Tragic death of camera assistant in Georgia highlights on-set safety issues
Last week Peter Driftmier’s Story Board post about the death of his brother on a factual TV shoot got a lot of attention from people in the television production industry. Tweets about the post came from all corners of Canada, as well as the United States and England.
It seems the story struck a nerve with those who work in television production. Sadly, another fatal accident this week has once again drawn attention to unsafe working conditions for film and television workers. In a post called “We’re Just Making Movies,’ filmmaker Zachary Goldberg describes a film shoot near Savannah, Georgia where 27-year-old Sarah Jones, 2nd AC on the set of Midnight Rider, was killed on a train bridge. Reports out this week indicate that the production company may not have had permission to shoot on the railroad tracks.
In his blog post, Goldberg says that those in charge of a film or television production must take responsibility for ensuring the safety of their crew. In an industry where most crew members work on a freelance or contract-by-contract basis, it is rare for workers to speak up about safety concerns.
“Someone should have had her back and didn’t,” says Goldberg.
Here in Canada, Peter Driftmier’s post is still attracting attention. Driftmier has been interviewed about the post for CBC Radio and has been approached for an interview on Q with Jian Ghomeshi.
