ITN crew films news report on covid-19 in São Paulo
Catherine Balston • Jun 02, 2020
An ITN crew spent three days in São Paulo last week to produce this coronavirus report for ITV's News at Ten. Story Productions provided a fixer, security detail and transport for the crew during the shoot.
São Paulo made news headlines on television networks around the world last weekend as the number of new coronavirus cases put Brazil second only to the USA in terms of the total number of recorded cases. As the largest and wealthiest city in Brazil, São Paulo was the focus of two news reports (the first above, and the second due to air on Tuesday 2nd June), shot over three days last week by a team from ITN, and broadcast on ITV’s News at Ten.
The 3-person ITN crew (camera operator, producer and correspondent Juliet Bremner) was joined by a small production team from Story Productions, namely a bilingual fixer, camera operator (to capture B-roll footage), security detail and a minibus driver. ITN wanted to cover as much ground as possible during the shoot, capturing personal stories of locals who have lost relatives to covid-19, as well as documenting the situation in hospitals and the communities worst affected by the virus.
The 3-person ITN crew (camera operator, producer and correspondent Juliet Bremner) was joined by a small production team from Story Productions, namely a bilingual fixer, camera operator (to capture B-roll footage), security detail and a minibus driver. ITN wanted to cover as much ground as possible during the shoot, capturing personal stories of locals who have lost relatives to covid-19, as well as documenting the situation in hospitals and the communities worst affected by the virus.
Story Productions researched and arranged the shoot schedule, secured permission to film in one of the city’s largest favelas, as well as a cemetery and at one of the field hospitals that have been set up across São Paulo to treat patients with covid-19. Not only did we manage to secure access to film in one of the field hospitals, the crew were granted access to the ICU, wearing full protective personal equipment. Getting this sort of access was quite a coup at a critical time when hospitals are under strain and dealing with high demand from the press for access.
The Brazilian fixer from Story Productions played a key role in translating the interviews for the ITN correspondent and co-ordinating the daily schedule to adapt to the fast-changing situation on the ground in São Paulo. We had originally organised the logistics for the ITN crew to travel to Manaus but a risk assessment ruled it out at the last minute, due to the low critical care capacity in hospitals at the time.
The Brazilian fixer from Story Productions played a key role in translating the interviews for the ITN correspondent and co-ordinating the daily schedule to adapt to the fast-changing situation on the ground in São Paulo. We had originally organised the logistics for the ITN crew to travel to Manaus but a risk assessment ruled it out at the last minute, due to the low critical care capacity in hospitals at the time.
The Story Productions research team in São Paulo has a large network of contacts, from grassroots community organisations to government departments and can arrange acesss and interviews for news gathering shoots in a number of cities across Brazil. Get in touch to arrange a fixer in Brazil or a full crew.
Interested in covering the coronavirus situation in Brazil? We're publishing daily updates on covid-19 in Brazil, travel to Brazil and how and when audiovisual production can get back up and running.
Interested in covering the coronavirus situation in Brazil? We're publishing daily updates on covid-19 in Brazil, travel to Brazil and how and when audiovisual production can get back up and running.
- Foreign news crews are able to travel to Brazil. Watch our video for more details.
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