On September 12, DGA members joined New York Assistant Director Training Program Trainees for the safety seminar Fire and Smoke. Held in the Guild’s New York boardroom, this special event was the first in a series of safety panel discussions dealing with specific set safety issues.
Sponsored by the Assistant Directors Training Program, attendees were welcomed by members of DGA AD/UPM Council East’s Member Education Committee, Second Assistant Directors Committee, and UPM Committee. Fire and Smoke featured an in-depth discussion about fire safety on the set including special effects safety, fire and burn sets and more. The panel called upon the expertise and experience of Commercial 1st AD Jeffrey Trenner, Location Manager Eddy Collyns (Rescue Me), SFX supervisor Steve Kirschoff (The Blacklist), and FDNY Explosives Unit Chief Inspector James P. Lauer, Deputy Chief Inspector Joseph Meyers and Unit Member John Delaney. The discussion was moderated by AD/UPM Council East Second Assistant Directors Committee Co-Chair Arianne Apicelli (Gotham).
Following a welcome from Apicelli, the seminar focused on what DGA members need to know about set safety when shooting with special effects such as pyrotechnics, smoke effects, and squibs. The assembled guests were given instruction by DGA members with years of experience working with such effects and benefitted from the unique perspective of top members of the FDNY’s Explosives Unit who are in charge of enforcing the regulations and permitting film sets to shoot explosive scenes in the City of New York.
The session ended with the panelists answering questions submitted by the attendees. The next session in this series will be announced online and in DGA Monthly once it has been scheduled.
About the Council
The Eastern AD/UPM Council is the elected body that represents the Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager members of the Guild who reside and/or work in film, television, commercials and new media the East and Midwest regions.