With restrictions preventing physical production, studios are wondering how to get content moving again. The world of animation might offer some help
Even as cities begin to reopen, many employees are still wondering when they can return to their desks.
But for those working in Hollywood’s top offices, the question of the hour is somewhat different.
“For us it’s not so much when can we go back into the office,” said a marketing executive at Disney. “It’s when can we go back to set.”
While restrictions due to the coronavirus are steadily lifting, precautions and safety procedures continue to greatly limit major studios’ physical productions. This means highly anticipated live-action films and television shows are not getting the footage they need to be completed. New projects are still being pitched and purchased, but after that there’s just a lot of planning and waiting for things to get better.
But the situation is very different in the world of animation.
“For the most part, animation keeps on trucking,” said Mariah Wilson, a production assistant at Nickelodeon. While her peers at other departments and other studios are spending their time reading, writing, and just planning for the future, she and her co-workers are hard at work getting episodes delivered on schedule. From what she’s seeing, animation remains fine.
To be fair, even animation studios did have their share of issues with the transition to remote work.
“There was a mad dash scramble in the two weeks up to everyone working from home,” said Wilson.
