It's October 2020 and, I'll be honest, I had huge plans for this year. I'm sure we all did.
Work was fruitful for a minute there. It felt like everyone I knew was booking gig after gig, with no end in sight. Hollywood was thriving, and I had booked half the year by the end of January. Though I was a bit drained, it was almost euphoric to be so busy. But the universe had its own plan for the year, and my jam-packed schedule came screeching to a halt. For the first time since I moved west, I was faced with an empty schedule. Much like everyone else, I decided this would be the perfect time to do all the things I have been wanting to do but couldn't because of work. When the newness of downtime faded away and the quarantine honeymoon ended, I was left with the realization that for most of my adult life, I put work before everything else. Who was I when I wasn't working? After checking in with friends and colleagues, it became apparent I wasn't alone in all of that.
The first call I received for work since the shutdown was in July, and I honestly just wasn't ready to come back to what I knew would be a completely changed work environment. The entertainment industry is loud and exciting and fast. We spend most of our days with each other, more than even our own families. It's not an industry that I would call social-distance friendly. Before all of this, there were already a million questions to ask when getting hired for a job. You need to be clear on rate, dates, job requirements, etc. It is important to ask everything up front because miscommunication in production often leads to low morale and poor job performance. When working during a pandemic became our new normal, it brought with it a whole new list of questions. Will there be testing and how often? Are you providing PPE? Is there a COVID Compliance Officer (CCO)? You get the idea. (I have included a proper list at the bottom of this post). And in July, I just wasn't ready yet for it.
So I continued traveling, exploring, sticking my head in the sand and half-pretending I was going to leave this industry behind. By the end of July, it was pretty apparent that this current administration wasn't going to pass another round of stimulus, which meant millions of Americans needed to find a way to work through this mess, and obviously I wasn't ready to walk away from a career that I still love so much.
I finally caved and took a job in August. I would be lying if I said there wasn't fear involved. Of course it was scary. It's easier if you pretend everything is the way that it was the first week of March, but we don't live there anymore. We live here in this new world with a new virus that has already claimed too many lives. Thinking about it now, I'm just so grateful I was still getting calls for work. This gig was short and sweet and extremely COVID compliant. A negative test was required by all employees before the job started. After our first day of principal photography, testing was required every other day or twice a week. The morning of each shift and before leaving the house, there was a questionnaire to be filled out by all employees: Do you have any COVID symptoms? Have you or anyone you live with been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus? Have you been in close contact with anyone that has been COVID positive? When the questionnaire was completed, a screen shot was required to show the COVID team at the med tent, where temperatures were checked and PPE was provided. There were strict rules about not removing masks when on set. There were safe zones outside where you could remove your mask to grab some water or have a snack. Lunch was still provided, but in individual containers, and seating was limited to two people on opposite ends of each table. It was definitely different, but it melted some of my fears away and gave me hope that we could move forward in all of this.
I know I'm not alone in my anxiety, with our world and our industry changing faster than we are able to adapt to it. I thought maybe if I wrote a little about my experiences and feelings this year, it might help someone else. Whether you've been doing this for years or you're just now considering joining this wild business, we will find a way forward together.
Questions to ask production: - Is there a covid compliance officer and will this person be on set/in the field with production? - What are the covid protocols for this production? - Will there be testing and how often? Will production be paying for the testing? - Will you be paid for your test day? - Will PPE be provided? Make sure to find out what the specific PPE requirements are for your department. (i.e. some productions require audio and camera departments to wear face shields, goggles, etc in addition to masks) - Is there a mandatory quarantine period? Will there be quarantine pay? - If exposed, will there be sick pay? What is the production's plan if someone becomes infected on set? - Will there be a team designated to cleaning the set? - Does the production plan to include time during prep and wrap for disinfecting gear? - Is this production requiring that employees sign a COVID waiver? (Don't sign a COVID waiver.) Let me know in the comments if this post was helpful or if there's something you think I should add to the list. Also, whether you're union or not, it might be a good idea to brush up on the safety guidelines provided by DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE AND Teamsters' for COVID-19. Stay busy, stay healthy. The Lady AC (originally published in 2020)
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