Safety in the film industry is one of the most important matters to consider, it is not the monetary cost that should be focused upon, but, the human cost. There is no set schedule in the film industry, unlike average careers where there is a time that one clocks in and out. The average film day can range from 10 hours to 20 hours. The hours are uncivilized and barbaric, often with people not caring of what occurs when a person is working on so little sleep and rest for so long.
If, at least, one cannot bring themselves to care about the wellbeing of others that may potentially lead to their death or injury, there is the quality of the work to be considered. When operating on minuscule amounts of sleep, the work decreases in quality, becoming shoddier and shoddier until it is barely usable.
Only humans, out of all of the species that exist on this planet, push themselves further and further to see how long and how far they can go without sleep. It is a phenomenon among the population, the belief that sleep is useless and unnecessary, that it is possible for a human being to function on the fewest amount of sleep possible. That is, even if done for a few days, extremely unhealthy. It is possible to die from sleep deprivation, even without considering the events that occur when one is exhausted due to lack of sleep, such as falling asleep at the wheel, as was the case of Brent Hershman in 1997.
The case of Brent Hershman, a camera assistant, in 1997 is an unfortunate example. Brent Hershman was, after several long days on set, the last of which being 19 hours, driving home when he drove his car into a utility pole after falling asleep at the wheel. His tragic death sparked a death within the film industry over the sweatshop-esque hours worked. It has been a controversial topic since the late 1990s, with many crew and cast members, from either end of the spectrum, having signed the petition enacted in his name to prevent future deaths and accident. The petition is simple, to lessen the amount of hours worked in the American film industry (as it really is the American film industry that only behaves thusly) and to heighten the amount of time between shoots.
The petition was brought before the IATSE, and, finally, at the 67th Quadrennial IATSE convention, the “Long Hours Resolution” was approved and adopted unanimously. The resolution states that sleep deprivation and fatigue are hazardous to the health of crew members and the overtime was designed, and to still be used as such, as a deterrent to working longer hours than necessary instead of supplementing incomes. This resolution was passed in 2013, little has changed yet. It takes time to install change, especially in an industry and culture within which the work ethos has been so severely ingrained within that working longer hours is necessary not only for maintaining one’s career, but, to showcase a dedication to said career.
Another case of the rampant disregard of the human cost of films in the American film industry is the incident that occurred during the filming of independent production Midnight Rider in Georgia in 2014. Sarah Jones, a 27 year old camera assistant, died due to the fact that her producers and director having decided to film illegally on train tracks after they were denied permission to film on the CSX train tracks. What occurred was an appalling lack of consideration and simply humanity. The producers and directors, had, after being first denied permission various times by the authorities in charge of the location, decided to continue with their planned shots and shoot illegally on the train tracks and train trestle, going as far as placing a hospital bed across the train tracks with an actor in the bed while not knowing the train schedule. There were no medics or train officials present.
In the process of moving equipment off the tracks, including the hospital bed which had gotten stuck, and people running off, Sarah Jones was struck by the train and died. Several others suffered injuries.
Shooting illegally, also known as guerrilla filming, is often done by independent filmmakers and student filmmakers when they cannot afford to pay for permits or simply decide not to, when they cannot acquire permissions to film in a specific location and simply decide to film there anyway. It is a dangerous practice, on par with the long hours worked on set. People die, as Sarah Jones did, or are injured because of that lack of forethought and consideration. It is this that is the human cost of film.