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October 14, 2020

Quarantine Projects In a Bubble

Atlanta’s Tyler Perry Studios

Heard about Tyler Perry’s tale of TV production throughout COVID?

Yes, the mega-entertainer, mega-prolific producer, mega-housedress-wearing, Gramma-acting Tyler Perry. It’s worth digging into. 

Tyler Perry Studios is a 330-acre studio and production facility started in 2015, and located on a former Army base in Atlanta. The studio has been home to Perry’s shows and movie sets, but Marvel’s Black Panther and The Walking Dead have also been shot there
 
In July, in spite of COVID challenges, Perry started show production in an entirely closed-set and closed-living-quarters bubble environment. And his studio was able to avoid ANY COVID complications. 
 
How? The studio had strict testing procedures upon arrival, and a 30-page document of protocols to follow. And it worked.
 
So Perry was able to launch into a second and third shoot and has just wrapped the fourth. There’s also talk of opening up this self-enclosed set and ‘stay-at-work’ lodging to other production companies.
 
Dang. Makes us wonder, if the world of project-based endeavors in a closed bubble environment, could be a trend. 
 
Obviously, the film industry has always been used to ‘on-location’ filming — check the Game of Thrones actors sharing their jealousy about who filmed in Iceland dead of winter vs. the ‘King’s Landing’ sunny-scene stealers filming in Croatia. 

Other prolific pods have been put in place during COVID, including the NBA Bubble set up to continue the last eight games of the regular season that were suspended in March, and into the Finals that wrapped on Sunday. Can other 1-3 month engagements work this way too, depending on need?   Maybe manufacturing, in rapid prototype land, at least. Or perhaps deep-dive software developments – those folks don’t usually sleep anyway, right?
 
It wasn’t too long ago that there were Pullman communities, and the reverse of WFH:  LAW? Live At Work?
 
Of course, it’s different for those with families and kids, perhaps, though on-site client consultants have been doing a hybrid of this for decades.
 
Of course, we all cross fingers for a fast, facile, effective vaccine to avoid any of this.
 
But the notion of banging out work in an all-consuming window, and place-based environment, isn’t completely out of the blue. At Perry’s production HQ, meeting up at the ‘Bar Truck’ that’s a short walk from the ‘office’ may be more appealing than a solo-laptop quarantini toast, no?

 


Sources:
Tyler Perry Gives Progress Report On Producing His Shows During Pandemic, Shares His Hope For The Industry & The Country – Deadline
Tyler Perry Wraps ‘Ruthless’ After Positive Check-in COVID Test, Starts Production On ‘Bruh’ At His Atlanta Studio – Deadline
Tyler Perry Studios
2020 NBA Bubble