Media and Production in the time of COVID-19

In the Bay Area, we have been on “Shelter in Place” lockdown since March 17th, and the plan was to return to work on April 7th. However, it looks like that order may get pushed to May 1st for the Bay Area and the rest of California.

As a Production Studio and Soundstage, we took heed of the need to reduce contact to reduce risk but we have come to find out that our Studio and Soundstage is considered an essential business by both Alameda County and the State of California. We received a green light Friday from the City of Oakland to open our doors again to those who need a studio for production.

We feel confident that with our new measures in place to reduce contact and keep our spaces clean, Mama Dog Studios will be a safe place for people to produce content. These measure include:

-One Production in our Studio at a time. Our studios have gated parking and access to the main studio and soundstage via a parking lot and a roll up door. Clients will be the only production on site for each booking, reducing risk of contamination.

-Hand Sanitizers stations on the stage as well as 4 sinks accessible for the production crew to wash hands.

-Gloves available for use by crew.

-Bleach and cleaning wipes to wipe down surfaces and door and door knobs during the rental.

-Intense cleaning before and after each rental that focuses on sanitizing shared surfaces.

-contactless rental: directions, keys and gate opener will be provided to renters without the need to have an in person meeting.

We will in turn ask our rental clients to do their part in reducing COVID-19 Transmission and follow CDC guidelines for the workplace. These may include:

-Washing hands multiple times throughout the day

-Not touching face

-Not sharing food/cutlery

-Wiping down surfaces, doors, and door nobs with disinfectant.

-Staying home if feeling sick or if you’ve been in contact with someone with covid-19.

-Using a tissue when sneezing or sneezing into your arm to reduce droplets.

-Wearing a mask if available

We know most people are well aware of the risks of COVID-19 and how to reduce transmission, and we will ask renters to make a pledge to reduce their risk when they are on set at Mama Dog Studios. We want to encourage healthy behaviors while supporting the creative media and production community that needs to return to work to keep the public informed and entertained.

We look forward to offering our studios to you. Please take a look at our newly reduced rates and other information on our site.

Pilar and Carl

Owners, Mama Dog Studios

All the Construction, Part 1

It took a lot of work getting the building just so. After gutting the space, we found that there was quite a bit of structural work that needed to be done to firm up the building supports and get the floors in tip-top shape. We brought in a structural engineer and put in some new hefty beams and joists.

You can also see from the photos, that during construction we also created a secondary wall with extra insulation inside the building walls where the soundstage is located. This helps with the soundproofing of the soundstage.

Here are some images from the construction zone at Mama Dog:

The Before Picture (after all the previous occupant’s rooms and walls and stuff was taken out)

In this photo, the walls are almost done and things are looking clean.

Stay tuned for more photos of our construction process.