In April 2020, when the pandemic forced most of the world into lockdown, The IdeaFirst Company in the Philippines experimented with a shot-from-home digital series where literally no one was allowed to be physically together. Using iPhones held by the actors themselves who were filming in their own homes and talking to their co-actors, their director and producers only thru video conferencing, the series entitled GAMEBOYS was born. Launched on YouTube on May 22, GAMEBOYS amassed such a strong following around the world that by end of the year Netflix picked it up for global release and this October it is nominated at the International Emmy Awards in the Kids Live Action category.
“At the time everyone was in strict lockdown so we challenged ourselves to film as safely as possible and work with what people had at home,” says Executive Producer Perci Intalan. “The only way for our actors to film themselves is by using iPhones that can be operated by them and that can shoot video in 4K. We started with an iPhone SE, then an iPhone 10 then later two iPhone 11s. The director and production team monitored everything on Zoom and after each take, footage was sent for the director’s preview thru Telegram. Later, when quarantine restrictions were relaxed and people can film on location again, we still continued using iPhones.”