Do filmmakers tell the cast and crew where the money is coming from in these cases?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Low budget non-union jobs are going to be what everyone feels comfortable with. Where as anything formal will need to adhere strictly to local rules to protect against lawsuits.

[Brian Drysdale]

Only the bottom feeders will be saying screw it, the others will be using the industry guidelines.

Some productions are managing it by creating bubbles, where cast and crew are isolated the same way as some sports are doing or working in counties which currently have no Covid or extremely low Convid like New Zealand or Iceland.

They may also be running tests to check people are Covid free.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay well no one ran any checks on me prior, but I guess so far they are just shooting complete guerilla style.

[Brian Drysdale]

People are doing all sorts of things, guerilla style won't protect if there's an asymptomatic person in the cast or crew. Risks will increase as people move indoors and gather closer together.

It sounds like you're there at your own risk.

[Paul R Johnson]

Guerrilla planning, or rather, no planning.

I thought you were a serious film maker - you just took part in a production without any thought to your own, or other people's safety, yet you fret about how many pages there are in a script. Come on Ryan - you let one set of rules screw you into the ground with worry and concern about adhering to unwritten rules, and then on the other hand totally reject rules, laws, Government advice and plain old common sense.

That, my friend, is unacceptable practice. Not following the 180 degree rule, or having too many acts does not kill you, or those with you. I don't get cross about many things, but Covid killed my mum in April - and I'm left with the question the fully protected ambulance crew asked the carer who called 999 - "where's your PPE?" and she told them she didn't have any, and had been to a number of elderly people every day, totally unprotected. I have little patience with people who do not take it seriously - you could make somebody else's mother die. How does that sit with you?

[Ryan Elder]

Oh well I am so sorry to hear that about your mother. My condolences.

Well I do have a regular day job though, and I do things such as go shopping for groceries when I have to. So I thought that making the movie was actually less risk as working my job or doing grocery shopping, especially since the stores have more people in than compared to the movie set. I finished shooting on one, but I can not do it then, if that's best.

[Brian Drysdale]

My condolences on the death of your mother Paul.

You really need to consider the people you may pass it onto when dealing with Coviid. It's not just the numbers, but the amount of time you're spending with people that increases the chances of infection. Quickly passing someone isn't the same as spending 15 minutes them.

[Josh Bass]

Amen. Ryan, I think most sensible people these days arent going anywhere or doing anything they dont absolutely have to, if it involves being around other people. That would include unpaid or (probably) low paid indie movie sets where precautions arent taken. Let me put it another way; it is likely that NO ONE here or on any of the forums where you post would be willing to do what youre doing (hanging out on unsafe indie sets). Doesnt that tell you something?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I'm not as cautious as most here. If you have a low level in your area, you're wearing a mask, and keeping 6ft form others then I would think its ok since you're young. But you would be increasing your risk and if you have older family members that you visit or live with you're putting them at risk. There are a lot of variables but one thing for sure you can easily get comfortable and the next thing you're doing is not wearing a mask, then getting close to people, sharing rides etc. It's hard to quantify the amount of risk or appreciate something you can't see. The more time you spend with larger groups, indoor confined spaces, and they're using unsafe practices... There's a lot of sensible advice being given that I can't dispute.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay well I was wearing masks and trying to not to get too close to people on the sets, so I didn't think I was being irrensponsible. However, I was acting in it, and I did have to take off the mask for the acting though of course.

[Brian Drysdale]

There are good procedures outlined in the film and TV industry guides. However, I suspect the people making these films are unaware that these things exist.

I saw some horrendous stuff in some of the states in the US, including someone who runs a ju jitsu gym having his client fighters pummeling each other on the mats, about a couple feet apart, with sweat flying and explosive breaths. You could see the particles flying on the TV pictures.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. Well for the one I did there was a fight scene that I did for the role, but we wore masks other than that and got tested after.

[Brian Drysdale]

I hope you didn't do the test straight afterwards, doing the test in advance would make more sense.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah a few days later.

[Brian Drysdale]

Sports people also do it in advance, doing it afterwards doesn't help prevent you catching it.