Workplace Safety on Taiwanese TV and Movie Sets

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I have been on enough film sets to know that there is very little oversight when it comes to the safety of cast and crew.

Of course the tragedy on Scorsese’s Silence set is the worst example of my point.

And I have plenty more examples. But none better illustrates my point than the time I was shooting a cell phone commercial in Dazhi. I was watching the stunt guys rehearse a scene and knew right away, it wasn’t going to work out too well for the poor kid. I never bring my phone onto set, but something told me I should in this instance. Well…here it is…and it is not for the squeamish.

https://youtu.be/mU6Xq7Apwbk

I’ve seen crews work for 17 hours straight. I’ve seen drunken producers completely take over and micromanage shoots. And of course, anyone that’s ever even spoken to an “agent” is immediately shocked at the lack of transparency and exorbitant commissions that these vultures operate with. Impunity.

Well, they need to be checked and checked hard. I am going to send this thread to a friend of mine in IATSE. It would be helpful if anyone else has horror stories from their experiences shooting in Taiwan. Taiwan should unionize. And Hollywood unions (SAG and IATSE) should force them to.

We can do something about this. Or at least, we can try. Please share this thread with anyone you know that is or has been involved in the industry.

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They had completely inadequate mat for this stunt. They had to fold it for it not to be too thin. Folding it made it easy to miss. :roll_eyes:

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That is exactly why I took out my phone.

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A post was split to a new topic: Not Germane to Safety

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I was working on a shoot where the clock on the wall behind me fell to the ground and shattered beside me because—unbeknownst to me—it had been affixed to the wall with a few meager pieces of sticky tack. I also recently worked on a job where a section of what looked like crown molding suddenly tore free from the wall and crashed down. Thankfully, no actors or crew members happened to be sitting or standing under it at the time.

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How on Earth did they expect that to work out? Why not just put a real safety mat on the ground? How much would that have cost they anyway?

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You’re in Taiwan.
Jeez, emptying the ice box to ‘first aid’ a broken leg with ice cubes?

That thing should at least be 4 times the surface size and 2 times the thickness.

Amateur hour?

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Exactly. That should not be an off-the-cuff excuse.

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For a stunt like that there should be at least a licensed medic on set.

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Thanks for raising this. I agree with most of what you say.

I just want to add that in my opinion no organization has all the answers, but hopefully people in Taiwan can develop a system that works.

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At least unions will have rules and enforce compliance. It’s the wild west out there right now.

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Oh yes, I have nothing against unions per se. I just mean a bunch of westerners telling them they need to make a carbon copy of SAG-AFTRA (TAG-TAFTRA?) isn’t necessarily the best approach. :2cents:

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That’s ridiculous. I hope they have insurance for the poor guy. I was just reading about the resident evil movie stuntwoman who lost her arm and they skimped out on insurance screwing her over.

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Did this happen in Taiwan? If so, do you have a link?

Cheers.

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Someone has to do something. At one time, Taiwan didn’t have broccoli, carrots, tomatoes or cauliflower either, until another Canadian that loved Taiwan brought the seeds.

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Existing unions arent willing to do anytning?

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I have tagged a friend with IATSE International and hopefully, he’s following this thread. Maybe he will offer some office. Yo Damian…u there bud?

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How about taiwanese unions?

such as Taipei Film Drama Union or Confederation of Entertaiment Unions

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No. But I hope they had better insurance for that guy.

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Ya, okay, thanks. Let’s try to keep examples Taiwan-centric please.