Working Practices and Legislation

4.1     Demonstrate good health and safety practice when working on film      productions

Health and safety is crucial on a film set as there are usually a large amount of people working in a contained area which increases the likelihood of accidents. By everyone following the correct safety measures, filming can take place more smoothly and without disruption from injury.

One large risk on film sets is the amount of electrical equipment. Wires leading from lights can be a tripping hazard, highly rigged lights need to be secured properly to prevent falling and is there a chance the electrics could overheat and lead to fire. However, if these are all appropriately accounted for, these risks can be low risk.

Another risk on film sets are the health of the cast and crew. The long hours and unusual locations of films can be draining for actors if they are having to do a large amount of physical activities or camera operators having to use steadicams or other heavy equipment. This can be prevented by regular breaks and always drinking water.

On our film set, our producer created a coherent risk assessment which she informed us all on before we started production. This meant we were aware of the risks and how to deal with them if necessary. This was useful when a fire alarm went off during our filming one day and we all knew how to evacuate the building safely. Furthermore, as part of the camera team, I always ensured that wires were taped down or secured away to prevent tripping. Therefore, as a crew, I think we practiced good health and safety practice.

Below is our risk assessment for filming, this was important because it enabled everyone to be safe while also preventing a legal case if anything did go wrong for the BFI.

4.2     Explain why copyright is important in the film industry

Copyright law exists to protect original works created by artists so that they are fairly credited and gain any appropriate profit. This typically applies to music, sound effects, logos, artworks or film scenarios (but not actual films). This is important in the film industry as everyone deserves credit for their work and by understanding these laws, one can prevent future legal actions for accidentally breaking them. If you do use copyrighted material, it can result in fines, removal of your work or even prison sentences in extreme cases. Therefore, it’s essential to always seek permission, buy licenses or to use original works. For example, rather than using known music, we could write our own or use royalty free.

In our film production, it effected us most in our finding of sound effects and music. It’s time consuming to go through lists of royalty free music that isn’t necessarily fitting to our piece. However, we were lucky to have a professional music artist allow us to use their work for free and we found a large database of royality free sound effects to use. Furthermore, during our production, we use various stickers to cover logos to prevent issues there.