The Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) believes the highest priority to maintain our state’s film industry amid the COVID-19 Pandemic is the safety of Oklahoma’s filmmakers, crew members, talent, vendors, location owners and cities. As such, and in accordance with the State of Oklahoma’s three-phased approach to safely reopen the economy, known as The Open Up and Recover Safely (OURS) plan, OF+MO has released Considerations for Oklahoma Filmmaking during COVID-19 in a printable PDF along with a newly added Reopening Oklahoma webpage with additional related resources for filmmakers at this time.
Considerations for Oklahoma Filmmaking during COVID-19 is comprised of local resources and general considerations for workplace safety, including a breakdown of considerations by individual film departments. The document’s suggested use should accompany, not supersede, any federal, state, local guidelines or those from any respective film industry guilds, unions, companies or studios.
As part of OF+MO’s Considerations for Oklahoma Filmmaking during COVID-19, OF+MO has added a new “Health and Safety” category in the Oklahoma Production Directory where users can access a list of statewide COVID-19 testing sites as well as the beginnings of a developing list of local businesses that provide personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies and sanitation services.
The Oklahoma Production Directory is a one-stop-shop for film and television productions working in Oklahoma, which allows those productions to browse through registrants in order to hire local film industry members, purchase equipment and contract related services from statewide businesses. Any local businesses that provide PPE items and resources are encouraged to contact OF+MO to register themselves as a supplier in consideration of future film and television productions looking to utilize those services. Registration is free for qualified individual industry members or businesses in the Oklahoma Production Directory, which was established in 2009.
By the end of March, most active film and television productions working in Oklahoma were suspended in response to the health and safety guidelines surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of Oklahoma is currently in Phase One of the OURS Plan as of April 24, 2020, with a projected goal to move into Phase Two on May 15, 2020, based on the number of coronavirus cases according to state government executive orders.
“As one of the first state’s in the country to begin re-opening, OF+MO has been strategically collaborating with film industry leaders and state government leaders to prepare to open safely,” said OF+MO Director Tava Maloy Sofsky. “Over a dozen new films have shown interest in bringing business to Oklahoma, which – in comparison to more heavily populated production markets – can provide advantages when implementing social distancing practices as well as a lower cost of living and doing business. We hope these considerations can provide our workforce, vendors, location owners, community members and all industry professionals guidance as they safely return to work in Oklahoma as our state reopens the economy.”
Please remember to check local county and city government pages regarding local restrictions.
For the latest information on Oklahoma’s COVID-19 response, please visit coronavirus.health.ok.gov.
For more information, including OF+MO’s suggested safety tips and COVID-19 resources, please visit okfilmmusic.org/reopeningoklahoma.
