This made me laugh...

**jb_617** · February 15th, 2005, 10:09 AM

I was getting the train to work this morning from Waterloo and there was a 2-Man ENG team in the main hall. Not sure what they were doing, I think getting some of those generic "crowd" shots for London Tonight or something.

Anyway, they were just setting up as I was buying my ticket and the cameraman was heaving the camera onto his shoulder when *WHAM* he dropped it. The lense flew off, the case split open and little bits of camera-workings went flying everywhere. The two chaps just looked at eachother, stunned, and simultaneously said "Shit."

Which brings me to my question:

Has anyone done anything similar? Trashed some expensive kit? Run over an actor by mistake? C'mon guys I'm at work and I'm bored. Let's share those horror stories!

I'll start:

I once dropped a can and exposed a whole reel of 16mm colour film. The DOP was not happy with yours truly and I had to make him cups of tea for the rest of the two week shoot.

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It's a learning process.

**eddie123456789** · February 15th, 2005, 10:26 AM

this was funny, but you might have had to have been there....

My girlfriend was driving us all to a location - 5 people squeezed into a VW beetle. We went down this little quiet narrow road, in our little filmmaking bubble, when suddenly infront of us some one was reversing up the road, foot obviously full down and somehow not looking where they were going.
My girlfriend screamed. I screamed, everyone else screamed. She heaved on the brakes, as this overloaded little beetle staggerred to a stop.
We kept on screaming as this car continued toward us at full pelt, I thought briefly of jumping out and leaving them all to it, or at least finding reverse gear for her, so we could skillfully reverse out of the problem. When we saw the driver turn and look at us, see our jaws dropped to the ground and thankfully stop just in time.
It reminded me of that moment in Indy3 when the areoplane pilot crashes into the tunnel and overtakes Indy and his dad, and they exchange startled looks.

Yeah, maybe you had to have been there.

**miker** · February 15th, 2005, 12:23 PM

I remember that while shooting "Ad Astra" in the glamourous surroundings of my parent's house, the runner who shall remain nameless (only because I've forgotten his name) made filtered coffee the instant way -- by adding hot water and stirring. Yum!

That, and almost getting turfed off Butser hill by some Wildlife Trust guy with hairs growing out from the bridge of his nose.

I'm afraid that's as horrific as things have been for me.

**untamed_aggression** · February 15th, 2005, 12:40 PM

I once slipped and flung my stills camera off a cliff into a river.

9908buckden

[ February 15, 2005 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Untamed Aggression ]

**Brooks Productions** · February 15th, 2005, 12:49 PM

I was filming "Bounty" last year (which still needs to be finished..dam rewrites) on location, which was round the back of a pub, because they had an industrial looking area that was perfect.

We were half way through shooting a combat scene when the camera ran out of power, which we knew it would and had brought enough extension cords to use the pubs power to run the camera, so me and a friend, who was assisting me, jumped over the wall into the pub garden plugged in the cables and I passed it over the wall to my friend.

Well the pub had a pretty nice garden full of big plants and small trees all in these huge pots and none of us noticed the cables has gotten weaved between them. Well as all the slack was taken up we herd this great crash and we turned round to see this domino effect of Pots and Plants crashing into each other. The pub was not best pleased!

on the plus side they wont be forgetting my name [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

**emjen** · February 15th, 2005, 01:09 PM

Well, I was a lightning assistant trainee, and with a lightning assistant we were moving a 6K light, standing on a big push-up. Outside. With a non-flat underground.

And yes, it fell meters high and broke. A small explosion you might expect from a 6k lamp and a flag bursted into flames.

That was fun.

Luckily he took the blame, although I don't yet know if he actually was to blame.

Well that certainly costed a few thousands.

[ February 15, 2005 09:10 AM: Message edited by: emjen ]