Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1277960
38 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Summer 2020 Increasing Production Efficiency While Working Through a Pandemic by Steve Nelson CAS As we prepare to return to our jobs doing sound and video on scripted television and features, there is much work being done to develop guidelines and practices to ensure our health and safety while working in an extremely risky environment, the likes of which we've never seen. As I write, the world is beginning to open up, the stay-at-home orders are being relaxed—even though in many places infections and fatalities are still on the rise. It is important to keep in mind that barring some miraculous and unexpected turn, by the time Hollywood starts up again, it is highly unlikely that there will be either a cure or a vaccine for COVID-19. In the meantime, when you are offered work and you have questions or doubts, call the union, whether you're a member or not. If you are uncomfortable or feel unsafe, speak up. The logistics of workfl ow, the details of equipment sanitation and distribution, PPE and personal hygiene, lunches, transportation, etc., will come having been vetted by the proper authorities, medical and governmental, labor and management. We will work out equipment handling protocols, shared equipment, the need for increased audio and video distribution throughout the set and beyond, and who exactly does what. We do know that when we return to work, things are going to look pretty different, but our mission will remain the same: performing our job as excellently and smoothly as possible. I'd like to focus on what Local 695 members can do in our departments to make this a more friction-free enterprise and thereby increasing production effi ciency while maintaining a safe workplace. As we all by now know very well: Successful Infection = Exposure to Virus x Time –Erin Bromage PhD, Comparative Immunologist, Professor of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth The AMPTP with the IA safety committees will devise plans to reduce exposure, but whatever Local 695 members do to reduce the time factor will help make for shorter days and less chance of infection. This may also offer us an