How to Create a Safe Shooting Enviroment

Why Health and Saftey Is Important

Health and safety is a key thing to keep in mind before and during filming.

Not only due to the safety of your staff and crew but to make sure that shooting goes as scheduled without safety precautions or bare minimum safety requirements delays can happen in your production due to talent needing recovery time to do the shoot or having to hire new staff/crew to replace the injured ones.

It is a requirement to understand the proper etiquette and boundaries of your environment in order to make sure that risks are minimised. You should always talk to the owners of your filming locations before trying anything not outlined in your contract, they might know something you don't about the environment around you, whether you shoot ina studio or out in the wild.

Risk Assessment's

Before the shooting process in production, this is valuable when your site contains unpredictable variables like unpredictable weather conditions, etc.

A risk assessment concludes the risks of a shooting location and offers solutions/precautions to lessen and avoid risks to the best of your ability. There are of course fewer factors affecting an indoor environment like a studio if you have done your research before coming on-site to prepare for these factors and to already be coming up with solutions if you know you want to shoot on the roof of a building you must make sure that the roof is secure and safe for your state and crew to stand on. The more detailed a risk assessment the safer everyone will be.

Here is an example of a Risk Assessment from one of my previous shoots.

Health and Safety/Risk Assessment 

Location contract:  Mark Robinson acting as site manager

Director and Location Assessor:  Rory Robinson

This assessment was to check the safety of the location and how to limit and protect from hazards during filming on location in the alleyway. 

Hazards Identified in the Assessment 

HAZARDS	CONTROL METHODS
Poor weather leading to slippery pathways and working areas.   It rained during the night before and during the filming day.	Wear strong footwear and suitable clothing  Never run and follow safety instructions given by the site manager  Stay vigilant and aware of the watery/slippery surfaces
Trip hazards  E.g. scrap from the site being used in the alleyway, such as bricks and old Funiture (ironing board)	Never run and follow safety instructions   Stay vigilant of dangerous obstacles
Climbing over the fence stunt, ending with dropping onto a brick floor	Set up suitable fall padding for the stunt performer (myself) and a hidden barrier between the actor and the dangerous hazards (scrap) in case they fell directly into it
Other control methods	Aware of the location of emergency exits and the distance from local emergency services if they are required  Jacob Robinson received first aid training allowing him to be the one to act in case of injury on site
Bystanders and onsite personnel not aware of the shoot as is near a public park	Get the site manager to block off the shooting area and to inform all those on the site of our presence  Shooting will be taken place early in the morning to avoid as many bystanders as possible interrupting or causing injuries on set

 

All risks were minimised/controlled according to Rory Robinson as the Assessor and Mark Robinson as the Site Manager. 

Name of assessor  Rory Robinson	Signature	Date: 17th March
Assessment agreed by site manager Mark Robinson	Signature	Date: 17th March

 

Health and Safety 

Safety Document for Staff and Crew 

My employer is not reliable for any accident that occurs on set and I willingly consent to all aspects of the set during production and will not sue in the case of an accident/injury that occurs while filming this project and I accept that I will not receive compensation if the injury effects turning up on set. 

Safety Equipment 

Safety padding for the climbing over the fence stunt and sensible footwear and clothing to ensure we prevent slips and falls on wet surfaces. 

How to be safe when using Camera

Use only approved attachments to my camera that are in good condition this can be the batteries as you could use a battery that doesn't fit properly into your camera as it could possibly damage its internal mechanisms.

You want your wires in good condition to avoid fires onset in case the exposed inner working of the wire start a spark. Overall I recommend avoiding large bodies of water with you delicate camera equipment and be generally be patient with the shooting process turn the camera off and with its buttons rather than taking the batteries out and watch the camera during the charging process as issues may occur if the cable is connected correctly.

How to be safe when using Lighting Equipment

Be careful to not handle the bulbs of none LED lights with bare hands as you could suffer burns, keep in mind the heat of some key lights (spotlights, stage lights, etc.). Avoid shinning directly into subjects eyes for too long during a shoot as it could become quite painful. Keep members safe from tripping on lighting wires by having wire covers and have warning signs. As some could fall and hurt themselves or knock over light and cause an electrical fire.

Evaluation of my Risk Assessment and Protocol Toward Safety

Overall, in my opinion, I understand the requirements and needs of my cast and crew to remain and feel safe on set. And I feel I have outlined how to conduct a safe work environment, however, I feel I could gain better understanding health and safety by working with larger filming groups as with each new member of the crew is another safety concern to consider.