UK Production to Return Under APA’s Covid-19 Shooting Guidelines
The Advertising Producers Association has published its Covid-19 Shooting Guidelines today, laying out circumstances in which productions can proceed in the UK.
The guidelines are issued in response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement last night that British people should "work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from home" - a stance that, in an email to APA members, chief executive Steve Davies said “has always been the position”.
With the aim of allowing film production to resume, the guidelines provide practical steps for production companies to safeguard the health and safety of everyone attending a film shoot in relation to Covid-19 and to meet their obligations under the Health and Safety Act, the law, and government regulations on Covid-19. “They also demonstrate to agencies and clients that we can manage these risks and productions can proceed - which we all want of course,” added Steve.
The email stated that all production companies and everyone working on a production and attending it has responsibilities in respect of Covid-19, but that they too can meet them by complying with these guidelines.
Steve said: “These guidelines are about two things. First and foremost safety but secondly and importantly demonstrating to clients and agencies that we can manage productions in a way that minimises coronavirus risks and therefore gives them confidence that they can commission productions.”
The guidelines will be updated regularly in response to feedback on how they work in practice, new government law and regulation and the potential availability of practical on-set Covid-19 testing.
Agency association the IPA is also sharing the guidelines with its members, which Steve said he hopes “will be an important step in giving agencies and their clients confidence that sound guidelines are in place and that with the commitment of APA members to implement them, they can work with APA members to make films.”
APA members are invited to a Zoom meeting later today to discuss these guidelines and later this week there will be another session for the production community with Paul Greaves from 1st Option, the health and safety company, to discuss implementing these guidelines and health and safety in relation to coronavirus generally.
The APA said it would issue further updates on insurance, contractual liability and health and safety this week.
Download today’s guidelines here and check back on the APA website for the most recent version.
