The reality show's EP also dishes on what viewers can expect from next season.
While most TV shows have shut down production, we can always count on the Kardashians to keep us up to speed! America's first family is still filming their E! reality series, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, from within their homes while quarantining amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Kim Kardashian West has already shared some behind-the-scenes footage of her at-home confessionals as the ladies serve as their own camera women.
The show's executive producer, Farnaz Farjam, opened up to Elle about the process behind shooting while in quarantine. Noting that they started by filming on iPhones, the crew quickly realized that viewers would get sick of seeing the poor quality footage on the show. They decided to have a director of photography and technician put on a hazmat suit and set up the sisters' homes with proper lighting and cameras.
“Sometimes you’ll hear them mumbling under their breath, ‘Who knew a camera person’s job would be so hard?!’” Farjam said. “But, like, that’s funny. That’s gold. That’s stuff we want to include in the show.”
To keep the footage secure, the ladies get brand-new iPhones every week, and when the crew picks up the phones, they normally have about 16 hours of footage on them. Some family members are better than others at remembering to shoot.
“Kourtney is very proud when her screen time is down," Farjam said of the eldest Kardashian sister. "She’s trying to take a detox a little bit from her phone."
Not being on-site to shoot has presented its own set of challenges for the producers and directors.
“If Kris [Jenner] gets annoyed and walks out of the camera angle, it's not like we can follow her and continue shooting. She has to come back onto the screen and explain [why she walked away]," she said. “It’s less fly-on-the-wall, because we have to give them direction and they have to be more informative with us… But because this is the Kardashians and they’re entertaining regardless, it will be a fun watch for people.”
There are several story lines Farjam is looking forward to viewers seeing, especially in regards to Kim's new life.
"I'm really excited for people to see Kim having to juggle everything on her own, especially early on, when it was so, so scary," Farjam said. "Now people have been quarantining for a long time and have trusted people in their lives to help them out, but in the beginning they didn't have that. Watching Kim juggle four kids will be really relatable. No matter how big her house is, four kids is four kids. It's a lot."
Khloe Kardashian fans will also get a look into her life with ex Tristan Thompson, who has been visiting Khloe and their daughter, True Thompson, amid the quarantine.
“Tristan definitely stepped up and helped Khloe a lot with True,” Farjam said. “He’s totally showing a way more mature side of himself. I think so much more of him now. Not that I didn’t like him before, I just like him so, so much more.”
As for what fans can expect in terms of drama, Farjam notes that there's still plenty.
“Right before quarantine we had a couple family members that weren’t seeing eye to eye on something” she said. "I can't give away who, but they end up coming together during quarantine, and it's really sweet."
For more from the Kardashians in quarantine, watch the clip below:
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