Dave Chameides

I don't think anyone is telling anyone how they have the right to mourn Peter, I just think Eric was mentioning that it made him feel uncomfortable. We all need to mourn how we do and if something strikes us the wrong way, we all need to respectful speak up if it's appropriate. It's a sticky area for sure, but I think we can agree that there is room for all thoughts.

Jessica,

Love your passion but chill a little. I guess you and Eric have history but he's hurting like everyone else, maybe even moreso. I think EVERYONE can take a little step back and realize there is no right or wrong in any of this. In fact there may only be wrong as the entire thing sucks ass. Tensions and emotions are running high so everyone go find a marijuana dispensary, do some yoga or walk the dog, and chill.

There's no reason for extra venting on what already is a terrible situation.

Be Well. Be Good. Be Safe. Speak Up.

Dave

Eric,

I just got up and after downing some coffee saw this thread, and right off the bat, I want to offer you my apologies and my condolences. As I understand from your posts you worked with Sarah and as hard as this is for anyone who didn't know her, it's gotta be harder for someone who did. My heart goes out to you and anyone closer to this situation than I, which is in fact, very far removed.

I have to say that I was taken aback by your comment, only because I had done a lot of thinking and consulting with others before deciding to post her picture. But having said that, I want to thank you for making your feelings heard and I hope you'll know that I had no disrespect in mind when I decided to do that. I've sadly dealt with death a fair amount and I think I may have different views on it than many so I try to be as respectful as I can and I felt that I was being. Again, please accept my apologies for offending you as it was not my intention.

By way of explanation, but not persuasion, I'll offer this. All movements have icons and I by no means want to diminish her life to that status, but there is, hopefully, a movement afoot to try and change the culture of the film set so that nothing like this ever happens again. For better or worse, Sarah has already become the name and face of that movement. The best way to keep this going is to make sure to keep it front and center and I felt the best way to do that was to keep her memory with us. I originally printed out the variety article and put it in my front bag so I could share it with producers and the like who were trying to push me. But I realized what I needed more was a reminder, at all times, to make sure that everyone in my department, and perhaps beyond, was doing things as safely as possible. I saw that picture and was really taken aback because I have so many similar pictures of 2nd Acs, as I'm sure do you, and could only imagine what it must be to have this happen to someone I care about in my own sphere.

I think that in many ways, whether she would have wanted it or not, Sarah Jones has already become an icon of this fight. It may or may not be our right to decide if she should be, but in my mind, if it saves one life, it all will have been worth it. On a personal level, I can't think of a better way to memorialize someone than to have them be the spark that ignites a change in an industry towards making everyone safe and making sure no one ever meets the fate they came to. But that is of course my view of the subject and not necessarily going to be everyones.

In the end, your post made me think about why i am doing this, and as i said, it is simply so that every time I build my rig, there is a reminder that someone was lost because others didn't stand up and say no and that I need to take that part of my job seriously. It's really in the end, for me. A kick in the ass to say "Wake up asshole because peoples lives can be in your hands and you may not even recognize it." But like I said, your comment made me think and i suspect what may have struck a nerve, and in this I think you may be right, was seeing her pic on my monitor on FB, in a wide forum like that. As I started to think, that began to bother me, and so, I have removed that picture because while I intended as a lesson for others, i recognize it could be read in a different way, so for that I thank you Eric. In addition, in realizing that her pic is there for me, I have printed a smaller version and it is much less imposing on my rig. Those who investigate will certainly ask and find out, but more important, it will still be a reminder to me every day I work, that it's my job to make sure that everyone goes home safe at night, and if they don't, I have failed.

So there ya have it. Thank you for speaking up and letting me know what you think. I really do value it. These are muddy waters and scary times and we are all hurting, folks like you who knew Sarah more than most. I hope this helped on some level. I'm not sure if you'll agree, but please know i meant no offense to you and most importantly to her family or to her memory. In fact, quite the opposite.

If you'd like to PM me feel free or you can even call as I'm always happy to talk.

Be well. Be Safe. Be good. Speak up.

Dave

How about this, and i'm actually not kidding. The producer has 10K of his salary put into a holding account. If the show ends and no one is hurt or god forbid worse, they get that cash. That's portal to portal too so it includes the drive home. This industry runs on money so let's give them an incentive to keep things safe.

Back at ya. Post something up if you have the chance.

Stig,

Sweet time travel shot. i like it. Thanks for sharing.

dave

Hey Joe,

We've all been there. Sadly we can only do the best we can and the rest is out of our hands. Your work is still nice even though it's not representative of how you shot it. Nice moves.

Azamat,

Beautiful stuff and a great editing job. Since you asked, while the piece is great, the one thing it doesn't show is how you handle longer takes. Maybe add one or two of those if you have them. Otherwise really nice and some dynamic shots their.

Ian, sorry it took so long to look at that. Tough shot and thanks for sharing. A lot of elements there to be proud of and I can understand why it took so long. I love the door slam at the end. Keep up the great work!

Best thing we can do moving forward Doc, and i'm sure you already do, is speak up. Had the chain above her said no, this would not be a thing. What a waste.

As many of you know a 2nd AC was killed on a set yesterday while shooting on a train track. She was struck and killed and 7 others were injured. There are a lot of questions of course and will be for some time. I'm pasting a post i put on Facebook to share because as ops and people higher in the pecking order, I think it's incumbent on all of us to let our crew know that we will go to bat for them should they feel the need to speak up but not want to make waves. Our position carries responsibility with it and one of those responsibilities is to look out for those in our crew who we know would never complain and just want to hump all day making us look even better.

Sarah,

I didn’t know you but learned today that you were a “sister” of mine, a 2nd AC in Local 600, that you were working on a film set yesterday and that now you are no longer with us as a result. I am so sorry that your life was cut short for something as trivial as moviemaking and so sorry that no one spoke up to say “this isn’t safe” before a train came down the tracks you were shooting on killing you and injuring seven others. I don’t really know much about the situation or what actually happened, but I am sure that you were doing your job, performing your functions professionally, secure in the knowledge that since others were doing it, things must be safe. I don’t know if you were concerned, if there was a safety meeting, if you asked and someone said, “yeah it’ll be fine” or, if like so often happens, you were moving so fast to help your team get “the shot” that you didn’t take the time to consider what was being asked of you. I don’t know a lot of things.

But I do know this Sarah. No one had your back. If they did, you’d still be here today. The Director should have said no. The AD should have said no. The DP should have said no. Production should have said no. Your operator should have said no. I don’t know if any of these things happened, but I do know that you were out on those tracks and that means someone didn’t step up enough. You were doing what was asked of you and for that reason, you are gone.

And I am so sorry because a 2nd AC shouldn’t be the one to make the call that something is unsafe. A 2nd AC, or anyone for that matter, should not have been out on those tracks. A 2nd AC should not have died yesterday. No one should have.

I don’t know what will change as a result of your death but I do know this. From here on forward, I pledge as an A Camera/Steadicam operator, and one of the senior members of my department, that I will contact every member of my department before we start shooting any job to let them know that I have their backs. I am going to explain that I need them to speak up about unsafe conditions on set and that if they don’t feel comfortable speaking out because of their position, that I will gladly speak to production on behalf of all of us. I am going to tell my union brothers and sisters that we work way too fast, way too long, and way too hard and that I need them to watch my back just as much as I need to watch theirs. I need them to speak up on my behalf because I’m often after that elusive “shot” and can sometimes forget. I need them to protect me and I need to protect them. I am in a position where part of my job is to speak up and I need to take that responsibility seriously. Because no one should ever die on a movie set.

I’m sorry Sarah. We failed you. This won’t help you and I pray that you are resting in peace today, although that is of little comfort to those you were forced to leave behind. Perhaps at least something good can come from this and moving forward I pray that yours is the last death we read about on the set of any production.

Signed – a brother

Just having fun with Baldwin. Odds are that he's half drunk at a strip club when he reads these things so it's always fun to throw something at him from left field.

And Doc, watch it. Now that I have the power of the Tweet i can take you down in a second. Don't think I won't either, at least in a very small sentence anyway.

No Ron, you don't. You don't have to give them anything. They are horrible people and hacks at that who don't even deserve our taking the time of day to consider them. And I'm not saying that because the video makes me nervous. Why would you suggest that. Why don't you point that camera at yourself for a while and see how you do. Not so snippy now are you? Ha. See. Looks like the foots on the other glove now huh?

Price drop to $150

Just read this thread and I'm not surprised at your thought process Terry as you are a stand up guy. That said, none of us is going to stop the proliferation of cheap rigs or bad ops and not having cables is not going to either as they will figure out a way. It seems to me that you make a product, a quality product and you price it according to what you feel the value is and what the market will bear. I'm guessing that you will sell to any steadicam ops who contact you regardless of if they are good or not, as you should. Your space is within your product and not what we do with it or how well. Having said that, I'd say go ahead and sell it to whoever needs it just don't drop your price point for them if it's the same product (not that I'm suggesting you'd do that). Beyond that, I don't see a conflict of interest. The market is the market and my guess is you won't sell many to them for the reasons that have been stated, but I'd actually suggest that were you to decide who to sell to or who not to sell to based on their gear or their abilities would be unfair and not what i'd expect of you.

My two cents. Off to sell my new rig and pick up three or four chinese knockoffs on ebay.

dave

OK, you've finally got your Model 1 after a ton of research on the web but you don't have a cheese plate. What are ya gonna do? Well fear not, because today only (or more if it doesn't sell as lightning fast as I think it will) you can purchase your very own cheese plate that came with Steadicam Model 1 Serial Number 23. Own a piece of history. Use it. Put it on the mantel. Test gravity with it. The list goes on an on. $20 plus shipping.

I have no idea who gave this to me years ago but it was one of the original plates and you can even see where it had the old geared teeth for keeping the plate from moving/moving it fore and aft. I haven't used it in years and am just cleaning some supplies out. Same dimensions side to side as the newer pro plates. Interesting cutout too. $50 or make me an offer. Buyer pays shipping.

Not much to say. Well used but still works great. Plate is 9 inches and dog legs extend about another 4. I'll throw the orange tape in at no cost. Buyer pays shipping.

Used this last about ten years ago. Turns on, has two AB mounts on top and connections in the front that i used to use for 3A batt connector cables. Don't know much more than that. Not sure what it's worth to anyone as I'm sure it charges but is definitely not a smart charger by todays standards. $40 plus shipping.

Still Available

James,

Nice stuff. I know what you mean about horizon and it only bugs ya more the more times you watch it. I think I've pulled off maybe three shots in my career that I'm happy with, the rest....well.. Really nice stuff though. Slow mo is always funny to me because it can either make ya look great or make that horizon roll last forever. Your stuff looks great. Well done.

Mark,

Thanks for posting and the kind words. Nice stuff. I love the opening dude on the motorcycle. You've got nice control of the rig and some pretty long takes in there. Good stuff. One shot seems to have some vibration. Hopefully that was in the cam mount and not the rig but be careful of that. I've had that happen to me and it's such a bummer. Hope your knee gets better and thanks for sharing. If you ever need someone to cover you on the islands, I'm always game for a trip!

Excellent condition, thought I'd lost it, replaced it, found it, selling it. 21 inches from end to end (assuming this is standard). Excellent slightly used condition but basically brand new. Buyer pays shipping. Get it before it's gone.

Hey Simon,

Nice stuff for just having taken the workshop and it's pretty solid. You called it on the occasionally horizon and headroom but your framing is good and it seems like you've got some pretty good control of the rig. Well done.

BAM, you nailed on the head exactly what I thought this thread should be. Like you said, not the most exciting operating ever but something you';re psyched you were a part of (the music itself is a bit tough personally, but that's me). I like the drummer on the wall early on. Good stuff and thanks for sharing. Was this all in one day?