We work in a dangerous industry. That’s a simple statement of fact. From a small mistake of dropping a heavy piece of equipment on someone’s foot, to the death of a beautiful, spirited young woman dying on a train trestle because the producers lied about having permission to be there, we are in danger every day of our working lives. You could be working on a simple, no stunts, no obvious danger production, but there is always the potential for accidents to happen.

For many of us, there has been a newly-energised emphasis on safety after the tragic death of Sarah Jones. Even though Sarah’s death was completely avoidable if the producers hadn’t lied to the crew, if somebody had just said, “I don’t think this is safe”, then the situation might have been questioned by the rest of the crew. Then there are those on our sets that would say, “Oh come on! Let’s just do it and get out of here.” How smart is that…?

Many of us still believe in cinematic immunity. “Don’t worry. That will never happen to us. We’re filmmakers.” This is usually a problem of younger, less experienced filmmakers who really don’t know the rules.

As a cinematographer and president of the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600, I’ve had a long history of being aware of the dangers we face every day. In fact, one of my first jobs as a DP at Universal Television was on a short-lived series called Class Of 65. I caused an older grip to fall and break his arm, just because I wanted to go faster with a camera on a Western Dolly on a running track behind North Hollywood High School. When I realised the danger I put that man in, I was appalled and dismayed how unconscious I was about safety. I vowed that I would never knowingly put any of my crew or cast in untoward danger no matter what the situation.

We all have to have the right to say no. But how difficult is that when you are an island, alone, surrounded by production people and even crew saying “Come on. Just do it.”

I’ve only had to shut down two shows in my career where I felt the situation was unprepared and poorly thought out. One case was because I thought the working conditions were not safe on an open highway, with no police controlling traffic. And one was because I thought that an explosion was dangerously close to civilians watching the stunt. But those two times taught me a valuable lesson. WE ARE ALL SAFETY OFFICERS ON OUR OWN SETS. If you see something, say something. Our beloved show business isn’t worth the loss of life or limb… ever!