Companionship on the other side of the screen!
Over the past two months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Red Nose’s performances in hospitals also came to a temporary halt following hospitals’ safety decisions, but the powerful longing between Red Nose and the children remained! So we made a prompt decision and immediately began rehearsing and preparing to film videos and conduct online video performances.
-We turned the association’s rehearsal space into a studio!
The association staff communicated with the medical teams in the hospitals, arranging a fixed time each week in advance with the families and head nurses accompanying the children. Just like performances involving direct contact in hospitals, twice a week, we set up a studio in the association’s rehearsal space for one-on-one online video interactions with the children and their families. We maintained the interaction between the children and Dr. Red Nose, because even as the pandemic raged, children staying in hospitals long-term still had to repeatedly face cold treatments. At this moment, Red Nose chose to make good use of technology to create a bridge of interaction—smiles—from both sides of the screen.
-Dr. Red Nose clowns Shrek and Queen are interacting via video with children at Taipei Veterans General Hospital
The pandemic has affected industries of all sizes, and we are also doing our best under somewhat tense circumstances to do what we can. Because of disease prevention measures, we cannot enter the wards to interact directly with the children, but we do not want the bridge between the children and Dr. Red Nose to simply come to a stop. At the same frequency as our scheduled hospital performances, we arrange fixed times once or twice a week in advance with the head nurses and families of the children. We perform one-on-one video shows with the children and their families, allowing unhindered interaction, music, and games at both ends of the camera, carrying our boat of smiles across the connection.
-For younger audiences, performances featuring music and puppets are more likely to resonate; pictured is a child having a video interaction with a Medical Clown. (The parents’ permission was obtained to use the image.)
Every video interaction is a one-of-a-kind interaction with the child. Through conversations with the child, we develop the subsequent improvisational performance according to their responses. With the help of nurses, volunteers, or family members present, we perform magic—the cute stickers and small toys suddenly appear in front of the child—allowing them to experience close, barrier-free companionship, as if Dr. Red Nose on the other side of the screen were right in front of them.
-Using different camera distances, we create more cartoon-like, exaggerated, and fun performances with the children
For children of different ages and with different illnesses, we still communicate and confirm with the head nurses before each video interaction. This has always been Dr. Red Nose’s commitment, and it is the most important part of our continued effort to create one-on-one performances for the children. By understanding each unique situation, we build the most direct and rapid bridge to laughter.
We also took into consideration that some children might not be available at the scheduled time, or might happen to be undergoing examinations or treatment, or resting when Dr. Red Nose was online, causing them to miss the opportunity to interact with Red Nose via video.
-We hired a professional photography team to help us film, continuing for nine uninterrupted hours of shooting
At the same time, we quickly and intensively began rehearsing, constantly coming up with ideas and making numerous revisions, creating these polished and hilarious short films. We hope to ease the longing of hospitalized children who miss Dr. Red Nose but cannot interact with us in real time.
We welcome all media friends to help us widely share this news release. If you need links to the press release, content photos, videos, or other materials, please feel free to email us to request them. Many thanks.
Red Nose Caring Clown Association – Public Relations and Marketing Promotion
Hsu Tzu-Huan Email: com@drn.org.tw
(02) 2833-6260