Neighbours'' Jason Herbison told Reuters on Tuesday (May 12) in an interview via Skype from the show's studios in Melbourne, Australia.
    ''There's no hotline you can call up and find out what to do when you're a television company making six episodes of a television show each week. So what we really had to do was just stop, listen to the government advice. Look at the way we film the show. And in consultation with our cast and crew, really formulate a plan where we felt we could all return to work safely,'' he said.
    One challenge they faced was how to make a drama about a group of neighbours who regularly interact with each other - without the actors physically touching.
    ''Whereas in the past, characters might have kissed, you know, now we might have them lean in for a kiss and then the camera pans away and we hear a little bit of a giggle. We've given some of our characters little mannerisms that show that they're in the mood for intimacy and their partner comes running. But we don't actually see the moment, with say, a fight or something else that involves physical contact. It's just about re-imagining the scene differently. So you don't see that moment of impact,'' said Herbison.
    They have also reduced the number of actors in scenes and in some cases filmed scenes in ''smaller components'', stitching them ''together in the editing room to make it look as though all the people were together".
    There are also strict social distancing rules on set. Herbison explained that they follow the Australian government's regulation of maintaining a 1.5metre distance where possible, and if anyone has to touch then they have ''extra hygiene measures in place to deal with that.''
    The set has also been colour-coded, to stop cast and crew crossing over with each other like they used to - and so that the production team can track who has been where.
    ''The cast, the crew, the production office, everyone on site has a colour that matches an area of the production, so that if we do have an incident, we can trace back and know who they interacted with, what door they walked in, where they parked their car, what surfaces they might have touched. All of those elements are all there for us very, very quickly as opposed to having to figure out where an individual might have been during their working day,'' said Herbison.
    When cast and crew arrive on set all the team also have temperature checks and there are also three safety officers on set monitoring filming.
    While the coronavirus has clearly had an enormous impact on drama productions around the world, with most not able to film at the moment, ''"Neighbours"'' will not be portraying effects of the virus on their show anytime soon.
    Herbison explained that they shoot months in advance. Unlike other soap operas that might add in a storyline about the coronavirus, this might be out of date when the show airs. He also acknowledged that a show called "Neighbours" could not possibly work in a story where you cannot actually see your neighbours either.
    Herbison hopes the soap continues to act as a form of escapism for many, but says they will make some nods to the 'new world' with characters using handsanitizer for example, in restaurants.
    Despite the changes in roles the number of people working on "Neighbours" remains the same, it's just their day to day might look a little bit different.
    (Production: Sarah Mills)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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