COVID-19 Testing Firm Kameo Unveils Digital Platform for Film Productions (Exclusive)

New software designed to streamline safety protocols comes days after “Mission: Impossible 7” pauses filming due to positive COVID test

kameo pcr testing
(Photo by Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images)

Kameo, a firm that has providing COVID-19 tests to film and television productions during the pandemic, announced on Monday that it is rolling out a new digital platform to streamline the process of overseeing tests for cast and crew members.

The new platform will allow producers and COVID-19 safety compliance officers to coordinate testing schedules for all production members and customize symptom screening checks. The system will also add a COVID passport that will allow tracking of which crew members tested positive and which are vaccinated.

That data will be attached to a profile that each crew member creates via a registration link, allowing that data to be carried over to the next production that crew member is hired onto. This will allow producers to cut out pre-production data gathering to determine the vaccination levels and previous positive test history of all cast and crew.

Kameo founder Alex Ostebo and CEO Matthew Hibberd said that the platform is also specifically tailored to the needs of film and TV productions as opposed to online portals set up by COVID testing labs that perform tests for all types of businesses.

“We are currently providing mobile tests for over a dozen productions and have been partners on more than 50 since we started Kameo, so our platform has come from constant communication with producers about their specific needs and what would make using the interface easier,” Ostebo told TheWrap. “And as we roll out the platform, we will continue to receive feedback from our studio partners to fine-tune the platform and make it better.”

While the seven-day average of new COVID-19 infection rates in the United States has fallen below 20,000, Hollywood labor insiders tell TheWrap that COVID-19 safety protocols and testing will still be in place for productions at least through the end of the year, even if they are loosened in some capacity.

In addition, multiple Hollywood productions are filming in other countries where infection rates are higher. In the U.K., Paramount ordered a 10-day pause for shooting on “Mission: Impossible 7” after at least one production member tested positive for COVID-19.

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