Now that the industry is beginning to start filming blockbusters again, news of the many stringent precautions being taken by studios in the face of the global pandemic. One such blockbuster is “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which is back in production in London, with an extra $9 million for safety protocols added to the budget by Universal.
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An article on The New York Times explains how the safety protocols are affecting production, including a safety manual over 100 pages long, and including actors in the preparations before shooting. As Bryce Dallas Howard explains “in order to get any of us on a plane, we had to thoroughly understand the protocols, who was involved and hear second and third opinions. We are the guinea pigs who are going to take the leap.”
The additional safety budget includes “procuring some 18,000 Covid tests and 150 hand sanitizer stations” as well as the expenses of renting out an entire hotel for the production. Additionally, a general practitioner works full-time with the production, along with four nurses taking temperatures at the set’s entrance.
As the article tells, there are roughly 750 people involved in the production of “Dominion,” but now “Universal has divided the production into two categories.” On the one hand is the larger category with the departments that don’t need access to the set, like props and construction. “The more exclusive category, called the Green Zone, includes the director, the cast and only essential crew, like camera operators and the sound department.”
Universal, through the official “Jurassic World” Instagram account, shared new photos from the making of the film, giving the public a glimpse of how the pandemic affected production, including infrared temperature scanners on set. Those who actually work on the set, part of the “Green Zone” receive tests for COVID-19 three times a week, while the actors’ chairs “are surrounded by orange cones to remind people to remain socially distant.”
Of course, there are bound to be complications. The article mentions that there have already been cases of four crew members in Britain that tested positive for the virus, while two haven’t been on set yet. After three negative tests, they were permitted back on set. The studio says that no one has become seriously ill.
“Jurassic World: Dominion” is scheduled to be released on June 2021.