COVID-19 PROCEDURES for ADR and Voice-Over

I 40 Film Studios location:

1510 Coors Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87121

as of September 22, 2022

Our procedure for ADR and VO (since early March of 2020—see 2nd page for updates) has not changed with our move to I 40 Film Studios at 1510 Coors Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87121. There is a TrueHEPA air filtration unit we use which is rated to recirculate air every 20 minutes in a room more than twice as big as this recording room. (Purifier rated for 465 ft2, room is approximately 200 ft2. We fully disinfect the room with rubbing alcohol before and after every actor, including the headphones, microphones, and every knob and button. We have a spare lav and headphones and switch between actors as well to give those items which are closest to the actor extra time to breathe. Soft items which can not be properly disinfected in this manner are replaced with spares and removed from the room to be cleaned thoroughly; some are machine washable, some can be washed by hand with hot water and soap, and some are sanitized for 1 hour with a UV & Ozone sanitizer.

If there are multiple actors in one day, we ask the staff at NM Film Studios to offer actors a seat in the waiting area which has room for 2 people waiting plus one passing through with proper social distancing. Actors will also be given the option to wait outside in the fresh air and they will be told when we are ready. All personnel who will be in the same room as one of our actors (including before the actor arrives) will be masked.

We request from producers a minimum of 20 minutes between actors to disinfect and air out the room, and recommend at least 30 minutes.

Our staff (usually the mixer) then disinfects the room again and replaces any soft items with new ones. This is done with the door open, which the next actor is welcome to watch, although we request they do so from a safe distance looking through the open door rather than being in the room with us.

There are two separate entrances into the two ADR rooms and the air purifier will be running on the stage for the actor to turn off before recording (due to fan noise).

Actors are welcome to bring their own headphones. We prefer closed muff ear-covering headphones, but as long as the sound doesn’t bleed into the microphone, our equipment can accept either standard-sized headphone jack. In theory, bluetooth devices can be used, but in reality the latency (delay) of bluetooth makes this impractical for ADR in particular.

The common areas in the building are being cleaned thoroughly with disinfecting products daily by NM Film Studios staff. The most people I’ve seen in the building (approx. 3,000 ft2) at any given time are 8 and only 4 in any room at one time (a room actors need not pass through). There is hand sanitizer near every bathroom, in the kitchen, and at various other locations in the common areas. We also provide hand sanitizer on the stage.

Tor Kingdon has been certified as our Health and Safety Officer and the studio was officially approved by SAG-AFTRA on February 8, 2021.