This spring, all filming of TV shows and movies were shut down. Now, several months later, they are starting to film and many new protocols have been put in place to ensure everyone is staying safe during this time.

L.A. County released “Reopening Protocol for Music, Television and Film Production” on July 12 and is being updated as needed. This put in place guidelines that the productions should follow. Some of these protocols include testing for Covid-19, frequent physical distancing, making sure touched places are properly disinfected, eating outside in shifts or in a place large enough for proper distancing, limiting hands-on assistance, ubiquitous mask-wearing, and making sure actors are sanitizing their hands before filming a scene.

All protocols for many proper filming locations can be found here: https://americanfilmmarket.com/worldwide-covid-19-film-production-guidelines/

Movies and shows are encouraged to limit the amount of fight scenes and long, intimate scenes to keep actors safe. Some are trying new creative ways to help stop the spread. Actors like KJ Apa, a star on CW’s ​Riverdale,​ released a video captioned “Our new normal is washing our mouths before every take of a make-out scene.” In this video, KJ Apa and co-star Camila Mendes are shown swishing what’s presumably mouthwash for a full minute and another person off-camera telling them how much time is left. After the full minute, Apa and Mendes spit the liquid into plastic bags.

Many shows that are filmed with a studio audience have a new setup. The Ellen DeGeneres Show returned on September 21 for its 18th season and introduced her viewers to the virtual audience. To do this, the seats were all removed and panels were placed each showing these virtual fans side by side.

In these times all creativity is accepted to accommodate these times and this reporter can’t wait to see how the rest of the fall shows return differently because of the virus.

Sources:

http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/protocols/Reopening_MusicTelevision FilmProduction.pdf

https://www.self.com/story/kj-apa-riverdale-kissing-scenes-covid-19

https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-ellen-degeneres-toxic-workplace-20200921-euesyajyob gnxmbxjtq4cb53d4-story.html