Iza Calzado calls for regulated working hours in TV industry

source: mb.com.ph

Just a thought: Money is a good servant but a bad master. – Francis Bacon

MANILA, Philippines- Longest taping: We hope Iza Calzado’s bosses at GMA Network wouldn’t react violently to the actress’ observation that taping hours on TV should be regulated to protect the health – and sanity – of cast and crew.

Iza made such a comment at the thanksgiving dinner following the last day taping of “I Heart You, Pare,” in which she plays the female lead. The day before, they finished taping at 11 a.m., following a schedule that started the previous day.

Long, long taping hours are more the rule rather than the exception in the teleserye scene, where actors normally shoot an average of 60 sequences a day.

Actors, in effect, are contracted on a 24-hour basis, beginning their work at 7 a.m. until 7 a.m. of the next day.

Iza’s comment should be taken in the context of constructive criticism and not as a cheap attack at sowing intrigue in production.

If the TV industry is to professionalize its operations, it must start by regulating working hours and conforming to accepted labor standards.

Elsewhere in the world, in North America as well as in South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.), TV and movie production crews work around a fixed schedule that is common to all and followed by everybody.

Why can’t it be the same in the Philippine TV industry where children, teens, and other minors are among the most celebrated workers?
source: mb.com.ph