Written on 14^th September 2020

Life inside the bubble

Few things have had a dramatic impact on the film and media production industry quite like the COVID-19 pandemic response. The disruption has been immense. And while we move towards normalisation in future, it is changing the way we all do business. 

Right now in Australia, border closures are adding to the complexity. But it is not all doom and gloom for the F&M sector with opportunities now existing to establish what are being called ‘production bubbles’ – particularly in Queensland, one of the least impacted States. 

Over the past month, TAG has worked closely with a range of production companies and hotel chains to establish ‘bubbles’. Following the lead of sports codes relocating to Queensland, a growing number of productions are looking to ‘block out’ hotels for their talent and crew. 

In doing so, they are creating a strictly controlled environment which mitigates the risk of exposure to COVID and any potential spread from crew that may have travelled.  

Setting up a ‘production bubble’ is not as simple as locking the door though as Tricia Cornelius, Accor Regional Director of Sales & Marketing  Queensland & Northern Territory can attest. 

Over the past months Tricia and her team have moved through a complex set of assessments and applications to ensure they have properties ‘compliant’ for production lockdown use. These include a number near the Gold Coast production hub such as the Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach, Novotel Surfers Paradise and Mercure Gold Coast Resort. 

“Dealing with COVID 19 has completely transformed the way we do business, the experience we provide our guests,” Tricia explains. “We will work differently than we have ever worked before and it will never be the same.” 

Tricia explains that to be able to offer production bubbles, Accor has had to develop protocols to meet the requirements of various Government Departments, alongside accreditation agency Veritas and both State and Federal police services.  

“It has been incredibly detailed, right down to having to think about how we manage paper documents in rooms, or shampoo bottles we would normally provides in rooms,” she says. 

Other protocols include the service of food, in-house staff activities, and providing systems to ensure crew can travel to set or elsewhere and return to the hotel without ‘breaking the bubble’. 

TAG’s head of Film and Production travel Alli Pratt added the company had relationships with a host of hotel chains that had undertaken this important work like Accor. 

“What we want to do is provide support that means productions can keep moving ahead, but in a COVID-safe environment,” she explains.