CINTAA chairperson Amit Behl: The SAG-AFTRA will work closely on SOP

The shooting schedules of Jersey (left), and Laal Singh Chaddha (right) were affected by the lockdown

Inarguably among the industries whose work forces have been rendered unemployed amid the ongoing pandemic, the entertainment industry has a lot riding on its back. Eager to resume work on its productions, cine bodies from across the globe hopped aboard a Zoom call on May 11 to set standard operating procedures (SOP) that will be in place once shooting resumes.

Joint secretary and chairperson of CINTAA's outreach committee, Amit Behl, who represented India at the conference that saw delegates from America and the UK, says the meeting was vital owing to the interactive nature of filming. "Big countries, like India, will have to adhere to the sops since we go abroad to shoot, and foreign productions come here. We have to get a global handshake before we start filming. If a second spike happens, we must be prepared. We want to resume filming, but not at the cost of lives," Behl tells mid-day of the interaction that had 20 countries participate in it.

Amit Behl

Among the guidelines that are expected to become commonplace are those pertaining to the filming of intimacy scenes, and the appointment of virologists on sets.

"Guidelines pertaining to infection control [established by] governments and state municipal corporations [will be enforced]. Primarily, we requested stakeholders to not cut corners by approaching broadcasters directly, but to reach out to associations. The SAG-AFTRA [Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artistes] will work closely on the sops," says Behl of the discussion that saw the participation of representatives of various filming divisions, including acting, production, costume design, and make-up.

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