LOS ANGELES — Take a drive through DTLA, and amid the boarded-up storefronts and shuttered bars and restaurants, there is one sign of normalcy—the tell-tale clusters of white trailers, wardrobe motor homes, and camera trucks that can only mean one thing: production. 

Initially halted back in the spring amid the pandemic’s outbreak, production for TV, film, and commercials came back online in early summer and has been ramping up ever since.

Prior to a slight downtick in November, production has increased steadily month over month. FilmLA, the nonprofit public benefit organization that issues film permits for the city and county of Los Angeles, has received some 3,552 permit applications for 2,514 unique productions since the restart. The majority of permits are being issued for commercials. 

As of early December, FilmLA is receiving about 39 applications a day.

Mike Garcia, a production supervisor who works on TV commercials, is finding himself busier than he's ever been.

“It’s been insane busy for everybody. Vendors are even saying it’s the busiest it’s been in their existence,” said Garcia.

But producing commercials amid a pandemic has proved a challenge. Maintaining compliance with the county's extensive COVID-19 protocols has taken what’s already a demanding job and added a whole other dimension—particularly in light of the spiking case numbers we've seen recently.

"This last commercial, we had a location, we tech-scouted it, and a week after Thanksgiving, they were like, 'We don’t want to do it anymore because the numbers going up,'" Garcia said.

The onslaught of jobs, coupled with the added challenge of maintaining COVID-19 compliance on set, has at times made it hard for Garcia to find crew members. The pandemic has also created a cottage industry of new crew positions that didn’t exist a year ago.

“We have COVID compliance officers on set that just kind of regulate that,” Garcia said.

Testing is one of the main aspects of the job of the COVID compliance officer.

“The COVID compliance officer works in conjunction with the COVID test supervisor to make sure that everybody’s going to get tested and getting tested in the time we need for them to come," said Garcia. “On the day, we get them set up first and everyone has to come in through them. Make sure you get your temperature check, issues you your badge, give you the mask that you’re getting for the day, find out what zone you belong to."

The zones are designated areas on-set crew members are allowed to be in depending on their designation. Zone A is for principal on-camera talent, directors, camera operators, lighting and sound tech, and others directly involved in getting the shot. Zone B is for other crew members who, while not right in there, need to be close at hand like grips, prop people, and electric techs. Zone C is for peripheral crew that can be kept further from the action.

There are also dedicated crew members responsible for sanitizing the set.

“There’s a lead hygienist and an assistant hygienist, and they’re specifically, that’s all they do, with gloves and masks on, they’re sanitizing stuff. When lunch is set up and tables are six feet apart and everybody sits down, someone gets up and they come right up behind that person and resanitize,” said Garcia.

But even with the additional staff dedicated to the task, COVID compliance has still become a major part of the job for Garcia.

“When you do have the time after dealing with all the COVID stuff, now I got to get back and make sure I’ve got all the gear the camera guys have asked for. It’s a lot of late nights catching up on that end for the next day to get my production ducks in a row. I send my emails out the night before because I know in the morning, I’m going to have all these COVID things to deal with,” Garcia said.

The good news: it seems to be working.

“The system, for us, is working. It’s diligent, no one does the rapid testing. It's PCR, 72 hours, which makes it difficult, but that’s the level commercials are at. They’re taking it seriously and they’re doing a good job of it," said Garcia.

PCR testing, which is considered the gold standard in COVID detection, detects genetic material specific to the virus and is considered more reliable than rapid tests.

But for Garcia, the extra burden of COVID compliance, on top of the already often-grueling demands of working in production, is leading to burnout.

“For me personally, I’m finding very few moments that are fun right now. It’s a lot of stress and I’m just questioning right now,” said Garcia.

Andrew Ableson, a London-born actor with an extensive list of credits, including NCIS: Los Angeles, Parks and Recreation, Days of Our Lives, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is also frustrated with COVID's impact on the business, although for different reasons.

"It's been deathly slow," said Ableson, who in ordinary times is also a prolific theater actor."I had one sold-out theater show I was in and two others that I’d booked for this summer and autumn, and all three were wiped out!"

Like most actors these days, Ableson has been auditioning via video and Zoom. It's not a process he finds particularly satisfying.

"It gives me the heebie-jeebies at the best of times. I really, really miss being in front of casting. You can so easily and quickly modify your read in five seconds with a human there, but at home you are totally in the dark, and preoccupied with all the tech, too. It’s utterly the opposite of what an actor should be dealing with," Ableson said. "It's just way more of a crap-shoot."

Despite the raging pandemic, there is little indication that the industry could be headed for another government-mandated shutdown any time soon. While that might not be the most welcome news for someone like Garcia, who says he's taking the rest of the year off, it's good news for actors and others like Ableson, who are eager to get back to work.

For a prolific veteran like Ableson, the struggles of the pandemic, daunting as they have been, are par for the course to some degree.

"It will get better, but it's incredibly soul-destroyingly hard, especially actors working in live theater. That is gone at least until next autumn," Ableson said. "But if you get put off easily, acting is not for you anyway, so grow another layer of defense and you’ll be even more resilient next year."