The Producers Guild of India has come up with a ‘Back to Action report’ recommending standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be instituted whenever the permission to resume production activities is granted by the government.
The exhaustive report touches upon and offers guidelines for almost every department and professional at film and TV shoots.
The new practices include temperature checks, sanitisation, social distancing, work-from-home where possible, downloading of the Arogya Setu app on phones, limiting the number of cast and crew, avoiding outdoor shoots, and the presence of a medical team — in two different shifts — on sets for the initial three months when shoots begin.
It notes that each filming is different, hence specific risk-based measures need to be established before work begins, and that even after the decrease or termination of government’s preventive measures, the risk of contagion will persist in the first weeks and months, if not longer.
What makes film shoots more vulnerable is that it’s very common for crew members to participate in multiple projects simultaneously. One positive case can then endanger several lives and projects.
General practices
Among the general practices outlined are mandatory hand-washing for everyone on entry, exit and during the shoot. Each crew member to be provided with a triple layer medical mask and gloves, which will be mandatory to wear during the entire shoot. The masks must not be left unattended and would need to be disposed off in the bins provided on location. Only designated people should be allowed to open doors, if any.
Minimum two meters distance between colleagues should be maintained, and people have been advised to avoid handshakes, hugs and kisses, and other physical greetings and sharing of cigarettes. Every crew and cast member should undergo temperature measurement with a contact-less thermometer before entering the set, the advisory states.
A fitness or declaration form should be signed and submitted by all talent and crew, informing the production team about their health status at the time of booking/ signing-up for a project, and again on arrival on set.
“Carry out a drill every day with entire staff regarding precautions so that it becomes a habit,” the statement advises. Crew, artists and participants should be called at least 45 minutes prior to the shoot to ensure thorough implementation of safety precautions, it says.
Hired staff
All in-house office housekeeping staff hired directly or through third party vendors should have mandatory COVID-19 sanitising, the statement recommends. The complete studio should be sanitised daily before the shoot. Rest rooms should be kept clean and sanitised at all times, and portable washbasins be strategically placed.
The PGI document advises the setting up of an isolation zone or holding area, away from the main filming area. Two junior-level doctors and a certified nurse must be present on set for an initial three months in two different shifts, the statement suggests.
Work-from-home
The guild has encouraged a work-from-home strategy where possible. “Anyone who can work remotely must be allowed to do so, on rotational basis. People over the age of 60, or with co-morbidities and health issues, will have to work from home,” it states. The advisory says that crew above the age of 60 years should not be considered at least for three months after shoots begin, and cast of those above the age of 60 years should be judicially employed.