https://www.kmbc.com/amp/article/explainer-how-are-prop-guns-used-on-movie-sets-and-what-safety-protocols-are-in-place/38039168WHY WOULD THE GUN HAVE BEEN POINTING AT THE CINEMATOGRAPHER?
We don't know what happened on the set of "Rust," but it is fairly common to have a gun pointed at the camera, and by extension the cinematographer, to get a certain angle.
"We've all seen the very famous shots in films where you get that dramatic effect of a gun being pointed at you, the audience, and of course, it's being pointed towards the camera," explained Steven Hall, a veteran second unit director and cinematographer who has worked on films like "Fury" and "Thor: The Dark World." "To minimize that, one would put a remote camera in that place, or at least if someone does have to operate the camera, I'm normally protected by safety goggles, a safety visor and often a PERSPEX screen that withstands pretty much anything. Obviously, it wouldn't withstand a real shot from a gun, but it would certainly withstand a blank."
