Film set safety advisory during COVID-19

So what are the film sets look like now that we are working during this COVID-19 pandemic? Below is a summary of tips provided by Section 21 Film and Television Health and Safety Advisory Committee of the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. I reduced the 45 page document to this simple guide by simplifying and removing repetitive language, and focusing on set operations only. The full guide can be seen at https://www.filmsafety.ca/covid-19-guidance-document-released/

Stay safe and stay working!

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4 General Guide Lines

1. Screening

2. Social Distancing

3. Hygiene

4. PPE

Screening

• Screen at home

• Screen on site before entering work area

Social Distancing

• Keep 2 meters apart

Hygiene

• Wash hands 

• Disinfect materials/gears daily and sometimes after use, some gears may require UV equipment to avoid damage

PPE

• Wear PPE(mask and eye protection) as much as possible at work

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Record Keeping

• Record keeping is necessary for contact tracing

In case of a suspected case with symptoms of COVID-19

• Isolate the individual(s)

• Put on mask

• Notify local health unit

• Notify their supervisors/unions/guilds

• Health official will ask for contact information

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Additional Departmental Tips

General Tips

• Talk over walkies as much as possible

• Avoid sharing tools

• Disinfect all tools/materials at the end of each day or sometimes before/after use

• Minimize unnecessary contact

Camera

Video Village

• Video village to be outdoors and setup to allow social distancing

• Setup separate viewing monitors elsewhere for other members that need to view the monitor

• Use wireless communication technology that allows crew members to view the monitor on their own device

Operation

• Use wireless technology as much as possible

• Specify dedicated crew members to dedicated gears

Food

• Avoid buffet-style self serve meal and snacks

• Serve individually packaged food, water and snacks and use individually wrapped utensils 

• Limit access to coffee machines eg. Having one person operate such machines

Hair/Makeup

• Establish work stations to be 2 meters apart

• Physical barriers between work stations

• Stylists should consider washing their arms up to their elbows

• Eating/drinking should not be permitted when working on performers

• Avoid sharing makeup/brushes/ palettes between performers and use disposable brushes/palettes

• If gloves are utilized, they should be changed between performers

• Allow performers to do their own hair/makeup

• Allow performers to remove their own hair/makeup

• Encourage performers to do what they can(ie shaving) before coming to work

• Limit time spent on final checks

Wardrobe

• Disinfect wardrobe items before/after each use

• Allow performers to wear their own clothes

• Bagging costumes separately by performer

Locations

On Location

• All locations must be disinfected before production work/limit or restrict areas that cannot/have not been disinfected

• Individuals responsible for disinfect the location must provide detail cleaning log in writing

• If there are multiple productions in a facility, protocols should be established to facilitate the recommended physical distancing between productions/tenants

On every location we should consider:

• Ventilation / exhaust system 

• Whether the location may interact with general public

• Sufficient number of washrooms / possibility of spreading them out

• Numbers of entrances/exits in respect to traffic control

• Position of Screening station

• A designated area for crew to standby in respect to maintain social distancing

• A designated area for self-isolate

• A designated area for smoking/vaping with available hand washing facilities/hand sanitizer

• A designated area for receiving goods from external source

Performers

• Avoid crowd scenes

• Providing BG holdings outdoors if possible

• Instruct performers to put on their own LAV

• Allow performers to reset their own prop

• Animals and its trainer only enter set when immediately needed

Child performers

• A separate holding area 

• Virtual/Remote tutoring should be considered

• Tutoring area should be appropriately disinfected in between each use

Technicians(General)

• Instruct performers to put on their own LAV

• Use boom mic instead of LAV mic

• Setting up protocols to ensure consistency with respect to which technician(s) uses each specific piece of equipment

Transportation

• Maximizing physical distance to the extend possible

• Masks should be worn when multiple individuals are present, even if physical distancing can be maintained

• Limit eating/drinking in the vehicle