I started this project…
Filming what San Francisco looks and sounds like during the Covid-19 pandemic on March 31st of 2020.
I thought I’d be shooting for a few weeks at the most and possibly a few months but it’s more than three years later now and there’s some debate whether the pandemic is over or not. I think it’s safe to say that many of the effects of the pandemic are not over. When it started I don’t think any of us had any idea of what we were in for or how long it would last.
Inspiration: A Personal Journey
I remember when I was a kid watching a film of the aftermath of San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake, I was amazed at the people and how different they looked a hundred years ago. When I began this project, I wondered how people a hundred years from now would see us- fixated on our handheld devices, riding one wheeled electric vehicles, our clothes, our hairstyles and what San Francisco looked like during this liminal period. I wanted to contribute my lens to this historical moment.
Cultural Anthropology: Psychogeography
I’ve filmed for almost 200 days in nearly every neighborhood in San Francisco. I’ve captured some incredible incidents, talked to hundreds of people, been hit on, been threatened, had my car broken into, and been run off by security. My experience gathering the footage has been as wild as the city itself.
Liminality: Our Communal Rite of Passage
The footage spans from the early days of COVID-19 when San Francisco felt deserted and businesses were closed and boarded up, to the city streets filling up with parklets used for outdoor dining which opened and closed again and again. I’ve read that San Francisco has created more than 1250 parklets since the pandemic began. Amazing.
Historic Events: A Place to Anchor Our Experiences
I filmed artists creating murals on the plywood that covered businesses, went on marches with BLM activists, and embedded myself for a very intense anti-mask mandates/anti-vax/open California protest. All along I’ve kept detailed logs of the shooting days to keep track of what I’ve filmed, who I’ve met and what I saw. I’ve been exploring numerous storylines- whether it’s about a specific day, a neighborhood or landmark over time or a particular classic San Francisco business.
The project has three integrated aspects to it: a long form documentary that is in the works, short films that will periodically be released, and a museum/gallery installation. Each of these compliment each other and form a cohesive whole.
I think of the feature length documentary as the grand ambassador of the project. It will have festival screenings and be released on streaming platforms. The short films are the emissaries that show pieces and support the greater whole. The installation is a tactile place where the audience will have the opportunity to interact with the project in their own way.
As I begin to post some of my footage I will be sharing more about the project and my thoughts about this incredible experience. I am actively seeking supporters and allies. If you think you might be interested in supporting or aiding the project in some way please reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts about our collective experiences and the sights, sounds and people I’ve been able to capture through my cinematography.
Press About the Project
Here’s a link to a column written in the San Francisco Examiner about this project. I think the writer, Denise Sullivan, did a good job describing the scope of my filming and some of the philosophical and anthropological concepts that I am pursuing. https://www.sfexaminer.com/news-columnists/filmmaker-eric-goodfield-fixes-lens-on-sfs-covid-days/
Also I appeared on Denise’s talk show SF Lives/ Live talks. We had the opportunity to have a much more in depth conversation about the project. It was filmed at the Independent bookstore Bird & Beckett in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco. If you get a chance you should drop by there. It’s a great store with a ton of books and a small but really great record section. I bought an Electronic (the Johnny Marr, Bernard Sumner Band) EP and the first Soup Dragons LP. Watch Denise and I here: https://youtu.be/3YbgjfL0q_U?list=UUm-XcxdhX8rmlD-jvxLwzuw
Another note:
For most of this project I’ve shot pretty wide shots. This is purposeful and intentional. I did this because I want to depict the landscape of San Francisco and to give the audience a broader perspective and to see more. As a result this means that these are probably best viewed on the biggest screen you can manage to watch it on. That being said I still think it looks pretty cool on phone size screens too. Turn on the sound. Watch it big if you can. I hope you enjoy it. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about the film. If you would like to share them you can reach me through the contact page.
Most Recent Release:
July 2020 San Francisco Pandemic Installation Series: Act 2 Managing Randomness
About this Film: Learn more click HERE!
This is a long edit ( 7.5 hours! ) of some of the footage I filmed in San Francisco during the month of July in 2020. It was still a time of uncertainty and we didn’t really know it but the worst of the pandemic was still to come. This piece is intended to show the footage that will be incorporated into an installation and presented on a large screen. If you'd like to see some detailed notes about what I shot you can go here. There’s so much more to say about these early days of the pandemic in San Francisco. In general the shots are in chronological order. Watch this on the biggest screen you can!
Wanna know more about this footage including searchable neighborhood time stamps? Click Here!
San Francisco Covid Days: The City Begins to Open.
About this Film:
Here's a montage of some shots of San Francisco from the early middle months of the pandemic- from late April to about November of 2020. People were starting to go out again as we had settled in to our respective Covid routines. The weather was beautiful most days and we had no idea that we would still be in this collective mess a year later.
First Release: San Francisco Covid Days The Quiet part 1
About this Film:
This is a short piece showing footage from the early days of Shelter in Place in San Francisco. It represents a small portion of what I’ve shot overall and in the early days of the pandemic. Since March 31st, 2021 is the one year anniversary of when I started this project I decided to put together a series of shots that would represent a small glimpse of what San Francisco looked like in the spring of 2020- just shots and no real attempt at a narrative. There are many stories that I’m exploring and they are still in development.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the shots in this piece is how quiet San Francisco was in the early days of the Pandemic. There was very little traffic, no planes in the sky, the bay was empty and the streets seemed deserted. Businesses sat boarded up and empty. A stark contrast to the uncertainty that hung over the city was the fact that the weather was consistently beautiful for the first few months of Covid. It felt strange to get home after a day of shooting, knowing that we were in a dark time yet the footage didn’t really reflect that. In fact one of the things this project has reminded me of is how truly beautiful San Francisco can be and how interesting people are even when they are doing seemingly ordinary things.
San Francisco Covid Days: Moscone Vaccination Hub February 12, 2021
About this Film:
This piece is from one of the first days that San Francisco’s largest Covid Vaccination hub opened at the Moscone Convention Center. It was crowded, a little confusing and a great example of people being of service to others. This was my 95th day shooting the pandemic in San Francisco. I remember thinking that day- this is what the beginning of the end looks and sounds like. It was a very exciting day.
Short Film: A Bird Walks His Man
About this Film:
This odd event happened early on in the pandemic and it really threw me for a loop at the time. I filmed this on Friday April 3rd, 2020. It was the 17th day of shelter in place and my 5th day of shooting. The music is from a work by the composer Jonathan Snipes who is a member of the experimental hip hop band Clipping. He granted me permission to use his song, Song Sparrow ( Pain Every Day ) as the soundtrack. I’d like to publicly thank him for that. Thanks Jonathan!
Best Camera Man pt.2 "The Conversation"
About this Film:
If anyone can see an alternate reality it might be the man in this shot. He’s fascinating to watch as he happily gesticulates and runs about in raptured conversation with an imaginary friend. This is from my 60th day of shooting during the Pandemic in San Francisco. It’s the second time I filmed him. I recorded him 4 months earlier near Union Square. The day after this shot the smoke from the fires in Napa was so bad that it blocked out the sun. However, on this day the sky was merely turning a deep orange.