SAFETY ON SET INDUSTRY
JUMPING THE GUN In creating a safe and conscious environment on set, problems can be reported and dealt with before tragedy arises
“That,” Wainstein continues, “leads to danger. People see something that looks dangerous and think ‘is it my role to bring it up’? That’s when there’s an accident.” The Foundation, according to her, is not a reporting service. “We do get people emailing us saying ‘I’m currently working on a set, here’s what’s happened, it’s terrible and someone’s going to be killed’. They go into a lot of detail, then they say ‘you can use this information, but don’t say who it came from’.” It’s easy to criticise the situation, but harder to suggest a solution. Wainstein explains one of the Foundation’s proposals: “We produced a production safety passport course, which is cheap as chips because we wanted to reduce any barriers for people to do it. We’ve got it and we’ve offered it to universities at low rates to cover our costs. We’ve tried to cover any film or TV related courses to do this and be certified before they graduate.” The initiative, Wainstein says, aims to address the most common risks. “One chapter is about speaking up, one about working hours and another about mental health. We have had some success
with streamers and studios recently purchasing unlimited courses for all their productions. The other thing we’re doing is lobbying the government to update the Health and Safety at Work act from 1974. [It] was written at the time we were making Herbie Hancock films!” Heads of department notwithstanding, one individual likely to be key to any discussion on safety is the first assistant director. Jay Arthur, chairman of the AD Guild UK, describes issues of working time as both a professional and personal concern. “Costume and makeup departments can be there an hour
or two after wrap. Then, they’re in first thing. Seconds, base runners, plus all the background people are sometimes in two and a half, three hours before call. I’ve fallen asleep at the wheel countless times and been lucky it’s only been for a brief second. I was dreaming of the road in front of me, I didn’t know I was asleep. That’s unbelievably dangerous.” These are problems Arthur suggests every department can help address. “If you have to end a day with a hundred backgrounds and several cast members, you try to schedule the next morning with just one cast member, so at least half
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