Filmmaker’s Guide to Getting Safely Back to Work Through COVID

Education

by Larissa MoriMarch 15^th, 2021

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In memory of friend and five-time Oscar nominee Allen Daviau ASC, who was an early victim of the pandemic, non-profit educational cooperative the Digital Cinema Society (DCS) has released a new mini-doc: Getting Safely Back to Work in the Age of Covid. 

Directed, edited, and hosted by DCS Founder James Mathers, Getting Safely Back to Work in the Age of Covid explores the tools and techniques filmmakers can use to create safer conditions on set through COVID-19.

Documentary work in times of pandemic

Following a year when safety standards on even the biggest blockbusters were put into question, Mathers’s doc is a welcome change. Especially for those of us who crave a clearer insight into solid industry guidelines.

The documentary – which takes viewers from the importance of made-to-measure PPE shields through to Frame.io camera-to-cloud systems – features interviews with filmmakers, business leaders, and technologists including Covid Compliance Officer Chris Salas, COO of Panavision Michael George, and Panasonic System Engineer Rob Brambila.

It also gives an eye-opening look into Steadicam Operator Jeff Muhlstock’s experience surviving Covid in hospital. (For a full list of credits, click here.)

Mathers, who adhered to strict shooting protocols during the production of the film, said:

“COVID-19 has cost lives, livelihoods, and brought the media and entertainment industry to an abrupt standstill. Although there are some positive developments on the horizon in terms of vaccinations and therapies, there are still major uncertainties ahead, and we are a long way from being out of the pandemic woods.” 

How have you protected your crew through COVID-19? What strategies will you take heading back to work? Let us know in the comments.

featured image credit: Photo by ShareGrid on Unsplash (along with an image by CDC on Unsplash)