© Uprise MED

Film productions have faced significant disruption from the pandemic since the start of the year, with Hollywood and UK studios being forced to close their doors, and later reopening them slowly over the summer. And as a second lockdown comes into force this week in the UK, albeit with less restrictions, it’s becoming a priority for studios and the wider film industry to protect their workers and provide a safe environment for production crews, freelancers and contractors that are coming on and off site on a regular basis.

Uprise MED, a UK based business that offers digital LED strips and wellness tech to creative businesses and the wider industry, has launched its online e-commerce brand to provide PPE equipment.

From pioneering its reusable copper infused face masks for people working on sets to offering face shield visors and temperature scanning kiosks, the company has been expanding its range of affordable products to protect workers across many industries including film and broadcast media. Whether you’re a DP, production designer, gaffer or actor, film productions are putting into place safety measures to keep to social distancing rules, while minimising the chances of staff getting COVID-19.

Uprise MED founder Stevie Watts, who’s previously worked on productions such Harry Potter prequel ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, said this week in an interview, “When the pandemic hit and because I'd sensed something big was coming we reacted quickly and pivoted towards doing everything we could to help provide people with face visors, 3 ply masks and even pioneered a new reusable copper infused face mask to the market.”

Discover the light, Project Life by director Stevie Watts for Uprise MED

Ever since the company moved towards selling PPE equipment, it has seen a big increase in orders from businesses across various sectors and the film industry. As movie productions look to catch up after months of delays that have affected many top releases, on-set safety has become a primary concern. The same goes for TV productions which were put on halt earlier this year where PPE equipment and safety measures are important to keep providing a safe environment with minimal contact.

As the film industry catches up and releases get pushed to 2021, Uprise MED aims to help companies and organisations improve their working environments and overall wellness - offering a range of protective equipment, digital LED strips and other design products to bring a sense of wellbeing to office and studio environments.

Has your film company been impacted by COVID-19? Share your experiences with us: @filminetwork