Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer for the movie “Rust,” was sentenced to 18 months of prison Monday for her role in the death of the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins over two years ago. This sentencing comes after a major push for safety within the film industry.
USC’s School of Cinematic Arts hosted Industry Week last week. To promote safety, organizers wore t-shirts reading “Safety for Sarah,” an initiative to “create safer film sets” in the name of Sarah Elizabeth Jones, a camera assistant on the movie “Midnight Rider.” At certain Industry Week sessions, Jones and the initiative were the subject of conversation.
“I can’t express enough the importance of safety on set. We never should have lost our friend and her family never should have lost her to such an avoidable thing,” SCA student JLee MacKenzie said in a statement to Annenberg Media about Hutchins’ death. “No film is worth losing a life, safety has to be the highest priority, that’s a thing that was taught heavily at USC.”
Maggie Colombo, a freshman film and television production major, has worked on six film productions at USC for classes and thesis films. She shared her experience with safety in CTPR 409, a class where students produce shows for Trojan Vision.
“You have to take a safety seminar, and then a quiz. I think that’s really good as well,” Colombo said. “I appreciate that they take that effort, instead of just throwing us into the class without knowing things. I really feel like USC is trying to keep us safe and taking all the precautions to avoid any incidents.”
Students are required to attend a production safety seminar after each semester in order to remain eligible to get a production number and remain on the school’s cinematic arts insurance plan. This course covers material from handling props and learning about electricity safety to filming on campus and getting approval from DPS.
“The courses are definitely designed to be a constant reminder for the many rules set in place on set,” part-time film student Connor Hu said. “But I think the faculty being able to share their life and work experiences is the best practice for professionalism.”
Film and television production junior Sam Abunassar described his experience working on junior sets as a production assistant and the demanding duties of his role. He worked long hours in the studio and he described his position to include “a little bit of everything.”
“In production you are doing things at strange hours in strange places and you work long hours,” Hu said. “People make mistakes and we do our best to keep those mistakes from happening, but we learn from them.”
The editing department at USC Cinematic Arts changed its hours to close at 11 p.m. instead of an open 24 hour lab. This protocol is to ensure students’ safety after long sessions.
“The number one thing you learn on set is that there are three billion things going on at once,” Abunassar said. “If you don’t feel safe on set, it ruins the whole vibe. And that ultimately, changes the film’s performance.”