Social Distance Success

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HARI KHALSA | PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

SOCKEYE

On May 8 we had a relatively straightforward footwear product shoot for Columbia with no talent. As a safety precaution, we scaled down to a skeleton crew of 4 people—director, DP, grip/gaff, and DIT—with client and producers off-site. Each crew member had their own monitor to keep space from each other. We had a livestream on a laptop set up in front of one of the monitors so our client could check in remotely at any time and give feedback as needed. This seemed to work well. Pacific Grip & Lighting’s space worked really well for our crew. The studio space was large enough so that our crew of 4 could keep proper distance from one another. Each crew member was assigned their own bathroom which was a huge help. Chelsea [Speakman] from PGL was very diligent about working closely with us to prepare the space in advance and make sure everything was properly disinfected, and that there was clear signage. The crew struggled a little with having to use different doors assigned to different people, since some were a bit inconvenient. They ended up propping one door to the studio open, which seemed to solve that problem. We provided full PPE (face shields, gloves, hazmat suits, foot covers, with crew bringing their own masks) and required it to be worn at all times. Wearing full PPE slowed down our shoot by about 15% efficiency, so that’s something we’ll keep in mind in planning future shoots during this time. We also created a Safety Protocols document to share with the team that outlined all of the specific measures we’d be taking on set. Much of that was pulled from the working OMPA doc that Joe Meade shared with us. That was incredibly helpful. Huge thanks to the OMPA for pulling all of those thoughts together in one place!

READ THE OREGON PRODUCTION PROTOCOLS >

We received feedback from our crew that it would’ve been helpful to have multiple different kinds of gloves for the shoot available, since it seems like they were ripping way more frequently than expected. For example, the grip/gaffer could have used thicker, more durable gloves while DP needed something a bit more nimble. At the end of the day, safety needs to be the number one priority and it was awesome to realize that we can execute a successful shoot without sacrificing safety measures. Feel free to reach out with any questions about our shoot. I’m more than happy to chat about what we’ve learned throughout this process.

CONTACT HARI

hkhalsa@sockeye.com

 

Cine Rent West is the largest soundstage production facility in the Pacific NW. Centrally located in the NW Industrial District, we offer a 50x60x20 feet 3 wall cyc, 20 feet floor to grid, sound proof space, a second insert stage, LED, tungsten lighting and grip package, production office, greenroom, lunch room, conference room, professional kitchen with two parking lots plus plenty of free street parking.

We have partnered with MeyerPro, who specialize in audio-visual broadcast solutions. Together, we built a turnkey set in the studio, ready to go with a four camera set-up, live streaming capabilities, and content switching. We now have these four unmanned cameras that are tied back to a switcher across the studio. We can have one or two people on camera at a time with social distancing measures in place. It’s a great set up for educators, influencers, and non-profits who wants a high-quality production to speak to their audience, classroom or peers. We are also ready for product shoots. We are operating with a very lean team who can be on site but in a different space than the production, available as needed while creating distance. MeyerPro has developed shifts of three crews that work together constantly so they are not intermingling with other crews. They are the only ones to touch their equipment including TV, cabling/wiring, cameras, switching.

We are doing a lot of cleaning particularly of high touch areas like bathrooms and door handles. We replace props and couches between productions and have plenty of hand sanitizer on set. We are only using boom mics not lavaliers on talent. Talent has been doing their own makeup. We review the safety protocols with client, crew and new people to enter the space so everyone knows how we’re going to keep clean and safe. We designate specific bathrooms for certain folks to use. Clients have two bathrooms and crew has two bathrooms. The kitchen space is available to the clients, only used by the clients, cleaned between clients and also available as a shooting location. We can also utilize different entry points to the stage for different folks to minimize potential exposure across the space.

What services do you offer? We rent cinema cameras and specialty lenses to Pacific NW productions of all sizes. Our cameras were working on Chad before production had to shut down. We also provide a lot of low-cost and in-kind camera packages to local independent filmmakers.

How have you adapted your operations for COVID-19? Both our Portland and Seattle offices are open by appointment only. We’re adding a lot of safety precautions for our staff and the gear. We only allow two people per prep bay at a time, there are restrictions on bringing your own gear into the shop, limiting face-time to under 10 minutes.

We were also sad to cancel our annual Lens Summit. But we were able to reformat it as a weekly virtual event. People are really loving it! So far we’ve had Canon, Fujinon, ARRI, and bandpro. You can see who we’ll have on next at lenssummit.com. It’s free on Instagram Live every Friday at 10!

What is an opportunity you’re seeing amidst the crisis? Having the Lens Summit virtually has definitely opened it up to more people. The projects we’re renting to are also different. We have a Nike staff photographer taking product photos in their garage, small crews making films while social distancing on set.

We create short-form content via client-direct and agencies

We just finished a series of films called The Homebound Ranger, which offers some perspective as we all cope with shelter-in-place. The series follows a man dedicated to roaming the great outdoors, who suddenly finds himself shuffling around the house. See spot #3 below, and watch all three shorts here.

There is no way for me to put makeup on someone and be safe, so I’m working remotely and getting creative. People are still getting in front of the camera and still want to look good! I’m now offering one-on-one consultations with clients via Zoom, FaceTime, or Instagram to guide individuals through the process of applying their own camera-ready makeup.

I have clients take a photo of the makeup and brushes they own so I know what they have to work with. If they need more products, I can make a list for them to order or do the online shopping for them. The biggest innovation I’ve brought to my work is basing the lessons on face geometry and ensuring I instruct based on an individual’s face shape. My clients are drawing lines on their face as instructed and I draw the same set of lines on my face so that I can clearly instruct how to apply makeup. This is not something you can just watch on any makeup video! I’m providing guidance specifically for the individual just like I would do in person. Then we practice, I take screenshots during the process, they take notes, and then when they’re ready for the screen, they start fresh and are ready to go with muscle memory and visual references.

I’ve worked with teachers preparing for online teaching, fashion designers who are wearing their own product for their product shoots, and a band that is creating a music video.

I’ve definitely been called straight out of the OMPA directory before. That happens regularly. Now I’m also finding work through Instagram and the tutorials I’m offering there.

I am opening up my field to new audiences and potential clients. Teachers who are being watched all week are reaching out to me to learn how to do their makeup. I’ve never worked with teachers before!

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