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Brent's Rule


Richard Lightstone, CAS

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Hard to believe it has been 17 years since Brent died. He was a good guy. Always a pro, always fun. 

For a while there it seemed as if 12 on 12 off had some good momentum, but ...... This is my fear that all the outpouring of love for Sarah Jones and the hope of running a safer set in our future will dissipate over time as the world gets crazier and faster everyday.

RIP Brent.

CrewC

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I remember the headlines on Pleasantville when that happened back on March 6, 1997. I thought of this incident quite a bit, because I know many people in post (editing, color correction, sound, and VFX) who have fallen asleep at the wheel on the way home after a long workday. I think Brent's death did open up people's eyes as to the realities of lack of sleep -- in any profession -- and I like to believe things are different today.

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Marc the one thing that has not changed is the hours but the productions now offer a hotel room after long hours for anyone from PA's to DP's if there is a drive involved. I'm not sure if this is offered to our brothers and sisters in post.. You may be able to answer that better than I. I would like to know if that is ever offered to the post side of our industry. 14hrs seems to be the magic number with most of the studios and TV productions. If anyone has any more input on this from a production or post side I would like to hear about it. We do not need to loose anyone else after Brent and Sarah. I hope everyone here has seen "Who Needs Sleep" by Haskell Wexler.. Jeff's Dad. If not I encourage everyone to buy it, download it, or watch it on whatever they can. This was the first step in watching and guarding a film crews safety on the set. This is still part of Sarah's and Brent's legacy. We may not have gotten 12 on and 12 off but now we are offered hotel rooms. A small step but it is something. The current production I am on the UPM/EP does believe in the 12 on and 12 off and has always tried to follow that for the past decade or more. I hope others will follow. He budgets that way.

 

We will ALL watch out for our fellow crew members on set and driving home. This is up to us as a crew not just the productions we are working on.

 

Whit

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Marc the one thing that has not changed is the hours but the productions now offer a hotel room after long hours for anyone from PA's to DP's if there is a drive involved. I'm not sure if this is offered to our brothers and sisters in post.. You may be able to answer that better than I. I would like to know if that is ever offered to the post side of our industry. 

 

Not at all from my perspective, certainly not from a non-union point of view (which is the vast part of the LA picture post business). Even on the editing side with Local 700, I know editors who routinely work 15-16 hours a day, even longer in the week or so prior to the show being delivered. 

 

The funny thing for me is, the dozen or so times I've almost driven off the road, it was broad daylight, like 11AM-12PM or so, typically after a 20 or 24-hour all-nighter. The tires hit the shoulder and the car lurched, and luckily I woke up after only closing my eyes for 3 or 4 seconds. But if I had veered the other way, into the lane on my left, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now. 

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Part of the beauty of 12 on 12 off is that production can start at the same time every day, say 7 AM. Of course elements such as actor or location availability, or the need for a night exterior, might cause an adjustment, but those could really be the exception to the rule. Crew members could have a predictable schedule, and a family life.

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I always keep a change of clothes handy so I can take a hotel, if offered and if I feel home is just too far away.

I have pulled off the road a few times. Once to take a quick nap, the other times to walk around a bit. I have also nodded off, usually just minutes from home sitting at a red light, but a couple of times on the freeway. It's frightening. Thankfully it has been many years since I have been in that situation. I am very aware of long days on set, and avoid sugar/coffee as things get late, in order to avoid coming off the stimulation while I'm on the road.

Be safe out there, everyone.

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I have pulled off the road a few times. Once to take a quick nap, the other times to walk around a bit. I have also nodded off, usually just minutes from home sitting at a red light, but a couple of times on the freeway. It's frightening. Thankfully it has been many years since I have been in that situation. I am very aware of long days on set, and avoid sugar/coffee as things get late, in order to avoid coming off the stimulation while I'm on the road.

 

All good tips. I generally try to close my eyes for about 15-20 minutes to get a quick nap right before I drive, and that usually gives me enough of a 2nd wind that I can at least make it home. Lord knows, my reaction time at the wheel is probably about 60% of what it would be if I was fully rested, so it's still dangerous. I don't make a habit of it. I can't take caffeine, because then I'll never get to sleep, making me twice as tired when I turn around and come back in.

 

An old pal of mine told me his trick: chewing gum. Apparently, the act of chewing gum while driving will keep you awake for a certain time, since you're doing two things at once. Old truck driver's trick for long hauls. But still dangerous. Nothing can eliminate the need for sleep.

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daniel: " production can start at the same time every day, "

it depends...

...you are forgetting lunch, and turnarounds

 

To achieve the idealistic--start at the same time every day--12 on 12 off, lunch would have to be included in the 12 hours. Normally we have a 30 min lunch, so that is 11.5 hours of pay under our contract. Whether we go into first meal penalty or not, we would never go into a second meal period. Begin at 7 AM, the plug is pulled at 7 PM, and then 12 hours remain for turnaround. 

 

12 on 12 off does not necessarily mean 12 hours of wages. I don't see that the 12 on 12 off credo mentions 12 hours plus lunch. http://12on12off.weebly.com/

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  • 3 months later...

Aside from pulling over and sleeping in your vehicle for a few minutes(been there, done that), Every Crew Member is in their Right to ask Production, UPM, Producer if they'll be supplying hotel rooms after wrap.  There's nothing "wrong" or "strange" or "not being a team player" about that whatsoever.

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Aside from pulling over and sleeping in your vehicle for a few minutes(been there, done that), Every Crew Member is in their Right to ask Production, UPM, Producer if they'll be supplying hotel rooms after wrap.  There's nothing "wrong" or "strange" or "not being a team player" about that whatsoever.

Plus 1.

CrewC

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There a lot of talk about the remedy of 14-20 hour days being a hotel room. Which is what you should take advantage of. But honestly, we should never even be working that many hours in a day. Period! We need to strike! And force the 12/12 rule. Production should add second unit days to make up for their lack of planning that tends to lead to these long hours. In fact, I'd be a bigger supporter of 10 hour maximums. Lengthen the shooting schedules, and add days if needed. Save our lives AND the families that help support us. 12 hours is still too long of day. The productions took away our rate structures beyond 8 hours, and they don't care and are happier to pay for overtime.

Time to strike if this is what we really want!

Just my $.02

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There a lot of talk about the remedy of 14-20 hour days being a hotel room. Which is what you should take advantage of. But honestly, we should never even be working that many hours in a day. Period! We need to strike! And force the 12/12 rule. Production should add second unit days to make up for their lack of planning that tends to lead to these long hours. In fact, I'd be a bigger supporter of 10 hour maximums. Lengthen the shooting schedules, and add days if needed. Save our lives AND the families that help support us. 12 hours is still too long of day. The productions took away our rate structures beyond 8 hours, and they don't care to pay for overtime.

Time to strike if this is what we really want!

Just my $.02

 

+1 to all of this. I wholeheartedly agree.

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We have all taken risks.  Maybe that's because 3 am after an 18-hour day is not the best time to be making a critical choice.  Not the best time to decide if it's OK to drive home or if it's better to track down someone in the production company who, although at least as exhausted as you, is still able to think clearly enough to book you a hotel room.  Not the best time to jump in the car thinking you can do it and then realize maybe you can't.  The burden does not fall on the overworked and exhausted employee who can think of nothing more than the urge to be home.  The responsibility rests on the employer who put him or her in that crucially dangerous moment where they were least capable of making the decision that could save their life.

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There a lot of talk about the remedy of 14-20 hour days being a hotel room. Which is what you should take advantage of. But honestly, we should never even be working that many hours in a day. Period! We need to strike! And force the 12/12 rule. Production should add second unit days to make up for their lack of planning that tends to lead to these long hours. In fact, I'd be a bigger supporter of 10 hour maximums. Lengthen the shooting schedules, and add days if needed. Save our lives AND the families that help support us. 12 hours is still too long of day. The productions took away our rate structures beyond 8 hours, and they don't care and are happier to pay for overtime.

Time to strike if this is what we really want!

Just my $.02

 

I agree with michael. I've been mixer for 39 years and semi-retired. when I think back at those long hours

 

and how it changes your life. remember,a director may do one movie a year and he doesn't mind putting in long hours and making the big money, but a sound man has to look for a job when the present job ends and so on and so on. and that is the one life you are going to live !    

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I rode my motorcycle home once after pulling a 36 hour shift when I worked in video games. Dumbest thing I've ever done. I remember getting home and not remember the ride home. 

 

Many, many, many times in post, I'd get home and be sitting in my driveway with my engine running, and I was slightly in shock, because I had absolutely no memory of the 25-mile drive home. I did it totally by osmosis and muscle memory. Scary.

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Laurence:

The burden does not fall on the overworked and exhausted employee who can think of nothing more than the urge to be home.  The responsibility rests on the employer who put him or her in that crucially dangerous moment where they were least capable of making the decision that could save their life.

 

Well said. It's good to remind people to ask for a hotel room after a very long day. And, it's good to encourage workers to be assertive on their own behalf. But let's not drift into the trap of assigning any responsibility to workers for decisions made in the haze of exhaustion.

 

David

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The burden does not fall on the overworked and exhausted employee who can think of nothing more than the urge to be home.>>>

 

+111


Time to strike if this is what we really want!>>

 

a WORLD-WIDE strike!!

 

people, it is STILL possible even in this world as we live in... 

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