IFH 389: Indie Film Production Safety Guidelines in the COVID-19 Era

05/15/20 • 23 min

Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

Every day I wake up and feel like I'm living in the "Upside Down" from Stranger Things. We are living in a once in a generation event and the world will never be the same. The film industry, like so many others, is taking it on the chin, and COVID-19 is the fist that is doing the punching.
Our entire industry can't wait for a vaccine and effect treatment to re-open. The economic toll is too great for the millions of film industry workers, not to mention the thousands of support companies that make a living off the industry. Everyone in Hollywood has been scrambling to put together safety guidelines to put people back to work in a safe way.
"We can’t sit around for 18 months waiting for a vaccine. We have to find a way out without pharmaceuticals, and that’s repeat testing, taking people out of circulation, and then contact tracing, so it’s an interesting analogy."
- Elizabeth “Betz” Halloran, Center for Inference and Dynamics of Infectious Diseases
As indie filmmakers, we too need to figure out how to keep that film engine going but in a safe and responsible way. I was riding around my neighborhood in Los Angeles yesterday and I saw a group on young filmmakers shooting an indie film. They were NOT social distancing. They DID NOT have masks on, not even the crew. They were shooting like the world hadn't changed at all.
I do understand the want and need to keep shooting. Trust I do, but it is irresponsible for you to endanger yourself, your talent, your crew, or anyone because of a lack of basic precautionary measures.
This is why I decide to address this issue because I know indie filmmakers are going to shoot regardless of the risks. I don't want our artist passion to hurt anyone so I've gathered a collection of multiple film production safety guidelines from around Hollywood and the world as a potential blueprint for indie film productions.
There is no perfect way to protect everyone that is part of film production from COVID-19. The balance of staying home to protect yourself and not making money to pay your bills is a very delicate one.
If you absolutely need to put a film production together to shoot any kind of content please be safe and responsible about it. I hope the ideas I laid out here and in the podcast can help you come back in a safe way. No one should feel unsafe on a film set.
Please share this article and podcast episode with your filmmaking colleagues. Be well and stay safe out there.
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Previous Episode

IFH 388: The Art of Low-Budget Cinematography with Suki Medencevic, A.S.C

Today I welcome back returning champion award-winning cinematographer Suki Medencevic A.S.C. I brought Suki back on the show to discuss Covid-19 and what Hollywood will look like after it passes, how to approach low-budget filmmaking from the cinematography side, and his game-changing cinematography course Light and Face - The Art of Cinematography from IFH Academy.
This workshop will walk you through how to light the most important and emotional subject you could put in front of your lens, the enigmatic face on a low budget. This workshop is unique in that it will literally guide you through the entire process of making your film.
Suki attended the renowned National Film School (FAMU), Prague, Czech Republic, where he earned a Master’s Degree with Honors in cinematography. Shortly thereafter, he went to the USA looking for his big break.
Since his first feature film shoot in 1994, he has been working steadily in the film industry, making numerous features and made-for-TV films, television shows, commercials, and documentaries including American Horror Story for FX.
He was involved in several high profile documentaries for Pixar, ILM, The Hearst Corporation, and he recently completed The History of Imagineering for Disney+.
In 2010, he became a member of the American Cinematographers Society (ASC), the world’s most prestigious cinematographers’ organization.
I can't tell you how excited I am to bring this interview to you.
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Next Episode

IFH 390: Making Money with Theatrical Self-Distribution with Steven Lewis Simpson

I'm very excited to bring this episode to the IFH Tribe. Today on the show we have filmmaker, Filmtrepreneur, and self-distribution expert Steven Lewis Simpson. Steven has been able to generate hundreds of thousands in revenue for his film Neither Wolf Nor Dog without ever releasing it online. He made all his money self-distributing theatrically. Not only in the US but worldwide.
In conversation we discuss how we, as filmmakers, can create our own creative reality, even in an industry as inaccessible as the film business. No-one has ever attempted the pan-European distribution he doing or released the way I have in the US. That amazes me as it seems so obvious. The key thing is that, people don't want to try what has never been done.
Neither Wolf Nor Dog is one of the most culturally important American films in years and stars a 95-year-old Lakota elder who takes the audience into a contemporary landscape and reveals the echoes of the massive American Genocide that they still feel today. Not exactly a blockbuster-style film.
At eighteen, Steven Lewis Simpson was Britain’s youngest stockbroker and trader. Four years later he moved to Hollywood to work at legendary Hollywood producer, Roger Corman’s studio. At twenty-three, he directed his award-winning first feature film, Ties.
He recently theatrically self-distributed his sixth feature film, Neither Wolf Nor Dog, as he saw the few independent films that actually found distributors in the US were being poorly released. As a result of his re-imagining the theatrical distribution model, his film became the most successful self-distributed film in some time.
The film achieved the longest theatrical run of any 2017 release in the USA – a wider release than the last two Palme d'Or winners and often out-grossing blockbusters when head to head, even though he had no distribution experience. He even has a new masterclass that can help you on your path.
This episode might just change the way you look at making money with your film. Steven is a true Filmtrepreneur. Please enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Steven Lewis Simpson.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.