Hollywood Production Is Up, Though Studios Are Keeping a Close Eye on 'COVID Exhaustion'
Nov 10 2020
Film and television production in Los Angeles picked up last month, driven by shows such as Netflix's "Dear White People" and Showtime's "Shameless."
But the threat of a second wave of coronavirus has studios worried that the filming uptick — still far below pre-COVID levels — may not last, said FilmLA president Paul Audley.
<p>FilmLA granted 880 film permits in October and received 40 applications daily, a sign that the thorough testing protocols set in place by Hollywood guilds and unions were helping build confidence that the industry could create a safe workplace.</p><p>There hasn't yet been one outbreak on set, Audley said, in part due to the new studio safety protocols. But state public health officials could soon suggest that unions and guilds pause production if cases in L.A. County continue to rise. </p><p>Overall production still remains just under 47% of what FilmLA would expect under "normal filming conditions." </p><p>"When [coronavirus case] numbers start going up...that's where we start worrying that [public health officials] may have to start pulling back on some of the permissions they've given," he said. </p><p>A recent jump in transmission rates in Los Angeles County is being linked to essential workplaces, restaurants and places of worship as well as household gatherings. In a press conference Monday afternoon, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he was concerned about the surge and that an "over exuberant" public could get lax with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/health/covid-vaccine-pfizer.html" target="_blank">the prospect</a> of a vaccine around the corner.</p><p>It's that "COVID exhaustion" Audley says studios are worried about.</p><p>In an effort to set their own protocols, Hollywood entertainment unions passed a set of guidelines around testing which includes protections like paid sick leave and "quarantine pay" if state laws send employees back home.</p><p>Meanwhile some studios and production companies, like other industries across the country, have created their own safety procedures that involve partnering with pop-up testing labs. </p><p>"They're now beginning an outreach to their employees to remind them that when they're not at work, they have a responsibility to follow pretty much the same rules," he said.</p><p>Santa Monica-based Quantgene, a biotech startup that builds on-site lab pods for business, said it has been running tests for two months for one A-list feature film project in Los Angeles. And there's even more demand, said account manager Rachel Strohmeyer.</p><p>The company built two mobile labs for unnamed studios in L.A. and will deliver one to a client out of state. </p><p>In the meantime, feature film work is picking up.</p><p>Last month, local studios started work on films "Soggy Bottom" starring Bradley Cooper and "King Richard" with Will Smith and Dylan McDermott.<br/></p><p>But commercials and TV account for the majority of in-person shoots across the city. Ads that filmed locally in October came from brands like Instagram and Uber and retailers including Walmart and Starbucks. Campaigns like Vote Safe California and Get Out the Vote 2020 also shot ads.</p><p>"We all need to recognize it's more expensive and takes a lot more time now to produce," Audley said. </p><p>He expects the earliest FilmLA would see a return to normal production levels would be late March or early April. But that return is most likely to come in July. </p>
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Film and television production is still largely at a standstill in Los Angeles, two months after the county lifted production restrictions.
FilmLA, a nonprofit that issues film permits for Los Angeles, reported Wednesday that daily film permit applications have grown from 14 shoots a day in late June to 18 per day in late July. That's just a third of the number of permits usually granted.
Commercial and advertising production have dominated permit applications since June 15, when filming was allowed to restart. They now make up nearly 65% of all production in Los Angeles, FilmLA president Paul Audley told dot.LA.
<p>Unlike TV and film, which require large crews and often more elaborate staging, commercials are relatively quick projects. Many advertisers had been anxious about coming back after the lockdown. "The advertising community nationwide has been sort of held back from advertising their product."</p>
<p>Producers were given the green light to restart when both L.A. County and commercial producers organization released public health guidelines for filming. Those included mask wearing, social distancing and protocols for scaling back the size of cast and crew.</p>
<p>"Traditionally on a film set, everybody would gather around the monitors and watch what was going on or see the playback," Audley said, adding that production teams have been slimmed to about 25 to 30 people. "All of that is not happening anymore. They're really reducing the number of people present at any one time."</p>
<p>Audley says many unions and guilds are looking to institute testing requirements for upcoming shoots. Fears that production could be shut down again have also eased among unions, he added. FilmLA is not affiliated with any local union.</p>
<p>"Right now, what we're hearing and seeing is that there's confidence about not shutting down filming again at least in the nearer term," Audley said. "Numbers are looking better in California and public health and the state both say they don't intend to go back on filming permissions." </p>
<p>In a few instances, COVID infections among employees on set have shut down production. But thanks to prescreening, this isn't too common, Audley said.</p>
<p>"Our hope is that people will continue to welcome filming in their communities, recognizing the extraordinary methods being used to make sure not only the cast and crew but also the community is safe as filming returns," Audley said. </p>
<p>In their statement, FilmLA said it expects most scripted television and movie projects to pick back up in early September, once unions and guilds have worked out arrangements to ensure safety on set.</p>
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A task force composed of entertainment companies, unions and guilds sent recommendations for resuming film production to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday.
The 22-page document detailed 19 guiding principles underlying the recommendations, which were spread across five "critical areas of concern":
- Infection control
- Protecting and supporting cast and crew health and safety
- Physical distancing
- Training and education
- Unique production-specific concerns
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>"A staged reopening process may be necessary," the document noted, "with entertainment industry sectors reopening sequentially based on risk and public health authority approval. For example, aspects of pre- and post-production activities may be deemed lower risk and could reopen sooner than production activities." </p><p>FilmLA, a non-profit that administers the film permitting process in Los Angeles, is still unable to provide guidance on the expected timing for resumption of film production in L.A. County. That decision remains the responsibility of public officials.</p><p>"We await guidance from the County of Los Angeles and Department of Public Health with regard to the timing of the safe and responsible return of on-location production to Los Angeles County," a FilmLA representative told dot.LA </p><p>The task force's report acknowledged that many facts about COVID-19 are yet to be determined, meaning that safety protocols are "subject to further discussion and agreement." The report also noted that filming in adherence to the recommended protocols represents a notable departure from the common practices before the pandemic.</p><p>"The Task Force recognizes that many of the recommendations outlined in this document represent considerable changes in current workflows and processes," the report said.</p><p>Specific recommendations include providing regular, periodic testing of cast and crew; limiting face-to-face contact; designating a COVID-19 compliance officer; and instituting mandatory COVID-19 training on or before the first day of shooting. </p><p>Netflix, Walt Disney Pictures, Apple Studios, NBCUniversal and HBO were among the task force participants.</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>The coronavirus pandemic has hit Hollywood hard, with <a href="https://dot.la/hollywood-layoffs-2645997837.html" target="_blank">thousands left unemployed</a> and <a href="https://dot.la/disney-the-most-magical-place-on-streaming-2645928478.html" target="_blank">company finances upended</a>. And the longer the production pipeline remains crimped, the more squeezed companies will be, from streaming to the silver screen. </p>
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