Department of Crew Experience
A formal, measurable department dedicated to crew well-being on film sets — built for productions ready to lead the industry, not follow it.
Think about this: on set, for people working 10-14+ hr days, especially on indie sets, there often is no direct person that can be spoken to about direct issues impacting crew wellness - relationship, conditional, and communication issues - outside of the director or producer on set, often who are overworked and preoccupied. Not to mention, they're directly in charge with hiring and firing; so how likely is it that crew members would be able to talk to them about real issues?
Ten years ago, intimacy coordinators didn’t exist. Now they’re a production standard.
The film industry didn't add intimacy coordinators because of a regulation. It added them because the cost of not having them — reputational, legal, human — became undeniable. And once the role existed, productions that used it simply ran better.
Then:
Intimacy Coordinators
Piloted on a handful of productions circa 2018. Initial resistance from directors who felt their authority was being questioned.
Framed as creative support: not compliance.
Now standard on studio, streaming, and independent productions globally.
Now:
Crew Experience
Deployed on two productions — a short film and an international feature. Director resistance documented, understood, and built into the model.
Now, real data that shows the potential for DCX's positive impact for film crews, and the final product.
The template is ready. The data is real. The next step is expectation and implementation.
94%
of crew who experienced DCX want it on every future production
Crew wellness deserves its own department.
The Department of Crew Experience (DCX) is a formal, intentional system for monitoring, improving and supporting how crew members experience a production — from first day to final wrap.
Head of Crew Experience
Designs the system, manages data, delivers final reports. Off-set. Never perceived as a supervisor. The strategic and analytical backbone of the department.
Manager of People & Wellness
On-set, every day. Visible from call time. Cannot be reassigned for any other task. The human face of DCX — the person crew actually come to when something's off.
Data & Anonymity Infrastructure
Anonymous daily pulse, weekly deep surveys, pre- and post-production evaluations. Raw data reaches only the Head of DCX, who translates it to leadership to make real-time improvements. Producers receive themes — never names.
Wellness Table
A physical resource station on set — massage guns, recovery tools, OTC supplies, hydration, and more. Visible, accessible, and norm-modelled by leadership from Day 1.
What the pilots changed... and what they confirmed
Blue Boy
LILLIAN NEXT DOOR
From pre-production to final report
DCX is not a day-of intervention. It's a production-long system with defined touchpoints, clear data flows, and built-in escalation logic.
Pre-Production
Week of —
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Director alignment & scenario brief
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Department head 1:1s
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Pre-production crew survey
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Wellness table setup & signage
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Scope-of-role briefing for all ADs
During Production
Every Day — Weekly
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Manager visible from call time
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10-second pulse at wrap
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Morning follow-ups on low scores
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Days 5/10/15: deep pulse / weekly comparisons
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Director reinforces culture Day 10
Post-Production
Post-wrap —
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Incentivized exit survey
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Pulse trend analysis
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Department friction report
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Recommendations for next production
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Data added to longitudinal dataset
DCX is part of a larger movement in the industry.
Founding Inspiration & Partner
Cosmic Pomegranate
DCX was developed in partnership with iconic actor Nik Dodani (Atypical, Cupertino, Murphy Brown) of Cosmic Pomegranate — the creators of the original Crew Experience department, first deployed on Blue Boy. Their work, findings, and methodology form the foundation of everything Snarky Elephant has built since.
Industry Partner
Association of Mental Health Coordinators
The AMHC exists to equip the entertainment industry with tools and practices for responding to mental health challenges in the creative workspace. Their workshops provide education and training for ethical, sustainable storytelling — no matter your role. Snarky Elephant's DCX work is directly aligned with their mission.
Two productions down. An industry to go.
Blue Boy proved the model. Lillian Next Door proved it scales across budgets, borders, and crew cultures. The next phase is making DCX the thing producers are expected to have — the way they're expected to have an intimacy coordinator, a safety coordinator, and a first aid kit.
Now
Refine the model from both pilots. Lock contract protections. Publish the Blue Boy + Lillian Next Door findings as an open industry resource. Begin outreach to producers and line producers globally.
12 months
Deploy on 3–5 additional productions — shorts, features, international co-productions. Each adds to the longitudinal dataset. First public industry report published.
Industry-wide
Film school curriculum integration. Guild and union partnerships across jurisdictions. DCX becomes a standard production line item globally — not an innovation, just what responsible productions do.
Bring DCX to
your production
The model is ready.
The data is real.
The case is made.
About DCX: Conceived by Snarky Elephant and developed in collaboration with the team behind Blue Boy, DCX operates on a clear premise: the things that make or break a shoot — morale, communication, fatigue, friction — are measurable. And if they're measurable, they're addressable. This is especially critical on independent productions. The lower the budget, the greater the strain on every department — and the higher the impact a low-cost, structured system like DCX can have. This isn't a tool reserved for large productions. It's designed to work at any budget level, on any set, in any country.
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This is not HR. Not a wellness package stapled to a crew memo. It's a dedicated role with clear scope, an anonymous data pipeline, and a physical presence on set every single day.