This is an update to my Getting Back on Set as COVID-19 Cases Surge post, so definitely read that one first! 

The Safe Actor Bubble

The great thing about being on location during a pandemic is having everyone in the cast isolated, away from family and friends, only interacting with people who have tested negative from the start (and continue to test negative every three days). It is a bubble from pandemic madness and feels safer than anywhere else right now.

Natalia Mann, Amanda Detmer, and Lorynn York on the set of “A California Christmas”

But the production team for the movie Natalia, my 11-year-old, just wrapped, learned there is one loophole: the nurses or medics coming to test cast and crew were not isolated with us. They were locals and as healthcare workers are extremely careful, but also more exposed.

And It’s … Not a Wrap

It was 10 pm on a Saturday evening and we were about to shoot the big party scene—Natalia’s final scene. The background actors had all gone through two rounds of testing and had just arrived for their big moment. The chandeliers were lit, the band was playing, the fake bar was buzzing, the food on the buffet was perfectly styled. Then the producer, Ali Afshar, sucked the energy from the room with the announcement we all dreaded. He had just gotten word that someone who had been on set on Wednesday, and only Wednesday, had tested positive. This person was asymptomatic and feeling fine so risk of transmission was low but production would halt immediately. We would all have to do drive-up testing the following day and await results before recommencing.

Natalia with producer and actor Ali Afshar

The shoot is not a go until everyone tests negative once again. “It’s just a movie; it’s your health that matters,” Ali said. He means it. This producer is one of the most sincere people I have met in the business. Watch his movie, American Wrestler, about his escape from Iran, adjustment into a hostile high school setting in California, and triumph on the wrestling mat, and you’ll see where Ali’s integrity, passion, and grit come from.

I told him that we weren’t on set on Wednesday. Natalia had the day off. But everyone had to come to set on Wednesday to be tested so we were in contact with this person, he said. Aha. Clearly it was someone on the medical team (they are not allowed to reveal who but this process of deduction narrowed it down quite easily).

Medic COVID Protocol

The medic or nurse who swabs each cast and crew member’s nasal cavity wears a mask, covered with a face shield, and of course gloves. The victim (it doesn’t really hurt but can be a little uncomfortable) lowers the nose portion of their mask. The swab is long so some distance is maintained and no one speaks for this 10-second interaction. The Wednesday testing took place outside in a large airy barn with wide doors open. We were in and out in a minute. So I was not concerned about transmission.

Production hoped that we would have our Sunday morning tests back by late Monday or Tuesday morning so that shooting could begin again Tuesday evening. Natalia, who had cried that Saturday morning about having to leave the next day, cried tears of joy that we could stay longer.

Waiting for Results and Exploring Sonoma County

Natalia biking in Sonoma

Staying longer gave us time to bike around the vineyards and explore a woodsy hike in Sonoma. Results did not come back in time to start shooting Tuesday. Our flight had to be shifted back again. I’m sure it was frustrating and costly but weathering these delays is going to be a production norm for the time-being (unless rapid testing becomes more accurate; the Screen Actor’s Guild is not approving its use at this time).

Natalia in Sonoma State Park near Bodega Bay

We took advantage of another day free to explore and hit the Bodega Bay trails. Talia, a resistant hiker, called it the most beautiful hike in the world. She might be right. Then we returned to the deck at The Birds Cafe, named after the spot where Hitchcock’s classic thriller was filmed, where we’d eaten after a gallop on the beach nearby (thank you, Horse N Around!). Not only is the food scrumptious, the safety protocol is more extreme and pleasantly executed than I’ve seen since Coronavirus came visiting—and started making a flock of killer birds seem preferable!

View of the Pacific, Bodega Bay trailhead

Horsin’ Around offers fun trail rides through the dunes and onto the beach

Action!

The Birds Cafe, where Hitchcock’s “The Birds” thriller was shot, in Bodega Bay

Results had not arrived by Wednesday morning. Another call sheet arrived, with call-time pushed back to late afternoon. Time ticked by… no email confirming negative results. Another call sheet. An evening call-time: 7:30 pm. 7 pm came and went. No email. Another call sheet arrived. 8 pm call-time. Finally, at 7:30 pm, the email from the lab hit my inbox (and production’s). Negative! Two minutes later, a text came in: you are approved to work, new call-time 8:30 pm!

We headed back to the party set where it felt like a party, because everyone was so relieved and thrilled to be back. That’s the beauty of the movie business. The grueling part is booking the job. The jobs are the fun part. Cast and crew can’t wait to get there and make magic happen. So they will jump through hoops involving regular nasal swabs, cumbersome safety protocol, and multiple schedule changes without a complaint. I can’t think of other employees in another industry who would. It’s why the film industry will find a way through. Just as we did that evening, when the music played again, the cast kicked up their heels, the director yelled cut, and everyone gave Natalia a heartfelt send-off.

It’s a Wrap!

The remaining week of shooting went off without a hitch. Keep “A California Christmas” on your radar this holiday season, and remember, as you are watching what looks like pre-pandemic normalcy, everything that was going on behind the scenes to make it happen. Congrats to the producers on getting one of the first films of the pandemic successfully in the can and huge congrats to writer/producer/star Lorynn York (aka Lauren Swickard) for her writer/producer credit at age 27!

Enter my Talent Search here

After one week on a film set in California with my 11-year-old, my short answer is yes. In fact, the past week is the safest I’ve felt since May, when I first began interacting—cautiously—with anyone beyond immediate family. That is because here, on location north of San Francisco, I know:

-Every cast and crew member is being tested for COVID-19 every three days. There is no shopping errand or backyard gathering or kid playdate that offers that level of reassurance.

-Everyone’s temperature is checked as we pull into base camp (literally before we park our car—and we each have our own car—no group vans). Temperatures are checked again as we leave base camp at the end of the day.

Safety signage in our trailer

(Read about Hollywood’s stringent safety reopening guidelines in Deadline)

-Everyone is wearing a mask at all times (except actors after makeup application), even though we are primarily outside and way more than six feet from each other. This rule is followed religiously and respectfully because cast and crew members are experts at functioning as one, like a finely greased machine. Movies/TV shows would not get made otherwise. Politics have no place here. Everyone wants to work and keep working. In this time, it is a privilege to do so. It is a privilege to stand on set in a mask.

-A COVID-19 compliance officer is overseeing safety protocol. If we could have one of those at gatherings with extended family, I’d attend. But we don’t, so give me a movie set any day of a pandemic. He enforces social distancing whenever a clump of people starts to form (which is rarely).

-The hairdresser and makeup artist—those who have to get closest to the talent—are in masks, shields, and plastic body suits. Each actor has her own set of cosmetics and makeup brushes. And remember, these people tested negative three days ago and today and will be tested again a few days from now.

-Anyone who doesn’t have to get close to each other (which means pretty much everyone except the makeup artist, hairdresser, and actors) does not. Again, people are working and no one wants to mess with that. Chairs (which are sanitized, along with tables) at lunch are spaced six feet apart. It doesn’t feel distant emotionally. We are eating our individually packaged lunches and boy do I miss the buffets of yesteryear, but life is good! The cameras are rolling again! Creativity is in the air  (the fresh outdoor air) and, in its shadow, that other C word seems smaller.

2 Surprises of Shooting During COVID

1. It’s still FUN! If you have kids in the biz, that’s the biggest worry. If it’s not fun, you don’t want to be dragging your child away from their captivating virtual schooling (ha) to a set that feels sterile and glum. Even with the significantly pared down crafty offerings and air elbow bump greetings, Natalia is giddy each day she works—the farm animals on set make it extra fun—and bummed when she has a day off (the hotel pool is closed). She is making memories she will cherish and befriending people who are teaching her about collaboration, patience, passion, and storytelling. “I love having a new mom (uh, should I be insulted?), sister, and home, and creating this whole other life,” she gushed after the second day on set. Imagination! It’s hard to fire up in these days of Netflix and Youtube bingeing, so major points to the child actor life.

Cute castmates

2. It doesn’t feel reckless. On the contrary, productions up and running, in a safe atmosphere, are more than just an economic positive to society; they’re a safeguard ensuring fast contact tracing. There is this whole pocket of people who are being tested so frequently that should a breakout happen in their family or social group, it likely will be caught and contained quickly rather than festering and spreading unchecked through who knows how many asymptomatic or symptomatic transmitters.

COVID-19 Concerns for Productions – The Long Answer

Northern Californian ranch country

-We are on location in Northern California, and most people traveled in (by car) from L.A., so they are going home to a hotel room each night, not to their families or roommates. This probably mitigates potential viral spread (unless hotel protocol is sloppy). So it may be a bit of a different story for productions getting up and running in L.A., where cast and crew members have a life off set. It will be up to them to be extremely vigilant at home if the set is to feel as safe as this one does. But again, the frequent testing is a reassuring safeguard and is likely to make people feel safer than they do if not working and not receiving those constant “negative” results.

-Everyone on this production—some 60 people—all tested negative from day 1. With many coming from L.A., where the positive result rate has hit 9% of the population, that was a minor miracle. And a huge coup, considering how inconvenient and costly delays would be. If a positive test comes back mid-production, meaning people on set may have been exposed, that would cause even more of an upheaval—and perhaps scare some people out of returning to work so soon.

-We have been shooting in the summertime, not cold and flu season. Once fevers and symptoms that may look like COVID are swirling around, delays are likely to be more frequent. For each high temp or sore throat, Covid will need to be ruled out as the cause. Unless more rapid testing is readily available, these disruptions may be lengthy and costly. (Test results here are taking two to three days.)

-The majority of the scenes on this shoot have been outdoors, which we know is safer. We also have been eating outside. The soundstage environment will be a different animal but still infinitely more manageable than antiquated schools expected to be filled with thousands of students this fall. I know my kid is safer on set and with a studio teacher than in a crammed classroom and congregating with reckless peers. Everyone has to weigh the pros and cons for themselves, especially anyone who is older and/or has a pre-existing condition.

Post your comments, send your stories and opinions of working—or not—during COVID, and hang in there!

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Tis the season to take a break from modeling castings and bookings, but the beautiful people just gotta keep posing…

Former Model of the Month Cooper Gusick, shot by Diana Zicklin Berrent

Rivers Reid, a 2017 Model of the Month (don’t forget to “like” your fave Model of the Month!)

The beautiful and talented Grace Mozitis

Another talented beauty: Sydney Freihofer

My family, having a little photo shoot fun!

“Like” Your Favorite Model of the Month!

So what’s it really like, working as a mini model? I’ve written a lot of posts on the subject through the years, using my kids as guinea pigs. You can read those posts here: Child Modeling (scroll back for more posts within that section).  This particular post will focus on working with our new favorite client: The Children’s Place.

Back-to-School Shoot, The Children’s Place

Model Fun On and Off Set

This team really knows how to turn work into play. For this shoot they had a skateboard park built on the set! A game room at Dune Studios is the kids’ hangout and they run from studio to studio, playing in packs, like kids on a playground. Child models tend to be outgoing, so they all bond quickly and Natalia and her friend Naya were begging for a playdate after shooting together their first day (never mind the 3-year age difference)! The catering for breakfast and lunch offers a smorgasbord of food items, plus too many desserts (of course the kids never touch that stuff—ha!).

Natalia Mann, Childrens Place 2017

How Long Is a Kid’s Modeling Shoot?

The models are usually booked for at least 4 hours and days can run as long as 8 hours. They will go in for a fitting, usually about an hour long, before their actual shoot day(s). That way the stylist can ensure the outfits fit perfectly and pin and tuck here and there as needed. At the shoot, the models go to hair and makeup first—the girls usually love that part! Each kid shoots an outfit every few hours, so it’s a pretty leisurely pace. (I remember catalog shoots where I had 16 outfits in one day—now that’s work!). There is plenty of time for playing, and hopefully some school work!

Zack Halabi and Natalia Mann for The Children’s Place

Model Guardians

A parent or chaperone needs to be present for each model, but all we do is sit around and chat, eat, scold our kids for eating too many sweets, coerce them into doing homework, write (me), and help them get in and out of outfits—the young kids, anyway—especially if a neckline has been pinned tightly. It’s a role I much prefer to criss-crossing my suburban town 5x a day, driving kids to soccer fields and dance studios!

Here is an awesome peek behind the scenes (look for the super cute non-kid model in this video!): CHILDRENS PLACE BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOOT

Enter your cutie in the Modeling Mentor Model Search!