Professional film crews take health and safety issues very seriously. 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.
When filming, people have many things on their minds, things can get rushed, and risks can increase. Even simple things can become dangerous because this is not an ordinary situation. Of course, all of life presents hazards, but if someone is asked to run down a hill repeatedly to get the scene right, for example, the risk of them tripping and falling on their face is increased with each time they do this. If the hill is pavement rather than grass the risk of serious injury is increased.
The way to stay safe is to look at each shooting set up or location individually and think of what exactly could go wrong. This is called a risk assessment. It consists of identifying all the hazards, evaluating the risks and identifying measures to control the risks.
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.Here is a risk assessment template
'Extremes of weather are one commonly overlooked hazard. If you are filming outside all day, it is essential to make sure the crew are dressed appropriately. A lot of the time you may be standing around and people will get cold very quickly even in what seems quite mild weather. Layers of clothes are best, and get everyone to bring a waterproof and a woolly hat - they keep out wind as well as rain and are invaluable.
Rushing to finish in time is when hazards get missed, or people start taking risks. If this starts to happen, it's important to take a moment to calm everyone down and remind them: this is only a film. If you feel really pressured try to think of how to lighten the work-load: can you cut out some shots or set ups to give you the time to get the most essential stuff for the film without a panic? Or can you come back tomorrow to finish?
Other common hazards are tripping, lifting, camera risks (a camera operator who needs to walk backwards for a shot should have an assistant to guide them and/or check their route), water, precarious
Remember filmmaking is about illusion. You can act, shoot and edit in a way that suggests all sorts of scary things without having to put people at risk.
Someone at height can be faked by lying on the ground with the camera looking up at someone with only sky behind them, acting as if they are on the edge of a great height.
Young people often want to depict violence, with or without weapons. This can get out of hand and lead to real injury. The safest way to deal with violent scenes is to suggest the violence, or show the aftermath but leave the detail to the viewer's imagination.
Example: a scene about bullying. The victim stands alone, the bullies advance. We see a shot of the victim's face, scared. We see the victim's point of view as the bullies crowd round. We see a shot from a distance as the victim is finally surrounded, the camera tilts up to the sky, a lovely sunny day, birds sing, we hear the SOUND of the bullies thumping our victim. Cut or Fade to the aftermath, victim sitting crying in a heap on ground, or in hospital bed, headmaster's office - wherever you wish to take your story next...
The point is: your viewer will probably imagine something far worse than you could ever safely show. For example one of the most famous scenes is the shower scene in Hitchcock's Psycho: very little is shown, but audiences were horrified and that was in black and white.
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