Here's When & How Beyoncé's 'Black Is King' Visual Album Was Filmed

Beyoncé's Black Is King was released at a time when entertainment fans needed it most. With the cancelation of almost all live concerts and events in 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis, people have been craving at-home entertainment to keep them occupied. So when Bey's visual album dropped on Friday, July 31, fans couldn't help but wonder: Was Black Is King filmed during the coronavirus pandemic? Here's the deal.

Bey opened up about Black Is King on Instagram on June 28, calling it her "passion project." While she didn't give too much information away, she revealed she had "been filming, researching and editing day and night for the past year."

Flawless Post Production, the team that helped with post-production, also shared a timeline after the trailer release. "They released the trailer so we can finally mention that we’ve been working hard on this since December and are very excited for its release," a post in June read. "More details to come once the film is released."

Now that the film is officially here, more behind-the-scenes details have started to emerge.

In an Instagram post on the Brooklyn-based gaffer and lighting rental house that helped with the film, it was revealed that people involved with the film "started working on this in August 2019 and worked off and on until December 2019."

There was plenty of hard work that went into making the visual album all that it was. Filmmaker and visual director Blitz Bazawule dished: "Like any film I've ever directed, it always starts with storyboards. #BlackIsKing was no different. I sketched over 200 frames of storyboards while working with Queen Beyoncé on the narrative arc of story. It helped guide every shot. Blessed to contribute to this EPIC."

Since Black Is King "includes scenes filmed in the UK, the US, and yet-to-be-disclosed countries in both Southern and Western Africa," according to Vogue, it's safe to say no scenes have been filmed since the stay-at-home orders began in March 2020.

While the coronavirus pandemic was changing the world, the Black Lives Matter movement began to sweep the nation after George Floyd was killed by police on May 25. Filming was already wrapped by that time, but luckily Beyoncé's message that Black is beautiful and powerful manifested through the visual album. Between both of the world-changing events, July 2020 ended up being perfect timing for Black Is King to be released.