Hello. Firstly, I wanted to thank you for taking this course. My name is Rory Kinnear and I am a patron of the Mark Milsome Foundation. Mark was one of our industry's most respected and talented camera operators working at the highest level for over 30 years. In November 2017, he was killed on set in Ghana, shooting a car stunt that went tragically wrong. At the inquest into Mark's death, the coroner concluded that on that set, the risk of Mr Milsome being harmed or fatally injured was not effectively recognised, assessed, communicated or managed.
The purpose of this course is quite simply to ensure that no crew member or performer is ever killed or injured again because risk is not effectively recognised, assessed, communicated or managed. I was asked to become the foundation's patron partly because I lost my own dad, the actor, Roy Kinnear, as a result of an accident on a film set in 1988. There were many promises to change health and safety following the accident, but sadly over the years, little was done.
This course hopes to be a line in the sand for the kinds of onset failures that led to Mark and my father's deaths. It is not seeking to place health and safety awareness above creativity or workflow, rather, it is to establish a need for the two to go hand-in-hand promoting smart, safe decisions in advance of and during each productive working day. The information in this course is current, modern and will serve as a refresher for those who have worked in the industry for decades, as well as inspiring a new generation to be safe.
This course is just as important for producers, broadcasters and financiers, reminding them of the dangers of cutting financial corners and failing to schedule an appropriate time to complete projects. We have tried to make this an enjoyable, short, focused learning experience. If taken in one sitting, it will last approximately 90 minutes but you can also stop and start, watch it on your phone, tablet or computer and complete it at a pace that suits you.
Each chapter is followed by some refresher questions with the main test coming at the very end. If successful, you will receive a qualification that you can build on in the future with face-to-face courses but for now, the aim of the Mark Milsome Foundation is to update and educate, to empower and protect you and your colleagues. Thank you again for taking this course and helping prevent injury and death in the film and television industry in the future.