The global pandemic has impacted the entertainment industry in ways never before imagined. In addition to the need to avoid infected persons, global health experts have warned that the virus that causes COVID-19 can live on plastic and metal surfaces for up to 3 days. The new normal will be a post-pandemic world with an ongoing race to find ways to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
In response to this growing need, Rocket House Pictures is introducing UV-C LIGHTS to their services, to harness the power of germicidal UV to safely sanitize film and video locations and equipment – including studios, offices, cameras, microphones. Basically anything film and video production related.
“At Rocket House Pictures, during our state-mandated lockdown, we studied a solution to help our industry. The answer was a device that could help production crews and rental houses to stay safe from the virus. Social distancing, masks, and gels meet safety requirements, but on production sets where the equipment is constantly handled multiple times during shooting hours by operators, assistants, grips, etc… we think for production to truly ramp up again, there is a compulsory need to disinfect and decontaminate gear and filming locations daily or even several times a day,” explains Gio Toninelo, the President and CEO of Rocket House Pictures.
What is UV-C light?
UV-C, or germicidal UV, is a wavelength of UV light, typically between 200 to 280 nano-meters, that can inactivate pathogens like bacteria and viruses. UV-C light, in the right strength and dose, modifies the DNA structure of an infectious cell so it cannot reproduce and therefore cannot colonize and spread.
UV radiant energy was first used for disinfecting surfaces in 1877 and has been used extensively, for over 40 years, in disinfecting drinking water, waste water, air, pharmaceutical products, and surfaces against a whole suite of human pathogens. UV-C has been used in hospitals and healthcare facilities for decades and is proven to be effective in both the reduction of hygiene failures and in control environmental contamination by high-concern microorganisms, such as COVID-19. Similar to UV-A and UV-B rays from the sun, exposure to UV-C can damage eyes and skin if overly exposed, so it is essential to follow strict safety guidelines when UV-C devices are in use.
Germicidal UV lamps are incredibly effective and have several significant advantages.
Pathogen kill rate – All bacteria and viruses tested to date (many
hundreds over the years, including other coronaviruses) respond to UV
disinfection. Some organisms are more susceptible to UVC disinfection
than others, but all tested so far do respond at the appropriate doses.
On top of that, bacteria and pathogens cannot become resistant to UV
like they can to certain antibiotics and antibacterial products.
Limited chemical exposure – UV-C works in place of potentially harmful
chemicals. It’s safe to enter a room after germicidal UV products
disinfect the area, but it might be hard to breathe in a room that has
just been sprayed down with chemicals.
These features
make UV-C irradiation ideal as a sanitization process for delicate
professional film and broadcast equipment as it does not affect – if
used properly – optical lens coating, electronic circuits & boards,
lubricants, rubber, or plastic in cameras, lenses, monitors,
microphones, etc.
Rocket House Pictures is the only Video Production Company in Colorado using medical-grade UV-C devices
designed for film and video sets. The UV-C medical-grade lamps have
been designed and tested to provide ten times the irradiation needed to
sanitize the surfaces of film locations.
The
typical length of time needed to disinfect and sanitize a set of
equipment, including a camera, two lenses, two batteries, and one
microphone is just five minutes. For studios or larger rooms or offices
it could take 30min. to 1 hour.
In addition to
using UV-C Lights, Rocket House pictures continues to take crew and
clients temperatures throughout the day, social distancing, making use
of disinfectants and gloves and following their covid safety guidelines updated in August 2020. For more information, please contact ask@rockethousepictures.com