Australian Soap Opera Neighbours Resumes Filming, with Added Safety Measures

In the first step in bringing back the entertainment industry in Australia, the soap opera Neighbours has resumed filming, according to The Print.

Safety measures have been put into place for both the actors and the crew. Everyone has to stand five feet apart and actors cannot hold hands, kiss or enact a brawl.

Though work might have resumed, the virus has not gone away and there are many safety precautions in place. All cast and crew members have to get their temperature checked when they enter the studio and the set is divided into separate shooting units. Only three actors are permitted to be in one unit at a time.

Cameras are positioned to make the cast appear closer than they are actually standing or sitting, and the male actors wear no makeup, while the female actors forego their touch-ups. The set also has no extras. Because of ban on touching and kissing, producers have said the camera will cut away in cliff-hanging moments, like before a kiss or punch.

Stefan Dennis, who has played one of the protagonists of the show since 1985 said, "It's going to take all our efforts to play our characters as believably in love as what they are without the access to each other's intimate proximity. Thank God I did all those years of theater training and mime."