The lockdown has put everything on hold for the past two months and that includes any kind of production and post production work in Mumbai’s entertainment industry. Mumbai being one of the worse affected cities in India, the authorities are in no hurry to get life back to normal. While Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments have reportedly allowed TV shoots to resume with necessary precautionary measures, the Maharashtra government is not taking that call yet.
The Quint spoke to BN Tiwari, President of Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) who said that film, TV and web shows shoots are not likely start till the end of June or first week of July.
“Shooting won’t resume next week. We will be starting post production work from next week,” said Tiwari. He also gave us a list of safety guidelines that studios need to follow as they begin post production work. Here’s a quick look at the list of guidelines:
- Studios need to be sanitised
- Not more than 4 people can work in a studio
- Masks should be worn at all times
- Thermal check up of whoever enters the studio is a must
- Sanitiser should be provided at the entrance
“Post production means dubbing, any editing that’s left, graphics, sound effects, music, songs regarding, these kind of work which requires minimum manpower and requires people to work inside a studio,” Tiwari added.
As of now FWICE along with TV channel representatives and the producers’ association are planning to have a virtual meeting in which they will figure out the norms that need to be followed during a shoot and also take a call on shoot locations. For now, they only have permission from the Chief Minister to start on the post production of TV, films and web shows.
BN Tiwari also said that the new rules will be put in place before shooting resumes. “We are collecting data to find out which areas are safe to shoot. There are some tiny spaces. So how may people can work together there, what safety measures will be taken, where will the food come from. All this information the federation with put together and submit to the Chief Minister and get his permission. Also as people have to travel to work, passes will be issued to them,” he added.
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