Sir, – I have worked in the film industry for over 40 years on hundreds of locations worldwide and have witnessed much accidental damage ranging from minor to catastrophic caused by crews to historic and contemporary sites and buildings.
Filming schedules are driven by time and money. Location managers will promise almost anything to acquire the locations required by directors and producers. No location manager or production company can guarantee that accidental damage caused by the inevitable deployment of large crews and heavy equipment will not take place. Much damage so caused can, in the case of contemporary locations, be replaced at the production company’s expense. No money can replace damage done to historic or naturally occurring locations.
I should also add that the location managers who make such promises to the owners of these sites are seldom present when the film shooting takes place, as they are away setting up the next place for the film unit to trample upon, and so are unable to police the behaviour of the crew and supporting labour on the site.
Location managers frequently take great pains to ensure that the owners of the chosen locations are removed far away from the filming area, knowing that the owners would have heart attacks if they were to witness what goes on during a typical shoot.
No crew member deliberately sets out to damage anything, but crews are under enormous pressure to complete tight shooting schedules in limited time, and protecting a nesting bird, or a tree, or historic remains, or even a Rubens painting, may be far down the list of their priorities.
Unesco world heritage sites such as Skellig Michael must be totally protected from such risk of damage, however unintentional, by visiting film companies, and permission for such use should not be given under any circumstances by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I would also like to point out that with the technology currently available to film productions it is hardly necessary to shoot in such places, as images can be created on a computer! – Yours, etc,
CHRIS O’DELL,
Member of the
British Society
of Cinematographers,
Ballydehob, Co Cork.