This and hostage scenes were the first things into my head along with Dusk Til Dawn.
Would it not be more appropriate to allow the authorities time to conduct an investigation before waffling on about something that needs an element of expert analysis.
When I was into full bore pistol, revolver and rifle shooting it would take less that 10 seconds to check that any firearm was safe.
What a tragic and unnecessary accident.
True, but on a film set where the armourer is paid to do this as a professional you would just get on with your acting and expect he has done his job like you do yours.
I would expect the armourer to personally hand the weapon to the user, and demonstrate that it was safe. Just like an electrical isolation authority would do before allowing work to commence on electrical systems.
It all boils down to "How do you ensure?..............."
Pi$$ poor H&S management.
Totally agree
If someone hands you a weapon you should get them to show clear before you take it, and vice versa. In the film industry I would expect the armourer to demonstrate it is safe before handing it to the actor.
Being an actor should also not preclude you from undergoing basic firearm handling training before you start on the film. You would not (or should not at least) start work in any other line of business without being competent with the tool you are using.
I agree thats what should happen, but when you can buy a gun in the supermarket and there are guns available that look like Lego, the USAs relationship with firearms isn't known for its common sense. Firearms training probably comes under the heading 'Gun Control' and will be rigorously denied by the NRA etc.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/b...96_legogun.png
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57832053.amp
Just crazy...
Not really…….
https://explore.nra.org/interests/safety-and-education/
The Lego gun is ridiculous though.
In an ideal world yes, you're right. But I'd rather a child knew what to do if they did. And in a country with so many firearms in private ownership, education is surely better than ignorance.
Years ago I worked in an office in a small company with 6 other people. One of them asked me to value an old air rifle. He brought it in the office in a case, and at lunchtime I checked it was unloaded and took it out to have a quick look and then leaned it against his desk.
A company rep walked in the office, saw the air rifle, immediately picked it up and pointed it at the owner and said "Now I've got you!". He seemed offended when I said if he pointed it at me he'd need a proctologist.
Education is key.
Yes, there is an expectation that if given a "cold" gun, it isn't loaded. However, unless the circumstances are very narrow I don't think Alec Baldwin can be blameless (even putting aside he's a co-Producer and is legally responsible too). He's been in countless movies, using guns countless times. You never point a gun until you intend to fire it. You never pull a trigger until it is safe and time to do so. He must have been told this repeatedly.
In my shooting days it was drummed into me that "a gun is NEVER unloaded, even if you just unloaded it yourself ". In other words, never, ever point it at anyone.
Totally agree with the rest of your post, there is no way he hasn't been coached/lectured/instructed by armourers many times throughout his career.
From what I'm reading this shoot, no pun intended, was rushed and done on the cheap. Also perhaps as co producer and senior actor he wielded a little too much power over proceedings and 'underlings'. It all sounds like a perfect storm for something to go badly wrong.
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The shooting is tragic and those with experience of handling firearms, know to treat every weapon as if it is loaded. However this was a movie set and I suspect the gun was seen as a prop.
Those with backgrounds involving firearms generally always handled live weapons. This was a film set where there are likely to have been multiple guns/props and no doubt multiple takes throughout the day, over many days. Given the ‘western’ theme, many of the actors may have carried or worn guns as part of their costume.
Complacency may have crept in but the armourer is there to ensure that any weapon capable of firing a round of any description, is handled in a safe manner. Problems with unions and some of the production staff walking off set, coupled with a limited budget, may not have helped.
These words are from Serge, the gaffer on the film, probably the person working closest with Halyna.
My vision of the RUST tragedy
I have received hundreds of calls, text messages, letters with words of support and condolences since the day of the tragedy with Halyna Hutchins, and I'm very grateful to everyone. Yes, I knew Halyna, not for a year. I worked with Her on almost all of her films. Sometimes we've shared food and water. We've been burning under the sun, freezing in the snow on the shoots. We took care of each other. Yes, I can say with 100% confidence she was my friend.
WAS!!!
I also received many calls from different mass media sources from multiple countries asking to tell what happened; also from numerous institutes and universities for the students to know what needs the most attention.
Yes, I was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Halyna during this fatal shot that took her life and injured the director Joel Souza. I was holding her in my arms while she was dying. Her blood was on my hands.
I want to tell my opinion on why this has happened. I think I have the right to do it.
It's the fault of negligence and unprofessionalism.
The negligence from the person who was supposed to check the weapon on the site did not do this; the person who had to announce that the loaded gun was on the site did not do this;
the person who should have checked this weapon before bringing it to the set did not do it.
And the DEATH OF THE HUMAN IS THE RESULT!
I'm sure that we had the professionals in every department, but one - the department that was responsible for the weapons. There is no way a twenty-four-year-old woman can be a professional with armory; there is no way that her more-or-less the same-aged friend from school, neighborhood, Instagram, or God knows where else, can be a professional in this field.
Professionals are the people who have spent years on sets, people who know this job from A to Z; These are the people who have the safety on set at the level of reflexes; they do not need to be told to put the sandbag on a tripod, fix the ladder on the stage, or fence off the explosion site. They have it in their blood.
I'm calling out to the Producers!
We have a fascinating and amazing job, but it's also dangerous. We film in the mountains, in the open water, underwater. We have explosions, shooting guns, car crashes, electricity after all, and much more.
To save a dime sometimes, you hire people who are not fully qualified for the complicated and dangerous job, and you risk the lives of the other people who are close and your lives as well.
I understand that you always fight for the budget, but you cannot allow this to happen. There should always be at least one professional in each department who knows the job. It is an absolute must to avoid such a tragedy, like the tragedy with Halyna.
I do not wish anyone to go through what I went through, what her husband @Matt Hutchins and her son Andros went through, and the actor Alec Baldwin, who has been handed a gun on set. He has to live with the thought that he took the life of the human because of unprofessional people.
Dear Producers, by hiring professionals, you are buying peace of mind for yourself and the people around you. It is true that the professionals can cost a little more and sometimes can be a little bit more demanding, but it is worth it. No saved penny is worth the LIFE of the person!
And finally, dear Producers, please remember that it's not you who are giving the opportunities to the people you hire make their money; it's the people you hire who help You make Your money. Remember this!
I also want to thank the camera operator @Ried Russell, who was with us and helped save Halyna. Thank you to the set medic @Cherlyn Schaefer who did everything she could to save Halyna's life.
We all loved Halyna.
May God Bless her soul.
Rest in Peace.
And God protect Us All.
Very sad episode.
I just don’t understand why there was any need to have live ammunition on set at all, then there would be no scope for confusion.
I agree, when I was full and small bore hand gun shooting including black powder we would always check that any gun we were to use/handle was safe without fail even if it had been declared safe by a third party, it was 100% the responsibility of the user.
Devils advocate: If an actor was driving a car on set and the brakes failed and someone was injured would that be the actors fault ?
i disagree, he’s not a ‘gun person’ he’s an actor.
people who regularly handle firearms have safety drilled into them. my family were registered firearms dealers and i grew up around them from a young age, it was drummed into you from day 1, no messing around, no maybe’s, it’s ok-i think. it was absolute safety.
it’s why i will never ever go on any stag do shooting things or clay shoots with people who haven’t got the same attitude as me. on game shoots i have seen people sent home for anything outside ‘the rules’. the only time a gun ever got pointed at somebody was if they were having a fitting or had issues with their master eye then the gun would be passed to 2 people to check it was unloaded and they would be allowed to point it at the fitter, there was a level of paranoia that meant an accident was never going to happen.
the armourer should have absolute control, the buck stops with him, i’m flabbergast that there was live ammo on set!
The film industy (i sometimes work in this world and have friends who do) is heavily unionised and you are not allowed to touch anything that isn’t your department, a set dresser isn’t allowed to move a light, thats the DOP/rigger/sparks department, but it has to be this way to avoid accidents or assuming somebody else has taken care of it.
this tragically didn’t happen on set. ironically there is currently strikes in the U.S film industry so wonder if this contributed to events?
Not true, the IATSE strikes were called off before they began, pending negotiations of new terms.
Also, the notion that shoots are heavily unionised is misleading, they’re not at all in the UK, and the unions powers in the US are waning. The morning of the shooting, 6 unionised members of the camera crew had left the shoot due to disputes regarding terms and conditions, and they were immediately replaced by non union crew.
maybe not ‘heavily unionised’ but on a lot of productions the structure is quite rigid union or no union, pay is based on Bectu (though when work is scarce the screws are turned for a 12 for 10 day etc) and the big switch gets flipped for lunch by the gafferQuote:
Also, the notion that shoots are heavily unionised is misleading, they’re not at all in the UK
How would you verify a gun with blanks was safe?
If anyone has watched the making of No Time To Die video there are plenty of shots of people firing directly into cameras.
Something fired from a gun, be it a bit of a blank or a bullet could travel a long way, hitting people who would have believed they were safe from a blank round.
The police statement about 'live round' was clarified in a report I saw as meaning anything 'with a charge', including blanks.
I agree there seems no case for actual bullet rounds to be present on a film set, but I've yet to see any report state that.
I'm sure the full story will out in time, but people seem to be assuming an awful lot here, much of it seemingly unlikely.
M
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If it's an 'upward venting' blank firer then it's reasonably safe, unless you happen to be above it. (It could still damage your hearing though!)
As you say, a 'live' or 'viable' firearm loaded with blanks, or a front venting blank firer, still has a forward facing muzzle blast, which could in theory propel debris or anything in the barrel.
well i use the guide and people i know in the industry do even if they get pushed for less by the likes of BBC, thats from people doing low budget TVC up to construction manager for huge productions like Potter/Bond etc.
Hope you are busy and on top money though, looks like its flat out and name your price :thumbsup:
The BECTU list should really be seen as minimum rates. About 6 years ago, tired of BECTUs continued inaction and total lack of support for freelance crew in my area of the business, and I can only assume other areas, I set up a group which now has over a thousand members, to agree on what we should be charging, and work out how best to try and make sure everyone in our game knows what to charge, and what should be expected of them for that rate. Basically, what the union should be doing. It couldn't have been more successful, rates are up and there's plenty of work around, and if someone is coming in below us, it's easy to show them what they could be charging and that productions will pay it. BECTU now talk to us about what rates should be, but they move so slowly they're always a few steps behind. So, you can probably see now why I'm sceptical of their relevance in the UK in 2021.