Vertical River’s Kendrick Disch and Eric Rogers shooting at Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, 7/22/20
Lights. Camera. Action! We’re back on-set and shooting on location again, after several months of social distancing – with some new safety procedures in place to help ensure the safety of ourselves, our crew, our clients and talent. It feels really good to be doing what we love, even with a mask on.
The safety of ALL our staff, contractors, clients, and talent is our #1 priority. We’ve spent the last several months staying informed on COVID-19 guidance and all available production industry guidelines and safety procedures. Based on that, we’ve developed Production Safety Procedures for Vertical River productions.
We’re also fortunate to say that no Vertical River staff or contractors have tested positive for COVID-19. If that changes, we’ll be transparent about it.
Here’s what we’re doing to make our video and photo content shoots as safe as pandemically possible:
PRE-PRODUCTION: Develop a production plan focused on creating the safest on-set environment possible including:
- Locations: Utilize outdoor locations when viable, and select controllable, secure indoor locations with adequate ventilation.
- Production Footprint: Minimum number of crew, talent, suppliers necessary to execute the shoot. No more than 10 people on set at once.
- Production Plan: Clearly discuss all options and procedures with all necessary parties well before the target shoot date and sign off on the final plan before moving forward.
Vertical River shooting on-location 7/16/20
PRODUCTION:
- NO crew or talent will be allowed on set if they have symptoms of COVID-19 or have recently tested positive for COVID-19.
- We will employ a no-contact forehead thermometer for all people on set to ensure they do not have a fever before they enter the location.
- Entry/Exit: We will work to ensure that safe entry and exit are clearly marked and adhered to.
- Personal Protective Equipment: All crew will wear masks during the shoot. Masks and gloves will be available on set for people who do not have their own. We recommend everyone bring their own mask.
- Personal Proximity: All people on set will maintain 6 feet of distance from each other, when possible. When necessary to be closer than 6 feet, we will work hard to minimize time in close proximity.
- Audio: We will employ boom microphones whenever possible. When using lavaliers, we will ensure that mics are not shared without proper cleaning and disinfecting.
- Sanitation: All relevant surfaces and equipment will be sanitized thoroughly before, during, and after the shoot. We will provide hand sanitizer and make sure there are places to wash hands on set/at the location.
- Hair & Makeup: To minimize personal contact we will not be employing on-set H/MUA at this time. Talent/Subjects will be required to arrive camera ready. We will continue to follow guidelines as they are revised.
- Food & Beverage/Craft Service:
- Half-day Shoots: We will not be providing food and drink and ask that all people on set provide their own food and drink. We will break as necessary for people on set to eat and drink.
- Full-day Shoots: Food & beverages provided will be individual, prepackaged servings. Craft services/food stations will include hand sanitizer and/or sanitizing wipes. No self-service fruit or snacks will be provided.
POST-PRODUCTION: All post-production communications will be remote only, and conducted via video-conference or phone, per client preference and availability.
We value the health and safety of everyone we work with. We’ll continue to follow guidelines as they are revised, and adjust production practices based on a safety-first approach. Keep an eye on our Instagram and LinkedIn for production updates and stay healthy, all!
Links to guidance and guidelines referenced above:
CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-small-business.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html
State of Georgia Film & Television Production Best Practices: https://www.georgia.org/covid19filmguide
Georgia Department of Public Health: https://dph.georgia.gov
OSHA: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf