Gyro Safety and Moving Rigs
Before you try any of these rigs
on a moving vehicle, CONSIDER EVERY SAFETY ISSUE.
Listed are safety issues to check,
but certainly not every issue:
- The operator can't fall out.
- The rig, camera or gyro/s can't
come loose.
- The driver has sense to accelerate
and decelerate smoothly, and drive sensibly.
- The driver has ONLY ONE JOB; to
drive safely. (Not the director, producer, D.P. rigger etc. who are distracted
with other concerns.)
- Drivers of other cars will not
be distracted by your operation and crash.
- All government safety regulations
are observed. (FAA, CAB, CIA, OSHA, DOT, Motor Vehicle Dept. etc.)
- Insurance is paid up.
Refer to Traffic
Control for more safety issues and concerns.
I cannot stress too strongly the
elements of safety with moving vehicles and camera rigs. I have had close calls
with directors and producers driving before getting into higher budget jobs
with enough trained professionals on the job. When testing and shooting with
rigs, YOU absolutely NEED an EXPERIENCED DRIVER WHO DOES NOTHING BUT DRIVE.
If there is an operator, camera person or grip involved with the rig, they should
NOT be distracted by also driving. I recommend using experienced grips to drive
when professional camera drivers are NOT available. They are usually more safety
conscious. Even professional drivers can be distracted by the "glamour
of the biz."
Filming provides potentially dangerous
situations where the regular safety rules of an activity are often ignored because
of the distraction of the different conditions provided by the filming. Problems
usually arise. I have had people almost kill themselves trying to help us get
a shot. Listen to the concerns of everyone involved. They might see dangers
that the rest do not.
Mixing any camera related activity
with other normal activities is dangerous. This includes driving and testing
rigs besides production shooting.
© Copyright 1999-2004 Ron Dexter.
All Rights Reserved.