Keeping Movie Crews and Actors Healthy on the Set~10 Flu/Cold prevention Tips

With all the hoopla about the flu these days I am often asked while working as an RN “movie medic”  what can be done to prevent it. Below you will find my tips I share with the crew. Most of them are things you have probably already heard but they do help and sometimes we all just need a reminder. When an actor, director, or key crew members gets sick it can cause lots of trouble with the filming process and cost lots of money.

1. Wash your hands often with warm soap and water for at least 15-20 seconds. I also recommend using a paper towel if possible to turn off the faucet so you won’t get the germs back on your hands.

2. Use an alcohol based gel hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content. I have to use this often because I rarely have a sink readily available at work. Look for a sanitizer with moisturizers to help prevent dry cracking skin. I also use alcohol towelettes which remove dirt along with germs.

3. You can wear a mask, but it’s really not feasible for most people. Try to stay away from co-workers who are coughing and spewing their germs into the air. If you are the one coughing wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after.

4. Be a good citizen and cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough. Use a tissue to cover you nose and mouth if possible then wash your hands.

5. Get plenty of rest. I know this can be a tough one, but do your best. A rested body functions much better than a sleep deprived one.

6. Eat a well balanced diet which includes fruits, vegetables, and lean protein.

7. Drink plenty of fluids (water, 100% fruit juice, tea with honey, or just warm water with honey. Honey has natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. Honey also helps lessen a cough and sooth an irritated throat.

8. Try to reduce your stress level. Prolong stress can weaken your immune system making you more susceptible to illness. Lack of sleep can also stress the body. Movie crews are often sleep deprived. We work very long hours and the hours change from days to night work. My advice to them, go home and go to sleep. No going out on a school night. Rest, rest, rest…

9. Get some exercise. Take a walk, do some yoga, go for a run. Even a few minutes of exercise is better than none at all and it will reduce your stress level.

10. Stay home from work if you feel sick and have a fever so you don’t spread your germs. CDC recommends staying home for 24 hours after your fever is gone without taking Tylenol or other fever reducer.

Very Popular Cold/Flu Prevention Items used on Movie Sets by celebrities and  the crew.

One of the most popular items actors and crew members ask me for to give them a lift and help prevent colds and flu would be Emergen-C by Alacer Corp I go through 1-2 boxes a day on a large movie sets. People love it. It’s a fizzy powder in many different flavors and combination’s that you add to water. It’s full of vitamins and minerals. I can’t say if it really wards off colds and flu but I can say the people I work with love it and believe it works. Some of the most requested flavors are Super Orange, Lemon Lime, and Tangerine. I also carry the Immune Defense, Heart Health, Cranberry, Raspberry, and Bone Health.

Another popular item is the well known Airborne. I really like the new single dose packets vs the tablets that you add to water. Again I can’t say these really do anything to ward off the flu bug but people swear by it. Airborne’s website has lots of information and states the ingredients are proven to support your immune system.

Leave a comment to let me know what you do or take to ward off a cold or flu.

Warm Regards,

Tamara

 

PS_I am not a professional reviewer. The mention of certain products are my own personal experience with them. I have not been contacted by companies nor received any compensation or benefit from them.

Be Creative at Your Library

Creative Minds Make
The Ordinary… Extraordinary!

I just wanted to send out a quick note to my friends. I have just finished uploading Billy Gorilly’s free promotional song for the summer library program “Be Creative at Your Library”. I am really excited about it. The song is really catchy and very fun. I know the kids will love it. Take a listen click here I will be letting you know more about Billy Gorilly’s new CD coming soon! billygorilly.com

Grammy Nominations Best Children’s Music Album 2008

Grammy Nominations Best Children’s Music Album 2008
I am very excited to let you know our Album “Billy Gorilly – Happy Birthday Gertie” is on the ballot for nomination consideration for Best Musical Album for Children in the 2008 Grammys!

Please take a listen at iLike. We would love to have you as a new fan.

Buy CD or MP3 Now

Movie Crew on location in the Desert

I have not been great at blogging lately. My job as a movie medic took me to the desert and my Internet connection was not very good. It was also very dusty and hot and my computer preferred to stay in its case. Our hotel was about an hour away from this location. We would load up in trucks and busses at the beginning and end of the day to head back and forth to the hotels. When a movie crew enters a small town, we kind of take over. Many times we fill all the hotels in the area. The good side is we spend lots of money in those small towns, so I guess it is good for all of us.

Out in the desert my office or medical center is under a portable cabana. This being said, I have to be ready to pick up my gear and move it fast. Sometimes the camera shot changes and you will be right in the shot if you don’t move. I also need to be ready to move my gear and load it quickly into a truck to be transported to the next location. The transportation team has to work efficiently and in a coordinated manner to get all the gear and equipment, as well as the crew to the next location. It still fascinates me how fast we can move enormous amounts of equipment and people. It really takes skill and team work. The transportation department can really make a difference on how your day goes. I feel very privileged to work with some of the best in the business.

This is the kind of terrain that movie crews have to contend with. It was around 100-105 degrees Fahrenheit on this day. Portable bathrooms are approximately 30-minutes down a bumpy road. Behind this serene scene are many trucks, trailers, and crewmembers. I can’t disclose where these pictures were taken as I was sworn to secrecy. I will tell you that I was working on the movie Transformers 2. As far as I can tell this movie is going to be action packed and spectacular. I am glad I had the opportunity to be a small part of it.

My Day On Skid Row

Stay Off Crack

Learn more or donate to the Midnight Mission

It was 0600 and still dark when I arrived to my destination on San Pedro St. in Los Angeles. My job as a movie medic brought me to the Midnight Mission to work for a day. I was happy that I was being transported in a studio truck and not driving myself. It made me feel a bit safer. There were hundreds of people lining the streets. I saw people walking briskly, sleeping on the ground next to the buildings, sitting on the curb holding their few possessions, a lady pulling her pants down on the side of the street and going to the bathroom as if it was no big deal, a drug deal on the corner, and a lady screaming and dancing in the middle of the street. After seeing all this in the first few minutes of my arrival I new I was in for an educational day.

The construction crew got out of the truck to make contact with our location representative. They told me to stay inside the truck and lock the doors, I did so gladly. I saw our security guards on the side of the truck which made me feel a bit more secure. You are never sure what a crack head might do to get some money for their next fix. I had already watched several drug deals go down, and then watched the buyers sit on the side of the street against the building to either shoot-up heroin or smoke crack out of a glass pipe. Boy, this was really up close and personal and I found it fascinating.

I was very happy we had plenty of private security as well as security from the mission. M. was stationed at the truck door where I was sitting. He was from around here, he knew these people, he was a success story for recovery and now works security for the mission. He had a positive attitude and was ready to live life. Every-time I opened the window or door of the truck I would have several people come up to the window and make comments that were not your usual hello or how are you doing. M. would have to ask them to leave me alone. No one gave him a hard time, they did as he asked. This is when it came to me, oh-my-god where am I going to go to the bathroom. I thought OK, I won’t drink any water and I won’t eat. Who would want to eat around here anyway. It is so dirty.

Around 0800 the food starts to arrive and the pace of the street picks up another notch. Cars pull up and open their trunks and pass out all kinds of food. Usually they give a religious sermon of some sort before they pass out the food. You can tell when a food car pulls up because everyone seems to run in the same direction and then you see them walking with food in hand or picking it up from the street and eating it. When the next car pulls up they run over to it and the feeding frenzy starts again. There does not seem to be a shortage of food if someone needs it and makes an effort to get it. M. from the mission says it is like this everyday. One church was passing out water and snicker bars another soup and sandwiches. I also saw hot dogs, mac and cheese, chips, fruit, chile, and sodas.

It’s about 1000 and the movements of the people in the street is starting to get wild. It seems that many of the people have had their morning dose of drugs. I noticed their movements became more disorganized and uncoordinated. Many people now are walking around with their jaws clenching and grinding to the side (common with crack use). Their arms and legs move in an awkward way. I saw a young women walk by that was probably beautiful at one time. This was until the drugs took hold of her and made her a dirty, skinny, ugly looking person. One man is yelling in the street, raising his fist in the air, and doing a dance of some sort. A few minutes later he is on his back in the middle of the street with people poking him to see if he is alive. He gets up 20 minutes later to start dancing again. A bit later the police are arresting a couple of people. In a matter of minutes a large number of police show up to take care of business. The crowd start to dispurse. I was impressed with the restraint and control the officers used when dealing with this tuff crowd. the police looked and acted very professional from my view.

1200-OK I can’t wait anymore I have to get out of the truck and use the bathroom. I had security walk me through the line of people and into the mission for men. I have to say I was very surprised and happy to find out that the inside of the building and the bathroom they let me use was very very clean. I was impressed. I made it back to the truck without any negative incident. When I got back into the truck I noticed a Cadillac pull up across the street and let 3 women out. A man got out of the car (he was dressed how I would envision a pimp). He said something to the girls and then they walked into the crowd of people several feet down the street. I asked M. what that was all about and he said they are the hustlers. The girls would attract a client and then 6 big men would show up and take the money.

1400- The energy of the street seems to go in waves. It goes from a frantic pace to a fast flurry. There is a man selling lighters and cigarettes for 0.50 cents each. There is a very pregnant girl wandering around. A father walking with a small child. He has her attached to a leash so she can’t get lost in the crowd. The parents that have children make me the most sad. M. told me that the families with kids can get a safe place to sleep at night. That is a good thing. Sometime you would see someone that didn’t seem to fit in. They looked like they were new to skid row. M. told me if they stay long enough (about 2-weeks) they will soon look and act like the rest of the people here.

1600- My day here is ending, I am glad. I feel exhausted even though I worked out of a truck all day and mostly observed. I feel drained and exhilarated at the same time. My mind is whirling. The other crew members say they feel the same way. It is hard to explain. I feel for the people on the streets. Some are mentally deficient, others made a choice by getting hooked on wicked hard drugs. This makes me appreciate all that I have. I will never complain that I don’t have a new couch or a new dress. I will always be thankful to have my own shower and toilet. I will curl up in my comfy safe bed at night with a new appreciation. This day made a big impact on me and one I will never forget. I am glad I had the opportunity to observe life from a different perspective. I am glad it is over.

It’s Snowing in Beverly Hills

The sun is shining, the air is warm, and it is snowing. Thanks to our fantastic special effects crew we have a winter wonderland here in Beverly Hills. No I am not crazy, its movie making. The scene that was filmed was supposed to take place back east in the middle of winter. It never ceases to amaze me how movies are made. In only a few days the construction crew built a fake swimming pool with the decking, and a large gazebo. We brought in numerous hedges and other plants to hide things that were not to be seen. The pool was frozen with the lights shining from below. This is only the outside of the house. Inside the house was a beautiful 18 foot christmas tree. The set decorators also brought in beautiful antique furniture making it look like it has been in the place for years. It takes many people and much planning to create all this. The crews need to be flexible and creative to come up with inventive ways to create the look the director wants. They also need to be ready to change the look quickly when the director changes their mind. Now that the one night of filming is over the set is being torn down. The snow is being swept up, which by the way gets everywhere and into everything. It will take about three days and 50 people to return the home back to its original state or even better. Most movie companies try to leave the place nicer than they found it just like your mom tought you.

Now I have to go and get my taxes ready ugh . It is much more fun living in a fantasyland.

First Impressions

This is my first blog and I am not really sure where to start. I hope that once I get more comfortable with this form of communication I will bring to you some interesting or helpful information. I am just going to go for it. Today I woke up at 5 am to leave for work by 5:30. My shift doesn’t start until 8 am but I have to fight the LA traffic. Thank goodness for my new Tassimo coffee machine, I am not a morning person and I need my coffee to get going. Tassimo has been the best purchase I have made recently. I am a Starbucks junky, but I was getting frustrated because they didin’t open early enough or they moved to slow in the morning. When I found out that Tassimo was going to have Starbucks t-disc I was sold. The machine works great, there is no mess and I don’t have to wait in line for coffee. Want to check them out go here. By the way I don’t make any money from them nor was I asked to write about them. I just love my new coffee machine.

Today I am working for Dreamworks as a registered nurse (medic) on a movie set. The best part of my day so far is my temporary office. I am sitting on the terrace of a prestigious estate in Beverly Hills that has a wonderful view. The sun is just rising and the air is fresh. Spring is in the air. This is much nicer than my last location on skid row. I have been working as a movie medic for 15 years. It has been a very interesting job. Much different than my first job as a neonatal intensive care nurse in the hospital, or an Urgent care nurse, private duty nurse, or a nurse educator. I never pictured myself working as a nurse in the jungles of Hawaii, on a Lake in Utah, or out in the middle of the desert when it is 115 degrees. Sometimes the job is quite physical and sometimes I am sitting around waiting for something to happen, like firemen do.

Tonight I will be working as a music producer for a company (Flying Kitten Music) I run with my husband John. I work mainly on the kids music. We have just released our 2nd CD Billy Gorilly:”Happy Birthday Gertie”, our first children’s album was “Billy Gorilly and the Candy Appletree Family”. You can find the music on many online stores, but our favorite distributor is CDBaby. The cartoon character Billy Gorilly, is a singing, swinging, friendly blue gorilly that loves to sing, read, and learn. He also has a podcast “Billy Gorilly’s Podcast for Kids” that can be listened to for free at his website or on itunes. The podcast are 10 minutes or less and provide educational content. If you have young kids or know some check out Billy Gorilly’s website. Just a note, I am the cartoon voice of the young boy named Timmy. Being a voice actor is pretty fun. I never imagined I would be the voice of a cartoon character.

Now you know a little bit about me. It is weird making a first impression through a blog, but that is technology. I love technology. How about you?