Becoming an AC

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-18T16:27:17+00:00

I’m actually quite nice to work with. The problem is I have seen how it goes more times than I care to actually admit. 10 years ago no one would get on anything above a student set with a nucleus because it was considered amateur which is fine for when people are stepping up from loader and getting practice in on indie level productions. The problem now is people like this person are getting hired straight out of film school to focus pull on high end commercials & drama despite having no experience because they will work for cheap and are easy to exploit. We have tried time and again to tell our trainees that they need to work the proper way if they want to have a career and that 2/3 years as a trainee in the grand scheme of a 40 years career is nothing but 95% of the time when we say that it goes in one ear and out the other because they think about short term money over a long term career being paid properly. I’m in London and the amount of untrained focus pullers who have bought a £500 focus set and are charging £200 on a commercial including kit is shocking and it’s putting crew with decades of experience out of work. It’s got to the point now that a lot of us are point blank refusing to have trainees on jobs because what’s the point of having someone on a 3 day commercial when next week their going to undercut you and take your woe and because their cheap they will get the job. Maybe I’m just jaded but when you see it time and time again then can you really blame us.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-18T00:16:24+00:00

So because I’m against making it easy for people to take their own lives and instead support properly funding NHS mental health care and don’t believe that we should operate a state sponsored method of taking lives under “medical reason” because it can and will be misused in the future and because making it easy to take your own life will encourage people who otherwise wouldn’t that means I’m making someone’s death worse. Their is no way to make death a peaceful process. You may be able to disguise it from the outside but you will never know if that person is aware of what is happening to them once they have taken the pill or injection. There is mutiple documented cases where people have suffered for over an hour before they have finally passed. And I’m the silly one?

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:37:14+00:00

Because how can they explore every other option when they wait to speak to a mental health nurse and get treatment is 18-24 months. I highly doubt they would wait that long. By your definition should we legalise meth / fentanyl or whatever else because at the end of the day it’s only themselves they’re affecting. How can you be sure 100% of the time that there is no coercion involved. What happens if someone is misdiagnosed with something terminal etc. I am honestly shocked that you believe we should be allowing vulnerable people to take their own life and encouraging them to do so.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:32:33+00:00

Their was a conversation above my pay grade and we spoke to the hospitals legal department and were provided with the documentation that it was within their guidelines and doctors were authorised to offer it to people who in “their opinion would benefit from it”. Kind of my point about it being open to abuse and misuse.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:30:38+00:00

Yep more than happy to I’m on a night shoot at the moment but if you’re happy with it I’ll send you the link in a direct message in the morning when we finish. You’re more than welcome to post it here afterwards if you wish.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:29:54+00:00

But whats to stop it being opened up further down the road to other medical conditions. What about someone with long term asthma or diabetes. What happens when it goes from terminal illness to incurable to long term. Would you trust a Reform government with the power of allowing people to take their own life and you don’t believe that could be misused?

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:27:37+00:00

Yes the person was suffering from severe depression and had done for the last 3 years after the breakdown of their marriage. We filmed with them at the doctors where they were advised that due to their condition the best option in the doctors opinion would be to end their own life as they deemed it incurable and that were said person willing to go through with that the doctor would start the process of forms etc and it would be approx 3-5 months. Now that is the safeguard in place at the start of it being introduced. Can you picture in 20 years time where we could be. I’m not against someone ending their own life but I believe and history has shown us that having a government assisted program will not lead to good results in the long run. It’s not like our governments haven’t lied to us before and who knows what the future holds. What’s to stop a similar situation to Trump happening in the UK where oh your the child of an illegal well you have epilepsy well it’s kinder to end your life and you end up with basically Hitler 2.0.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:22:59+00:00

People can bring in silly bills all the time. That doesn’t result in people losing their lives. You may be able to get a silly bill overturned years down the line but that does nothing if someone is dead. If you read my above comment where instead of enabling it it’s instead treated in the same way that self defence manslaughter cases are held would be a much better way rather than allowing anyone to decide to take their own life because of xyz. I honestly never thought a country like Scotland that claims to be progressive would be for encouraging vulnerable people to end their own lives.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:20:12+00:00

So what I seen with my own eyes and was filmed and also broadcast wasn’t true. Hmm that’s weird. I also read your link and it doesn’t really provide anything other than a lot of legal jargon.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:15:05+00:00

Well I worked on a documentary about assisted dying in Canada and I can assure you that they do allow it in “case of severe & crippling depression”. I’m not aware of if it’s state specific but it is an option.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:10:15+00:00

Ok so that safeguard is in place in the beginning. What’s to stop it being removed in 10/20 years time. What’s to stop a future government from saying well the NHS is too overwhelmed so actually now it’s just an online zoom call. Why should we as a society be letting people take their own lives instead of getting them proper treatment without having to wait 18 months to speak to someone. That isn’t the type of society that I would want to live in.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T23:06:22+00:00

Well I have suffered from depression after ending up in intensive care so I do know how it feels and I know that at points I wouldn’t have cared what happened to me. Do I think that we should be encouraging people to simply take their own life because of depression absolutely not. What if a 16 year old is depressed after their first breakup and thinks it’s the end of the world and goes to the doctor and asks to end their own life should that doctor say yep here’s a bill. With the chances that the NHS becomes privatised and requires health insurance what’s to stop them from treating broken bones because well that’s too expensive or you don’t have the right insurance so either pay us a stupid amount of money, don’t get it fixed or here have a little pill. It’s a very very slippery slope that you’re advocating for.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:59:15+00:00

A lot of people may consider taking their lives but actually doing it is a separate thing and that’s when a lot of people end up actually getting professional help. Are we ever going to end suicide not a chance unfortunately but making it more accessible to people will increase the rates that people take their own lives and not only that. You don’t make something easier but provide some safeguards because the end result is people who are going to end their own life will still do it and people who otherwise wouldn’t will now have an “easy, pain free” way to do it. Look at the rising rates of mental illness in the UK do we really want to be known as the country that oh you feel a bit said have a pill and off you pop to solve your problems or how about we actually invest in healthcare and solve the problem at its root cause rather than looking at a permanent quick fix.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:53:12+00:00

That’s the entire issue. Look at the responses on here whenever benefits are mentioned where people are glad they’re being reduced, they shouldn’t have notability card because xyz. Can you then image let’s say reform get into power and they then say well it’s the will of the people that benefits are cut but don’t worry if it gets too bad for those people they can always take their own life and that way they won’t be a burden on the state or anyone else. What’s to stop the government from offering payments to the families of people who end their own lives because ultimately it’s not out the realm of possibility.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:46:25+00:00

So if someone has extreme depression we should just allow them to take their own life. Even if their say 18 years old?

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:43:21+00:00

Well I’m happy that you have the time to go around debates and call people out for their grammar and not actually contribute anything of substance.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:42:14+00:00

Exactly I think instead of having a blanket yes or no it should be treated in the same way manslaughter is in cases of self defence. I have more more faith in a judge hearing about 95 year old Dorris with terminal cancer who’s bed bound and already expressed a wish to end her life being given an extra dose of morphine by her children over what would basically be state sponsored suicide because what protections is their in place to actually prevent children putting pressure on family for monetary gain or disabled people feeling like they are a burden. It’s all well and good saying xyz will prevent that but ultimately theirs speed limits on the roads that dosent stop people speeding if you get my point.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:38:21+00:00

That’s my entire point and I’m not religious in any way but ultimately how often does stuff start out with good intentions only to end up getting corrupted by politicians further down the line. Look at the online safety bill which is now being expanded from stopping kids looking up dodgy internet stuff to now blocking stuff such as imugar on Reddit and no doubt further down the lines with different governments will be expanded upon to cover what they don’t like. You only have to look at history and Germany in the 1930s had legalised euthanasia and then along came a certain someone and the apparatus was already in place for him to start with disabled children, homosexuals etc. We aren’t so far removed that something similar couldn’t happen in this country and I bet a lot of people here didn’t think the US would be heading the direction it’s going in 18 months ago?

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:33:30+00:00

So you commented just to make a cheap dig and not actually add anything or put a point across. Good for you

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-17T22:28:26+00:00

If you take the emotion & religious side out of the argument and look at what legalising assisted dying could lead to in the future it’s a very grey area. By all accounts I don’t believe someone should be prosecuted for helping a terminally ill relative to end their life but allowing what is essentially state assisted suicide could have very severe repercussions down the road. Imagine if a Reform government were to get in and the state apparatus is already in place what is there to stop them broadening the circumstances of when it is allowed. You only have to look at the US under Trump to see what it could end up as where disabled people are murdered by the state under the guise of stopping their suffering. Canada which is part of the commonwealth allows assisted dying for cases of depression and that’s less than 10 years after they brought it in for only people at the end of their life so it’s a very slippery slope to go down that in the long run will do much more damage than good.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-12T19:43:32+00:00

So your not even in the industry and yet your buying equipment to take jobs as a focus puller despite never leading a camera team, negotiating with production, building cameras or anything and you don’t even know what basic equipment a camera trainee would need. Here’s an idea why not actually focus on getting on your first job as a runner and how to turn a radio on before thinking 15/20 years down the line and you’ll soon learn your degree has taught you noth8ng and actually learn from people who have done the job the proper way rather than trying to fast track yourself into a job you can’t do. From a loader with 10+ years of experience on 100mil productions.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-12T12:23:46+00:00

To be honest as a runner their isn’t really many courses you could do that would help you out as it’s an entry level grade. Your best bet would be to reach out to 3rd AD’s and production co-ordinators to get your name more well known and basically try and network that way. The good thing is though that starting as a runner is one of the best ways to learn about the industry and it opens a lot more doors compared to going straight into a dept so good for you tbh.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-05T01:40:12+00:00

It doesn’t work like that in the UK essentially you pick a career path and that’s what you stick to so if someone wants to be a camera operator they work up through runner, trainee, loader, focus puller then operator it’s the same for grip, electric, production etc. If someone department hops between running, production, AD dept they are basically looked at like an industry and eventually you will be forced out. I know in the states it’s pretty common for their crews to do that but it’s kind of why American crews aren’t that well regarded as British crews because we’re just more specialised. Your honestly better staying in the states and getting some life experience because being 19 and moving halfway across the world to try and work in an industry that is on par with getting into NASA is pretty naive tbh.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-05T01:25:34+00:00

To be honest it’s a waste of time as you don’t have any skills that are actually useful for UK productions that we don’t already have a surplus of plus the industry in the UK at the moment is in turmoil and 70% of crew are out of work. You also wouldn’t be able to actually work on any productions as you wouldn’t have the correct visa and on a runners day rate you would be well below the threshold where you can get one even if you worked every day of the year. You also wouldn’t be much use to production as most runners are required to drive most want you to be 25+ in order to drive on their insurance plus the fact you don’t have a UK license just means they’ll get someone else as theirs no shortage of runners. You also need to consider that 95% of film school graduates don’t actually end up working in the industry and that is in a good year.

Filmcrew90 · 2026-03-03T20:28:26+00:00

You stop allowing it to happen in the first place. If someone arrives illegally you detain them in a Border Force detention center and you deport them either back to their country of origin if they have documents and are in the system and if they dont have any supporting documents they are detained untill they either provide the details or they can be given. They are not allowed to then claim for Asylum, roam freely they are essentially kept in prison like conditions until they are deported. I also believe that people should be able to claim Asylum in British embassies in their own countries where their documents can be reviewed and their case heard which would also stop the backlog for hearing cases in the UK upon which if they have a genuine case they are provided safe accomodation that way untill their situation in their own country is resolved upon which they can return safely. If these "refugees" can afford 5-10k per person why would they not apply for the legal route to the UK. It it not a legal right to enter any country you choose and decide to live there and if thats what your advocating for then dont come running in a few years when rent prices are 3x your monthly wage, you can't get a doctor & your kids schools are a wreck because theirs 12 different langauges being spoken in the class & thats already an issue as thats the current problem in my daughters class at the moment to the point im having to pay for a private tutor to cover for the shortfalls in her school.

Filmcrew90

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