Hollywood safety workers are struggling with their new roles

A recent report from Buzzfeed highlights some of the challenges Hollywood safety workers are encountering on a daily basis as they work to keep TV and movie sets safe during the pandemic. In many cases, the safety officers are members of the crew who need work and want to help, but the training is minimal and the expectations are enormous.

Keeping the cast and crew safe means monitoring every person who comes on set. Safety officers receive training, with much of that training done online. Their mission is clear: Keep COVID-19 from shutting down the set. The challenge is keeping up with changing rules and the constant struggle of dealing with the chain of power.

One safety worker from Amazon Studios noted that the challenge is particularly pervasive because people on set have been told different things:

"“The way I’ve been told to handle things changes depending on who I’m speaking to. No one is on the same page. There’s not a lot of clear communication going on. I don’t know if my superiors have even properly communicated with each other.”"

Daily testing takes place on every set, and cast and crew are given questionnaires to answer to help trace their contacts should an outbreak occur. But the level of direction varies greatly, which makes enforcement difficult.

Why Hollywood Sets Might Vary From Site To Site

At the core of the issue is that there is no one set of guidelines that dictates how to manage safety protocols. There are rules, yes, but studios have their own methods of enforcing those rules.

In the early days of the pandemic as Hollywood struggled to get back to work, the thought was that medical professionals could be present to manage COVID-19 safety, but given California’s ever-increasing cases and with hospitals filled to the brim, it’s not easy to find enough medical professionals to monitor every production.

The situation is also challenging because managing the COVID-19 safety rules is like trying to shoot a moving target from the back of a truck while it’s in motion. The rules change all the time, so just as crews get used to the rules, they shift. It’s an entirely fluid situation and it puts the safety officers in tough spots because they have to manage everyone on set from production assistants to executive producers, and that’s a lot of pressure.

It’s probably a lot easier to manage people working on a show, because it’s the same people coming and going every day. Movies and limited series are likely more challenging because the cast and crew change frequently as they move from project to project.

That makes the safety workers the unsung heroes when it comes to keeping sets safe. The fact that we have shows and movies coming to life is incredible because we’re still knee-deep in the pandemic and safety is the most important thing of all.