Back to work!

COVID-19 Pandemic

Yesterday was a milestone day for me - I went back to "work". Yep, Hollywood North is back open, and a handful of productions that have Canadian cast and crew have started back up. It's not the same as it was when it shut down in early March, but it was good to be back on location.

Stock photo

The first thing that was different, was a check-in station that everyone goes through upon their arrival at circus. Each person has their temperature checked, questionnaires are filled out by the crew members and PPE was handed out. A COVID-19 safety talk laid out the procedures for the day - essentially social distancing to be maintained wherever possible, and masks must be worn everywhere until final picture.

When it came time for the wardrobe check, each person waited, spaced 2m apart, and then presented their options to the costumer, who sat behind a table, 2m away. Emphasis was placed on using the performer's own clothing, except for specifics, like waiters and doormen, in this case. After approval, each person wiped the table with a disinfecting wipe. There was no hair and makeup for the Background performers (BG); we were instructed to arrive camera-ready. Shuttles were loaded only to about 50% capacity, so no one was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder for the ride to the set location.

The next big difference, was getting breakfast at the food truck. Instead of a table full of chafing dishes laid out with all the options, you ordered it off the truck; even the "Fast Track" was served by the catering team. Another table with a glass partition was set up for the extras, like fruit, yoghurt, beverages, condiments and utensils, all of which was handed out by the catering crew. Craft services was set up so that all of the food items were individually packaged, so there were no tongs to pass potentially pass on the virus. Lunch service was pretty much the same procedure as breakfast - beer-battered fish and chips... yummy!

Luckily, our holding area was in a big, spacious hotel conference room, and so it was very easy to spread out, even though everyone was still wearing their masks. It was a somewhat small BG group of 23, which I imagine will be the shape of things to come. When it was time to go to set, all of the BG kept their masks on, right through rehearsals. The crew wore their masks 100% of the time, and the only ones not wearing masks, were the actual cast, who I noticed never wore them for the duration of the shoot day. Often, you'd have to remind the BG, "hey, you're still wearing your mask", as we were about to shoot.

I had read in the news that they were trying to limit the number of crew members on set, but I did not notice much difference. There was still lots of action in and around Video Village, and crew members moved about normally. There were stands with hand sanitizer close by, as well disinfectant spray or wipes, and masks for those that misplaced theirs. With BC continuing to hold the line on COVID-19 transmissions, it looks like good news for the industry, and I hope that we continue to manage well during the pandemic, so we can all keep British Columbia's TV & Film business going.