Joshua Miller Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/27576107/detail.html There is still alot of information that hasn't been released, but an Emerson College student was filming on the roof of the building with no guard rails and fell off during a shot. Notice that the vest and arm aren't there. It's an old glidecam 2000 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alfeo Dixon SOC Posted April 18, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 http://www.theboston...107/detail.html There is still alot of information that hasn't been released, but an Emerson College student was filming on the roof of the building with no guard rails and fell off during a shot. Notice that the vest and arm aren't there. It's an old glidecam 2000 series. Very unfortunate and very sad. Let this remind us that not only our safety is ALWAYS at risk, but also the safety of others... there should have been someone safetying his back as well as some to safety that person as well... come on guys... we only have one life to loose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Dave Isern Posted April 20, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 The next time I do a demo at a school I might use this as an example. Teachers don't have the forsight/knowledge to teach kids how to be safe. So be safe. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Afton Grant Posted April 20, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 The next time I do a demo at a school I might use this as an example. Teachers don't have the forsight/knowledge to teach kids how to be safe. So be safe. Dave Crazy thing is I'm doing a demo at Emerson College this week. I've been doing demos there for a couple years now. This one was planned long ago. I don't think I'll bring it up as an example of what not to do. No doubt there will be friends of the boy who died in the class. Let's also keep in mind, we don't know exactly how the accident happened. I didn't read anywhere that he died while operating. One story said he was just a PA. We shouldn't jump to conclusions just because there's a one second shot of a Glidecam in the news footage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabian Meller Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 It's really tragic to hear about such an accident. My sympathy to his family and friends! Nevertheless I think it doesn't matter if he even was operating. When working, (regardless of whether youre an operator or any other crew member) safety must go first. And that's unfortunately often underrated, especially on student's films as I've experienced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Janice Arthur Posted April 20, 2011 Moderators Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi all; You're all spot on especially Afton. (That event will add a dicey tone to your discussion, good luck.) You're also forgetting that lots of student films have kids running around shooting "behind-the-scenes" stuff as its own production of the larger production. (That might explain why he was near the edge and why not many were around to "spot".) I've had multiple BTS crews on jobs with student films and they pop up everywhere. Those kids are truely unsupervised. Dumb stupid kid and it cost him his life. (We've all done it too but somehow it didn't get us; I'm frightened to tell you some of the things I did early on because I was so eager to succeed.) JA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabian Meller Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I'm frightened to tell you some of the things I did early on because I was so eager to succeed. Definitely that's the point. I think almost everyone's been there and so it'll be difficult to change ones mind since each believes it won't happen to them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Stephen Wymer Posted April 21, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I'm frightened to tell you some of the things I did early on because I was so eager to succeed. Definitely that's the point. I think almost everyone's been there and so it'll be difficult to change ones mind since each believes it won't happen to them... We all think it will happen to somebody else. Unfortunately, we're all somebody else to everybody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Miller Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0419genius_emerson_college_filmmaker_mourned_after_fall/srvc=home&position=also Now reporting he was operating and fell off the roof backwards. No official word on if there were spotters. Blame is being put on the door not being locked and the school, asking to review their "safety protocol". It's a tragic accident, and we've all done things like this in the past, but it's a reminder that safety really has to come first to avoid horrible accidents like these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Dean Smollar Posted May 7, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 7, 2011 If you could close the age gap by about two years, then either myself or David Shawl (both of us recent Emerson grads) could have met him and worked with him at least a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Louis Puli SOC Posted May 7, 2011 Moderators Report Share Posted May 7, 2011 It's a tragic accident, and we've all done things like this in the past, but it's a reminder that safety really has to come first to avoid horrible accidents like these. Will students ever learn that some things just should not be done with out some idea of safety.I can hear him now "I will hold you "aaaaaaaaaaa!! Stay safe Louis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Peter Abraham Posted May 9, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 What a painful thing to read. Not only because the Emerson student was using a stabilizer, but because it was a student. Filled with energy, joy and hyperfocus on camera and all things photographic. This is not a stabilizer issue. It's an inexerience issue. Quite a few years ago, I stopped by my alma mater, The School of Visual Arts on East 23rd ST in NYC. It was the final day before holiday break in December. As I got back into the elevator on the Film Dept floor to go down, I shared the elevator with two incredibly excited students. They had a beat up old canvas mail bin filled with Nagra, Mics, a light kit and a few other bits. Their conversation went a lot like this: " Do we go straight to Panavision when we land or check in first?? Oh, we go straight to Panavision. We need to do the check-out and then get the gear, the hotel can wait !" I asked what they were up to. They were shooting a short film in Florida. It included car chases and a plane to car chase reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock. I wished them luck and remembered well that level of intense excitement. A month or two later I got word of an accident during a student film shoot. They were shooting a plane chase using a crop duster, shooting hand-held. The Director wanted a shot looking straight down. As we all know, a normal airplane can pull a very tight turn but cannot truly shoot straight down. The kid who was the DP/ Cameraman refused to shoot the shot. Apparently the real adult on the set was the crop duster pilot- who should have known better. The student A.C. decided to man up and said he'd be glad to shoot the shot. The plane stalled and fell out of the sky. The student shooter and pilot were killed. Safety is a global issue. It surely comes into play in our corner of the world, but is not unique to Steadicam®. Always, always, safety first. It is ONLY a movie, it is only a shot. Peter Abraham Director of Technical Services, Steadicam® GM Steadicam Workshops Program The Tiffen Company pabraham@tiffen.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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