Safety on Set. Best practices for speaking up and looking ahead?
After reading responses below, please make sure to check out the Safety on Set section of this site and familiarize yourself with the videos and information there.
There are many ways a person can get hurt on set – some obvious, some not. The more time you spend on set, the easier it is to recognize when something might go wrong. Whenever there are stunts, explosions, gunfire, squibs, process trailer work, free driving, etc, that is the time to start paying close attention to what is going on, not just as it relates to your job, but to the overall safety of the cast and crew. It is easy to get in the habit of moving fast, and trusting that someone else is watching out for you, but it is your responsibility to look after your own well-being – you’re the one who’ll be living with the consequences if something goes wrong.
Take a minute, and see what the potential hazards are. Have the armorer show you the weapon, and have them confirm that dummy loads are in the gun. Talk to the special effects department and confirm that your camera location is far enough away from the explosion – and assume the blast will be bigger than described – it usually is. Talk to the stunt coordinator and confirm that you are in a safe place for the car stunt, and have a side-bar with your dolly grip about which way they are going to drag you if something goes wrong and the car starts flipping out of control towards your position.
Have the proper gear for the shot. If an actor is shooting a gun towards you, check with the armorer and confirm you are a safe distance, then make sure to have a face shield, cans, gloves, and some type of protective clothing for the rest of you (I have a furni-pad jacket especially for this type of shot) – getting hit with hot material firing out of a gun isn’t fun. Having cans/face shields/gloves/protective clothing in your kit is helpful – sometimes you are working with departments that haven’t anticipated your needs, and it is always better to rely on yourself than others.
I have seen several things go wrong on set early in my career while doing lower budget work. They were accidents that had major, long-lasting impact on the people injured, and were preventable – inexperience, budget, rushing to get a complicated shot, and producers trying to wring too much out of unqualified people were to blame. It is our responsibility to speak up if we see something unsafe – if you get an answer you aren’t happy with, take it up the food chain until you are satisfied. If after that, the problem still hasn’t been fixed, it is okay to say no.
This is a great business where we get to do cool things. Fast cars, fire scenes, all out running, standing next to the abyss and looking over. Sometimes we can lose sight of the very real fact that it’s also an extremely dangerous scenario (or can be) and that we have to keep our eyes on the ball at all times.
As the camera operator, I’m often deciding or helping decide where the camera goes and by default, where crew members go with me. I need to be thinking about their safety at all times and mine as well. One of the big problems with this industry is pride. We all want to get the shot. None of us wants to say no. But sometimes, we have to and when that happens, when a concern is raised, we have to stop, take a breath, and listen.
The single best time to figure out what safety issues might arise is during prep.
READ THE SCRIPT.
Is their driving? Ask how it will be done. Is there a fire gag? Ask who is going to be running it. Ask, Ask, Ask. Now there are ways to do it and ways not to and a lot of that comes down to politics but in the end, brining up concerns in prep, when plans can be made, is so so much better than finding out on the day because at that point you may have to say no, and that’s not what any of us want to do.
Always have an exit plan. Stunts go wrong, cars break, things fall. Always be considering what can go wrong and have a plan to escape that should something go wrong. Keep in mind that something as innocent as a car pulling up to camera can go wrong if the brakes stop working.
Mind you, I’m not saying you should be walking around set sweating about how you are going to die that day, I’m just saying, make it part of your checklist. Be aware. Ask questions. And if you dont know the protocol, the details, the way things should be done, find out who does and simply ask them “how are we planning on doing this safely and what should I be aware of”. You are not intended to be an expert but you do want to get a sixth sense as to how good the experts in charge are. Watch how they work. Are they goofing off all the time or are they professional? Are they cutting corners. The majority of my work with an armorer (who knows much more about weapons than I do) is quickly assessing that they know what they are doing.
Educate yourself. Watch gun safety videos and free driving videos that Local 600 has created and are listed on the Safety Page here at The Op. Talk to experts on set in between scenes and ask them to educate you. Ask people for their experiences and learn from there.
A few years back we had a tragic on set death of a cinematographer names Halayna Hutchins. Most people already know about this but during a rehearsal a gun that should have been empty instead had a live round in it and she was killed. It was horrific and worst of all completely preventable. The sad truth of that incident is that the film industry does not have a problem with using firearms (if that was the case people would be shot weekly) but rather that set had a problem with not following protocol. Case in point, the 1st AD grabbed a weapon (a complete violation as the only people allowed to touch a weapon are the armorer and the actor using the weapon), called out that it was clear (a violation and a lie) and handed it to the actor. Almost every protocol we have was broken and as a result someone died.
In the end, the key is to know what to look for, to know what should be a concern, to keep your eyes open, and most importantly, to speak up. As an operator, I feel it’s my job to advocate for the crew around me so I always tell everyone that if they see a problem, they should say something, and if they are worried about how it will appear, they should bring it to me.
In the end, you may feel like you are being a thorn in productions side but trust me, its far better than asking yourself why you didn’t say something when it’s already too late.
Operators will likely discuss guns and explosions but the biggest issue we have is driving home tired. As an operator I feel it’s part of my job to check in with my people and try to convince them to take a room or ride when it’s needed. And it’s part of their job to check in with me. We all feel like we can do it and as we are shown time and again, sometime we can’t and that ends up being the last choice someone makes. Don’t kid yourself, it happens to everyone and it will happen to you if you kid yourself into thinking you are fine.
Everyone participating is allowed to talk about the safety of a shot.If you feel unsafe, speak up. If you think one of your crew members may be in harm’s way speak up louder.
When you’re young you’ll do anything to make it in the Biz.
I’ve been shooting on a motorcycle hand-built side-car driving underneath a semi trailer loaded with logs driving down a windy mountain road to get a shot of the oncoming tires. Today that’s a hard mount rig.
I’ve had a helicopter land essentially on top of me to get a shot of the pilot through the bubbled glass by his feet. That’s a remote head today.
I’ve pulled a steadicam operator back into a helicopter after he realized he hadn’t latched his safety harness after gassing up mid flight. That’s a drone today.
I’ve seen an Operator and 1st AC on a Titan Crane arm go through thick tree branches.
We were filming a road chase and wet leaves completely covered the front filter. The DP yelled, “Clean off the Leaves!” Not “Stop the vehicle.”
Safety has become much better over time. Some of the stuff we do is dangerous and it’s our responsibility to navigate what are acceptable precautions.
