This foundation was inspired by the achievements, character and unique nature of our respected friend and colleague, Mark Milsome
Thank you to Christopher Ross who promoted our MMF Health and Safety Online Course during his recent chat with BSC.
“I urge you all to sign up to the Mark Milsome Foundation’s “Film and TV Online Safety Passport”. A ninety-minute course that will open your mind to on- set responsibilities and inspire you to be a force for positive change in the way that individual health and well-being are respected.”
Link to article: https://bscine.com/presidents-column
Thank you to @markmilsomememorialcup for organising such a fantastic event on Sunday 22nd May.⠀⠀
We saw the Ted Lasso crew go head to head with the Heart of Stone. In a thrilling penalty shootout Heart of Stone won the Mark Milsome Memorial Cup!
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The event raised an amazing sum of money which will help fund our aim to make the Film & TV industry a safer place to work. ⠀
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Thank you to everyone who organised, played, watched and took part! The Foundation appreciate all of your endless support.
We are delighted that, thanks to the support of the British Society of Cinematographer’s and Mission Digital, the Mark Milsome Foundation will be at this year’s BSC Expo.
We are particularly pleased to be participating in a BSC panel, discussing what needs to be done urgently to keep everyone safe when working on productions. Please join us at 10.15am Friday April 8th in the BSC Main Seminar Room, for “Protect & Empower: Mental & Physical Safety On Set”
Panelists include:
Samantha Wainstein – Mark Milsome Foundation,
Leo Anna Thomas – 6ft From the Spotlight,
Tracy Riddell – Film and TV Charity,
Kate Wilson – Call It App and panel chair,
Kate Rolfe – Digital Orchard Foundation,
And find us on our stand, situated between Movietech Camera Rentals (310) and RED (022).
The BSC Expo provides an opportunity for crew and production members to learn more about our Mark Milsome Foundation Film & TV Online Safety Passport Course, of which BSC President Christopher Ross, says.
“This is the first H&S course I have seen that understands and conveys the importance of collaboration, collective responsibility and looking out for fellow crew members. I would encourage everyone in the Film, TV and Commercial Production industries to take this course and to uphold the values that it represents.”
Details of the course can be found here https://www.mmfonlinetraining.com/
To acknowledge the exceptional talent and dedication of the late camera operator Mark Milsome, the BSC have awarded him an Honorary Associate Membership. Milsome was killed in 2017 while filming a stunt in Ghana.
Speaking emotionally at the 2022 BSC awards, Mark’s wife, Andra said: “Mark would be truly honoured, humbled and touched to receive this accolade from his colleagues who he held in such high esteem. Mark will never be able to show his full creative potential to the world. He started, but had his life cut off in his prime, by such an avoidable tragedy.
It is vital that more accountability and better health and safety practices are put into place and that these become not only standardised, but mandatory. No more cost cutting. No more cutting corners. Every single person should come home safely at the end of each working day.”
Mark’s father, Doug Milsome – BSC ASC said “We are incredibly proud to learn that the BSC has awarded Mark ‘An Honorary Associate of the Society’ especially following on from the BSC ‘Special Achievement Award’ to the MMF. Myself and Mark’s mother, Debbie, are overwhelmed and comforted that Mark’s talent has been recognised in this way”.
Newly appointed BSC President, Christopher Ross, said “Mark was a camera operator of the highest calibre, having been a similar skilled focus puller and clapper loader, but more significantly, he was a human being of the highest calibre and embodied everything that is great about the camera department -warmth, compassion, and determination. I urge you all to ‘Be More Mark’.”
Chris urged the audience to follow and support the work of the Mark Milsome Foundation and to take their recently launched ‘Film and TV Online Safety Passport’ course (HERE) developed to ‘Build an industry that prides itself on mutual collective responsibility, and respect for everybody’s wellbeing.”
Read all about the #BSCAwards night and find out to what the winners had to say, and see more photos from the evening.
The link to the full article below:
Please see a link to The Sunday Times article that featured an interview with Andra, Mark’s wife last week.
“The widow of a cameraman who died during a stunt on the set of a BBC TV series has told how she had warned the industry of further “inevitable” tragedies years before the fatal shooting in America by Alec Baldwin.
Andra Levinson Milsome, who lives in Scotland, said “haunting images” returned after she heard that the actor had accidentally shot dead the Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, with a prop gun loaded with live ammunition on the set in New Mexico of Rust, a low-budget independent film.”
The results from the Mark Milsome Foundation, industry wide, Health and Safety survey are published today. With 2,000 surveys and a further 3,000 comments and concerns relating to Health and Safety in the modern Film and Television industry these results help understand the views of crew and production at a time when the spotlight is rightly on Health and Safety once again. Crucially 75% of respondent said they would welcome a Foundation, online Health and Safety course and would voluntarily take it, rising to 93% agreeing to take the course if it was recognised within the industry.
Here is a link directly to the summarised results:
http://www.markmilsomefoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Quantitative-data.pdf
We wanted to share this important article with you from Deadline discussing the risks that Cinematographers take whilst doing their job. Mark’s death is marked in 2017.
Chris Harvey from the Telegraph has written an article regarding Mark’s death. Please click below to read the full article or see attached PDF.
The Mark Milsome Memorial Cup was back with a bang in May 2021! The match was organised by the team behind the Mark Milsome Foundation Cup (founder Andy Woodcock). With the help of industry sponsors he secured Selhurst Park, the home of his lifelong club Crystal Palace for a date that was close to Mark Milsome’s birthday, 23rd May, and they set about creating an event that honoured Mark in his ability to unite friends from across all departments and productions in the industry. Mark was not a sportsman, he did like to watch odd game of football, but was not an avid fan, however on May 29th, we brought together many colleagues, friends and family for a much needed day out, and an occasion that Mark would have relished.
The teams were from the crews of the new Indiana Jones film and Essex (production working title, Netflix series) Forming a squad from one production brings together players with very different experience levels, and this and allowing mixed sex teams brought a high level of inclusivity and set a friendly tone to the day, on the pitch and off.
The event was a great occasion with a final score of Indiana Jones 6 – Essex 3. All the proceeds made from the event went to the Mark Milsome Foundation.
Thank you to the @markmilsomememorialcup who have organised the event and made it possible.
“The Big Clash, it’s going to be huge! You don’t want to miss this battle between some of the industry’s finest filmmakers seeing if their creative and technical abilities translate to the football pitch.⠀
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Expect incredible skills or highly dubious tactics on display or both, or neither, either way come along to finally meet friends and raise a glass to Mark Milsome. All proceeds to the Mark Milsome Foundation. Tickets on sale shortly.”
The event is taking place on May 29th in Selhurst Park. Purchase tickets here.
An article in the British Cinematographer highlights the current dangers in the Film and TV industry beyond Covid and features details of the Mark Milsome Foundation H&S Survey.
The article can be found here: https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/health-and-safety-safe-shooting/