★★★★★ 0/5

Neighbours to resume filming this week

Fremantle boldly sets a working model to film safely during restrictions.

11
Leave a comment

Filming on Neighbours will recommence this week in what is the first Drama to resume filming in Australia during COVID-19.

But there will be strict measures in place for the protection of cast and crew. Limited production resumes this week with pull production from April 27.

There will be no intimate scenes, cast and crew will be isolated into three distinct groups, and camera tricks will be used to make physically-distanced actors look more intimate.

A Fremantle spokesperson told TV Tonight, “Neighbours returns from its scheduled production hiatus next week with a revised production model which fully complies with the Government’s strict health and safety measures for work environments around COVID-19.”

The studio has been divided into quadrants, with an operational hub, three distinct production teams and only three actors allowed to cross between the units.

“There will be no more than 100 people a day in any area, we’ll implement the four-square-metre rule and the one-and-a-half-metre social distancing rule,” Fremantle CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor has told ABC.

“We’ve got a nurse on set, different catering for everyone, males will have no make-up, women’s [make-up] will not be touched up, there are no intimate scenes.

“We’re going to assume if someone does get sick we don’t need to shut the entire shoot — we just close that group and carry on.”

Other productions are looking to the model to see how successfully it can operate.

Fremantle is not yet resuming production on Wentworth, which does require intimate scenes, but also has time up its sleeve.

2020 episodes are complete and due to screen from June. Filming on 2021 episodes has been suspended.

11 Responses

  2. It’s like a bizarre parallel universe watching neighbours at the moment. On the one hand they make out that they are living in our time, for example the recent Easter weekend, but there is no mention of Covid 19, of course as it was filmed earlier. I’m wondering how all the soaps will handle the issue in the story-lines as they all purport to be living in the same world as we are. well except H&A, where it is summer all year round and they rarely have Christmas.

  4. Let’s hope the storylines get better they need to recruit more new fresh writers, I do watch Neighbours, sometimes I think it’s great writing then sometimes I think the storylines are so silly and not in touch with reality… there’s always constantly a repetitive new guest character in the show always being a ‘bady’ causing trouble etc..to the point it becomes annoying. The show would rate higher if it was on the same level as Home and Away… Anyways that’s just my opinion cause I know Neighbours has potential ?

      1. @Matilda R Here here. I do wonder about those that criticise neighbours, have they actually watched it recently? With the exception of Elly being advised by Toadie to plead guilty, its been great this year.

    1. We could say that about MasterChef …. as long as all guidelines are in place it should be a choice for cast and crew. Plus at times like this which should be able if possible to act like we normally do and if that is watching Neighbours for some people that will help.

    2. Keeping hundreds of people employed in an industry that is rapidly falling apart and receiving no government assistance doesn’t sound necessary to you?

  6. Suddenly scenes will look like a tourist photo leaning against the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or touching the tip of the Eiffel Tower because of social distancing. Why does Susan look so much taller than Karl these days?

Leave a Reply