Spokane Film Project would like to address a growing concern that we have in our community. As vaccinations are becoming widespread and the weather is allowing us to do more outside, a lot of filmmakers are moving forward with projects they are passionate about making. We absolutely love to see our members and our community creating! We are here to support our digital content community and we want nothing more than for people to be working.
That being said, COVID is still a very real threat. Cases have been on the rise and Spokane County, along with many other areas in Washington and Idaho. No one is happy to hear this, but because the variants are running rampant, as well as disinformation about COVID and safety protocols, we need to do our part to protect our community as a whole. We want to be sure that everyone understands the current filming rules and is following them. Please note that with the new guidelines released by the Governor’s office on May 21, people who are fully vaccinated (2 weeks after their final shot) no longer are required to wear masks or social distance in public places. Employers or building owners have the right to still require anyone entering or working in their establishment to still wear a mask and socially distance. Be sure you know the rules if you are establishing a shoot somewhere. It is also the employer’s job to verify that a person is fully vaccinated if they allow them to work without as mask or social distancing. Below you will find a link to the new changes in workplace safety put out by WA state, so please become familiar with them. The Return to Work Agreement put forth by the film guilds, which includes testing and zones on set and does not have any changes regarding vaccination is still in place through June 30, 2021. These guidelines have NOT changed yet.
While we encourage everyone to get vaccinated who is able, we must keep everyone’s health in mind as we make our safety plans for our sets to keep our crews, casts, and all of their loved ones safe. We know the rules in Idaho are much looser and many of our members live and film there. We still would like to encourage our members to follow the safety guideline from the Return to Work Agreement, if you aren’t following the WA guidelines.
Spokane Film Project supports the CDC, WA State, and Film Guild guidelines for safe filming. We care deeply about the health and safety of our whole community. We, Spokane Film Project, its members, and the Spokane digital content industry must all do our part in helping to get back to normal filming on sets by following the guidelines and helping educate those around us. Below are some helpful links to more information and resources. Please reach out to us if we can help answer questions. We are here for you.
Resources and references:
WA Filming Guidelines:
https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID19%20Motion%20Picture%20Industry%20Guidance.pdf
WA L&I One Sheet may 21 Updates:
https://lni.wa.gov/forms-publications/F414-179-000.pdf
WA L&I Workplace Requirements:
https://lni.wa.gov/forms-publications/f414-169-000.pdf
Return to Work Agreement:
https://www.washingtonfilmworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ReturnToWorkAgreement_wAMPTP.pdf
SFP Panel on COVID Safety
(from August 2020, so protocols changed slightly since this was recorded):
WA Filmworks COVID Resource page (tons of great info here!!):
https://www.washingtonfilmworks.org/covid-resources-set-safety