My Experience with Productions during a Pandemic
As we all know, times have changed. Businesses have had to pivot to align with the current times. After months of lockdown, photography and video work has begun again with clients and crews. We are doing everything possible to be sure our set is safe for the crew and clients alike.
We have created best practices based on our experience inside businesses, research, and the CDC guidelines. After each production, equipment and materials are cleaned and as always, are put away safely until the next time. We all continue to improve upon up-to-date best practices.
Currently, on each project we now have only essential crew members, and seriously consider the bare minimum needed to keep everyone safe and limit the exposure for all involved.
The entire crew wears masks throughout production. The mask-wearing has taken some getting used to, and I ask subjects to keep their masks on up until it is time to take photographs or begin a video interview.
We do have new piece of equipment on set : a sealed case dedicated to Covid-19 related supplies. This kit includes surface cleaning cloths, extra masks, gloves, alcohol wipes, and lots of hand sanitizer. The Covid-19 Supply Kit is continually upgraded and replenished before each new production.
The crew is aware that they should speak up whenever they, or anyone involved, is uncomfortable.
The entire crew reminds and supports each other to wash hands regularly, use hand sanitizer, maintain social distancing, and clean surfaces throughout the day. It is so important for the crew to work together in the interest of safety, because we get busy and focused, and a gentle reminder will pull us out of old habits and create new patterns of behavior.
A few thoughts on what to keep in mind for visual production and your marketing materials:
Is this photograph or video for short term or long term use? Recently I had a photography assignment where we photographed the subjects with both masks on and off. This idea allowed us to create visuals for the short term, and hopefully, when this passes, they now have great images without masks.
I recently created a photograph of a Pizza Store manager. He felt it was best for him to wear the mask for the customer's perception that they practice excellent COVID-19 safety standards. For the video interview, we decided to take it off simply to hear his voice more clearly.
There is still a higher than usual level of anxiety on set. However, the more projects we produce, the more our pandemic photographic and video production protocols become second nature. We have to assume that anyone on a production set will have a higher-than-normal level of anxiety. This isn’t anything to take for granted.
These new COVID-19 procedures are excellent example of how our company has been able to pivot and create new habits. We expect they will be part of our standard business protocols moving forward - until further notice.
We will maintain tight protocols and adjust as necessary in order to keep our team and our clients as safe as possible.