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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1277879
While the pandemic shift could give a lift to American shooters and tradespersons, the losses to other countries' economies will probably be offset by the increase in local creation by streaming content services that have agreed to produce at least 30 percent of the work locally. In other words, it could have been better had the world and industry stayed the course, but it isn't all bad. Of course, for the streaming consumer it's all good because they'll be able to enjoy an even richer breadth of visual stories from around the globe. And with dubbing and subtitling becoming faster/easier and more economic, we'll all have a world of content quickly and economically available on our screens … cool! Okay, that takes one issue off the table for EPs; but some of line items have taken on new or added degrees of import. Some EPs are creatively moving budget items around while others being forced to secure more funding. Semmel noted that he and others are also taking advantage of advances like real time VFX, VR and LED walls. Especially beneficial for large productions (think Gravity), they enable the project crew to carry out everything on a single sound stage. "These new tools provide a more controlled environment, which means a more safe, secure creative space -- which everyone wants and needs today," he explained. "They also help us more easily meet the bonding and insurance requirements and stay on budget (time and money)." In other words, because of the new guidelines and requirements, EPs have become more involved members in the total project process. Netflix has already re-started production in South Korea, Iceland and Sweden, where each country has its own set of protocols in place ranging from immediate testing to voluntary quarantine prior to production. Not long-ago, Los Angeles County estimated that about 890,000 film/entertainment folks weren't working and the studios wanted/needed them on the set. In addition, the industry has to qualify and add COVID coordinators and health/safety team members. The new protocols and job descriptions (which are still a work in progress) can result in the addition of 10-15 personnel plus cleaning/sanitation equipment and as much as $1M plus to mid-level projects. It means production work will be slower and shoots will go longer because crew shifts will have to be staggered to minimize the number of "essential" people on the set … negatively impacting the project budget. The fantastic cafeteria-style craft service meal has already