Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Cinematographers To Producers: Address Long Workdays In IATSE Contract Talks
Deadline: Fourteen of Hollywood’s top cinematographers – including Oscar winners John Toll, Roger Deakins, Emmanuel Lubezki and Erik Messerschmidt – have signed a letter urging the member companies of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to finally address “the hazards of unsafe working hours” that have been common in the film and TV industry for decades.
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4 comments:
I think especially during the pandemic people have had a revolutionary rethinking of work and the limit of human beings. From everyone working at home to times being cut, we are starting to realize that work isn’t the only thing in life. In the capitalist lead society that we are in, work was always put first before we fell on pandemic times. I think many people want to go back to that “normal” but as these directors are explaining it never was normal. The hours and intensity of many artists working situations are completely unsustainable even as a completely able-bodied and minded person. It’s scientifically unsafe to constantly work and be under that much pressure. Although not mentioned in the article, the pandemic has opened our eyes to how much work can influence stress and mental health as well. So despite the hard times that workers have gone through, let's hope that rethinking work times will be the start to fixing the damaging and unsustainable work system we have built.
It seems like industries such as film, television, and theater have an easier time abusing employees because it is something people like to do and want to do. Factory unions have been able to make stronger demands, but the amount of money that comes in and out of the industry should make more people able to work healthier hours. It is funny because a 12 hour workday sounds difficult, but people in the school of drama routinely work 12 hours a day which sets us up to have the expectation that long hours will be normal. I saw an article recently that was saying homework is a way of setting up people to work all the time (including when they should be living their life.) Adding a first and second shift is one option, but not over condensing the show schedule seems to be the solution. That may sound like more, but they are saving on overtime at that point.
Owen raises a good point that the artists of the entertainment industry suffer for their passion. Though the other side to the school of drama comment is that the industry really does work on these same insane hours, and it is beneficial to a student that they can decide while they are still in school whether or not the time-intensive demands of the entertainment industry are something that they really want to be doing for the rest of their lives.
I'm not saying that it's okay that the industry works that way, or that there aren't ways to work in theatre and not be strapped for time. But until reform happens I think it's important that anyone trying to make a career of theatre know what might be demanded of them so that they can get used to setting their own boundaries so that they can better take care of themselves. Especially since the entertainment industry as it is is entirely unable and unwilling to do anything to protect the people making it all happen.
The first thing that I find interesting about this article is that the first consequence of these long days is auto accidents. While auto accidents are serious, I would be interested in seeing if there are any other serious medical or mental consequences that affect those who work those long days, as those should be discussed as well. There is always the argument that if you are too tired, take an Uber, which is not a good one to make, but sadly a viable one if the movie industry doesn’t want to give up it’s long days. They could even create transportation options for those who drive, which while I think would be a real big help, sidesteps the problem at hand. I am not sure if they are in the letter, but I would have liked to see more specific about these rest periods, penalties, and possible film schedule repercussions with these longer days. Rest and meal breaks are often overlooked at a lot of non-movie jobs, so seeing what the penalties are for " truly discourag[ing] the systematic elimination of meal breaks” would have been nice, and also insightful to see if that can be taken into other workplaces.
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