The restrictions introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic are gradually being removed: countries are opening borders, and banning public events is no longer valid. The concessions also apply to the film industry, which for more than three months has survived under the new conditions (for example, to avoid downtime, filmmakers focused on "remote" types of work and began to master the screenlife format).
Shooting in (no) hazard mode
A massive return to the most exciting part of filmmaking in the context of the pandemic - filming - is expected at the earliest in July-August 2020. According to experts, the sites of especially large projects will open even later.
However, experts are already making forecasts regarding the new reality of film production. Information on the prospects of Hollywood returning to normal functioning is increasingly appearing on specialized sites. And experts emphasize that the industry will not be the same.
With a high degree of probability, after the pandemic, the studios will try to protect themselves from legal claims. It is possible that the risk of contracting coronavirus will be recorded in the contracts of artists and staff - thus, employers will not officially be responsible for the infected employees.
More attention will be paid to the safety of key figures on the site - central role performers and directors. The rest of the staff (primarily technical), in order to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus to a minimum, will have to communicate with them in masks and gloves.
Due to more intensive use of computer graphics, it will be possible to reduce the presence of extras on the site. There is another, more radical option: to shoot the main actors and extras separately and combine them on the installation. In any case, it is obvious that, in principle, “extra” people will disappear from the sites.
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The duration of shifts is likely to increase: additional time will be required to conduct rapid tests and measure the temperature.
It is possible that companies will cancel general lunch breaks and will provide employees with meals in separate dishes. According to some industry workers, the precautions will be so severe that builders on the site will be given personal tool kits, and most doors will be replaced with swing doors so that no one touches the handles.
New professions
Deadline employees interviewed film producers about the features of the resumption of film production. All interlocutors announced plans to hire more than a dozen specialists who will be responsible for safety at the site.
Now the industry will need qualified medical personnel. In particular, the demand for workers who would be involved in measuring temperature, testing for coronavirus and disinfection will increase sharply.
Tom Davis, manager of the International Theater Workers Alliance (IATSE), which includes first-aid staff, said his organization has 260 doctors, including emergency care specialists, paramedics and nurses.
Davis also stressed that the development of a special training program dedicated to working in the context of the coronavirus pandemic is currently being completed. In his opinion, the presence of physicians in the workplace will not only quickly respond to possible health threats, but also reduce the anxiety of members of film crews.
Work in a remote format
The experience that studio staff gained during a pandemic can be useful even after lifting the restrictions. This is the opinion of some interlocutors of the Los Angeles Times.
“90% of meetings can be held at ZOOM - and the remaining 10% need not be held at all,” says director Kay Cannon.
These 90% include listening. Back in March, SAG-AFTRA and the American Society of Casting Specialists CSA recommended filming online screenings.
Producer Will Packer noted that thanks to new technologies, communication in a professional environment in conditions of self-isolation has become only more intense. According to Packer, restrictive measures helped to understand the benefits of working with all available technical means - and this understanding will be useful in the future.
- RIA News
- © Mikhail Golenkov
His opinion is shared by special effects artist Doug Larmour. In an interview with Euronews, he noted that because of the pandemic, specialists had the opportunity to engage in post-production from home: earlier studios were afraid to provide materials for remote work for reasons of confidentiality. It is possible that the current practice will continue.
However, at first, specialists in this field run the risk of a lack of work. The pandemic upset the balance between the various stages of production: since the filming was suspended, materials for further processing will not arrive for installation for a long time.
However, due to the suspension of filming processes, there is no need to rush to launch new films in production, agents can afford to consider more projects.
Limitations affected the work of scriptwriters: despite the fact that their activities do not always imply presence in offices or on the set, now screenwriters are worried about the unstable situation in the market. However, there is good news for them: in the near future the market will see a demand for stories that reflect the values rethought during the pandemic.
According to filmmaker Kurt Sutter, references to the pandemic will be included in many new films.
Due to constraints, new ethical issues may arise. Given that in real life, people should not yet gather in large companies (and sometimes even see their relatives), filmmakers will have to understand how appropriate it is to show noisy feasts in the cinema.
- AFP
- © VLADIMIR SIMICEK
Rental Features
Cinemas are crowded places and they will also need additional security measures. These include, first of all, social distance and an increase in pauses between sessions.
Recommendations for Russian cinemas prepared by Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Culture include seating spectators with a distance of one meter and wearing masks and gloves for site employees (visitors are also advised to wear masks).
The break between sessions should last at least 30 minutes - during this time, the rooms must be cleaned and aired. At the same time, viewers should come in advance: this will help to avoid queues.
Tickets are recommended to be purchased in a non-contact way, and food products (for example, popcorn) - in vending machines.
In an interview with TASS, the head of the Association of Cinema Owners, Oleg Berezin, noted that the recommendations prepared by the departments were quite reasonable. “All these are feasible requirements, which, of course, will entail additional costs, but where they are not now,” the agency quoted him as saying.
You can also expect a wave of popularity of car theaters, where viewers can watch movies from personal cars. Similar sites will appear in Russia.