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Gregory Irwin

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Everything posted by Gregory Irwin

  1. I’ve certainly experienced this in the past and because of that, I won’t tolerate bad attitudes or any lack of mutual respect from my team. They represent me as I do them. It’s our reputation that keeps the big budget pictures coming our way. My full time camera team members, who have been with me for years, always project a good attitude, a sense of humor when things get tough and they have the experience to keep things in perspective. They are comfortable in their own skin to be performing at the level they’re at. On movie sets, there is really nothing that should trigger grumpiness and bad attitudes, except for Alec Baldwin shooting someone. Safety issues are the only things that will get me wound up representing the entire crew. Otherwise, we should feel privileged to have a job performing the craft we love so much. G
  2. That’s good old smoggy LA at its finest!??‍♂️ G
  3. I agree with Victor. Trying to fit in with a bunch of strangers who know each other can be a challenge. But also as challenging, you have to fit into a system that involves a lot more people who have their ways of doing things. Even though the general process may be the same, the details of their way of working may be very different. Their rules of engagement may be new to you and something you need to follow. Be a quick study and earn their respect. I’ve been in charge of many camera departments made up of 20-60 members. it becomes all about management. Everyone there will assume that you know the craft of cinematography and the job. That’s why you’re there. You just don’t want to prove them wrong! Attached is a picture of my First Unit Camera Department on THE FAST & the FURIOUS 7. Great example of a large department for a large movie. G
  4. Let’s not complicate this guys. As David has already stated, judge it by eye. As Phil stated, one guy should be in charge of monitoring and controlling the atmosphere in concert with the judgment of the DP. It should simply look continuous as the shooting day progresses. That’s all. G
  5. Happy Holidays to all of my global friends here at Cinematography.com! G
  6. Taken in part from the recent ABC interview, then compared the statements with the SAF/AFTRA Safety Bulletin: George Stephanopoulos asked Alec Baldwin, a Screen Actors Guild member, what responsibility the actor has on the set to ensure (gun) safety. Baldwin: "The actor's responsibility is to do what the prop armorer tells them to do." SAG/AFTRA Safety Bulletins and Industry Standards: AS AN ACTOR, YOU ARE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF YOUR FELLOW CAST MEMBERS… FIREARMS & OTHER WEAPONS Treat all weapons as though they are loaded and/or ready to use. Do not play with weapons and never point one at anyone, including yourself… He’s a total scumbag! G
  7. My next question would be if the film was exposed base side out, why didn’t the lab report it as such? G
  8. I’m suggesting that you are projecting the actual negative instead of the positive print. Either that or the film stock is a bad batch. Was your scene a day exterior or night? The red on the negative would be blue on the positive. If the film was loaded backwards, there would be numerous other problems. Focus would be soft, exposure would be completely off and the image would just look bad. G
  9. Am I wrong? It appears that you are projecting the negative which would make sense for the red. G
  10. “She (Mamie Mitchell) also said every safety protocol designed to ensure safety with a firearm on set was ignored, such as the presence of live ammunition on set, and that “actions that were taken” that day “were against all industrynorms.” Hallelujah! Finally it has officially been said! We all, who have been involved with gun movies, have stated with conviction that when the firearms safety protocols are observed and practiced, guns are extremely safe on set. RUST was the perfect storm of miscues and ignorance. G
  11. At least three have already been filed. I’m sure there will be many more. I really appreciated what George Clooney said in a recent interview about the serious responsibilities everyone has, including actors, when handling firearms on set. He was 100% correct! G
  12. I’ve never heard of the term “musical “ DP before. That’s a new one on me. You would simply be a talented DP shooting a musical. Sounds like they’re looking for someone who has experience shooting musicals. Having said that, I and my team are shooting our very first musical ever. The DP has never shot one before and honestly, it’s not that different for us from any other stylized photography. G
  13. I appreciate your positivity Phil but words matter. Baldwin does not have the luxury or even the right to miss state his words now. Bullets are lethal and do not ever belong on a movie set. If that is indeed what he meant to say (blanks), he should have used that word. Better yet, he should keep his mouth shut. He’s not doing himself any favors by speaking out and he comes across as defensive and dismissive of the situation that he with others caused. I’ve worked with him on more than one occasion and he is the most unpleasant individual. His true colors are coming out as he will try to save himself and let the others take the blame for this and go down. G
  14. This is incredible. Alec Baldwin just had an impromptu press conference in Vermont today. I need to share a couple of statements he made there: "We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened…” Hey Alec! News Flash!!! Several members of your crew QUIT before the tragedy! There was nothing well-oiled about your production! They were concerned about their safety and YOU, ALEC BALDWIN, Mr. Producer, did nothing to make your set a safe work environment. This proves how out of touch you are with reality! And then he actually said this: "How many bullets have gone off in movies and on TV sets before? How many, billions in the last 75 years? And nearly all of it without incident…” WHAT?????? Another news flash! We don’t use bullets in movies and TV. We use blanks and dummy loads. Words escape me hearing how callous and tone deaf he is. His head is seriously up his ass. A bit of jail time should help here! Unbelievable!!! G
  15. I respectfully disagree with you Amber about Baldwin. Yes, he’s an emotional mess and should be. But as an actor who is charged with handling firearms on set, he is equally responsible for gun safety. I’ve been on numerous big, action, gun movies where the cast shares in the gun check. Also, Baldwin is a producer on the film and he did not ensure a safe workplace. He had to be aware of the prior safety complaints and yet nothing was done about them. I bet he will be charged with involuntary manslaughter. He must be for his shared negligence along with the others. But I do appreciate everything else you said. G
  16. Tyler is spot on with his assessment. I couldn’t agree more. This incident has really affected me. I am beyond saddened and extremely angry over this. Not to take away from Sarah (Jones) or Brent (Hershman) or any other set tragedy but for some reason, this one has hit me hard. Let’s be smart everyone. Let’s take an extra moment and think things through. We need to look out for one another everyday on every set. After all, we work in a world of make believe. G
  17. Lucien Charles is a an IATSE union prop master who works on many police and “gun” involved shows in New York. He is trained and certified in the use of firearms on a movie set. Here is an excerpt from a recent interview: Charles also pointed out that when it came to projects he’s been involved with like "The Blacklist" and "FBI: Most Wanted," the actors became well-educated with the props they were using – and what can occur if they’re not careful. "They did send the actors to weapons specialists for theatrical gun training – how to hold a gun," he said. "Because a lot of them, they don’t know how to hold a gun and never shot a gun before. So they get… the same class that union members take with the vendor weapon specialists." "Usually a camera will be there," he said. "We’ll give them shade shields [and] ear protection, depending on how loud the load is. I do a safety check every time before I hand a gun to an actor. If you do enough safety checks along the way, nothing should happen. But obviously, the gun on Alec Baldwin’s set was not checked. Because if it was, they would have seen the bullet in there. Because a blank and a bullet look like two different types of ammo. With a bullet, you know. You have the bullet at the end of the casing. But on a blank, the front is crimped." "They would have been able to tell the difference if they had done a proper safety check," he added.
  18. Here is what I believe should happen: First AD, Dave Wells: PROSECUTE ”Amourer”, Hannah Gutierrez: PROSECUTE All producers including Alec Baldwin for not securing a safe and sane work place resulting with a work place death and injury: PROSECUTE Possibly the director as well if it is proven that he was complicit with promoting an unsafe work environment.
  19. That’s the entire point Uli. There shouldn’t have been ANY live ammo on set and the gun should have NEVER been left unattended. We have several protocols in place to prevent this from ever happening. G
  20. You’re right to a degree Phil, it’s common sense here. But sometimes lack of experience and the lack of aptitude for the position does away with common sense. There are two relevant union aspects here. 1. we are mourning the loss of one of our very own. She was a rising star in our guild with quite the story behind her. 2. if this movie had been staffed by experienced union members, the likelihood of this accident drops significantly since the union members who are handling the guns must go through training and certifications in order to have that job. In fact, we all are required to go through numerous safety certifications in order to be eligible to work on union jobs. G
  21. It’s being reported that the loaded gun was placed on an open cart where the First AD, Dave Halls, picked it up without either checking with the amourer if it was ok to take it or checking if the gun was loaded or empty. If true, he needs to be thrown out of the DGA and prevented from working in our industry again for violating the basic protocols of gun safety on set that he is directly responsible for. Also, the amourer needs to be disciplined for leaving a loaded gun out in the open where Halls was able to retrieve it unsupervised. It should have been unloaded in a locked gun box til it was time to use with all parties aware of the gun’s status including the actor who shares this irresponsibility. I mean really! Who in their right mind would ever point a gun at someone and pull the trigger if you hadn’t confirmed whether the gun was empty or not?? My God! This is common sense! Alec Baldwin absolutely shares the responsibility of Halyna’s death. G
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