Health and Safety

Health and Safety
When filming health and safety is key in creating a safe and efficient working environment, not only can accidents caused by poor health and safety be life-threatening but also hinder production and can lead to lawsuits. The senior staff is usually held responsible for any accidents so it will usually be them that insist on a strict health and safety rules however everyone on set should set out to make the workspace safe, "The line of responsibility runs from the Producer to the Production Manager and 1st Assistant Director and finally on to all crew members who have a duty of care which is recognized by law. If someone can see the potential for an accident and does nothing to try to prevent it, they can be held responsible in some way, probably along with their senior colleagues." (Moving Image Education 2019).

"'Hazard' refers to the potential for harm. while 'Risk' is the chance of that harm actually happening. Though some hazards might seem very obvious, people might still need to have them pointed out." (Moving Image Education2019). When first setting up a filming set, whether a static location (like a studio) or a portable one (like an outdoor shooting location) it is important to run a 3 step risk assessment: Identifying all risks, evaluate the risks, and then controlling the risk. Recording this process will make it clearer for your members of staff to identify risks and to understand the set in place procedure on how to avoid them. Onset communication is key to avoiding injury, weather its to tell a crew member of a group of wires on the floor or to tell them of a damaged piece of set that could cause harm.

Dolly Track in use. (Jason Hellerman 2019)

Some examples of common hazards that can occur on set are: tripping hazards, lifting hazards, and working from extreme heights. Another key risk that is common on film sets is moving camera shots where a cameraman is moving with the camera, during this process the cameraman could trip as they wouldn't be looking where they are going and could cause serious damage to themselves and the equipment, "When a camera operator or cast member is walking during a shot, make sure they are comfortable with their route and there is nothing that could cause problems (a camera operator who needs to walk backward for a shot should have an assistant to guide them and/or check their route)" (Moving Image Education 2019). An example of a way this could be avoided or at least on how to reduce the risk of this is through a dolly track, this track will allow the camera to move in these shots without risk of the cameraman hurting themselves, setting up a clear track that the camera can move on smoothly without bumping into anything/anyone.



Reference List
Moving Image Education ., (2019) Health and Safety [Online]
Available from:
https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/production/the-production-department/health-and-safety

Jason Hellerman .,(2019) What is a dolly shot [Online]
Available from:
https://nofilmschool.com/what-is-a-dolly-shot