Health and Safety Guidelines for Cinematographers
As part of my module Live Project 2, and especially in regard to my work on Poppie’s Café for Monsters as a student cinematographer, I decided that I would have a refresher of the Health and Safety guidelines in regard to film and TV production that are currently in place within the UK.
Since health and safety guidelines can be subject to change and since we are not only working on a working set (most likely Juniper Lounge), but also planning to work for up to 11-hour schedules, I decided to have a refresher on the issue to make sure I was not forgetting anything vital.
And as filmmaking is a profession in which a lot of chaos, time pressure, stress, and especially sleep deprivation can be involved, it is important to have sensible health and safety guidelines implemented and followed upon on set.
As many people are usually involved, who need to be organised under a lot of stress, a lot can end up in a flurry, and accidents are more prone to happen. Although the purpose of this entire blog entry is not meant to scare people, creating a sense of urgency and importance is nonetheless required, as death cases such as Sarah Jones in Midnight Rider (2014) or Vic Morron in Twilight Zone (1982) occurred, which were naturally ghastly to say the least.
The Why
Although I am working as the cinematographer on this project, it can’t hurt to have another look. Since I will be working with the camera and lighting equipment in a café/bar and also around the counter area itself, ensuring that all equipment is rigged safely and not e.g. getting wet and short-circuited by any beverage whatsoever or being knocked down due to the smallness of the space behind the counter, is already a given. The same goes for running cables and information upon it as well as for turning on lights within proximity of crewmembers.
The same also goes for the basement location on which I blogged in my blog entry Poppy’s Location Reccy Odyssey. Here, the issue will most likely be the low ceiling and thus space and the lack of power supply in the immediate area, resulting in a lot of cabling that could pose as a possible tripping hazard if not laid out (and informed upon) correctly. Because the basement was dusty when I reccied it, I would furthermore have to ensure that all equipment rigged will be rigged safely and no sand or dust will enter the electronics of the camera itself.
Planning for the Worst Case
However, pre-planning with some degree of common sense can definitely help prevent these tragedies from happening. Since prevention is always better than treatment, planning realistically and responsibly is vital. Precisely for that reason, Health and Safety procedures and guidelines have been put into place to ensure that everyone is working as safely as possible.
What is Health and Safety?
According to the Cambridge dictionary, Health and Safety is defined as:
“the laws, rules, and principles that are intended to keep people safe from injury or disease at work and in public places.”
The English Oxford Living Dictionaries definition furthermore provides the phrase:
“Regulations and procedures intended to prevent accident or injury in workplaces or public environments.”
So essentially, Health and Safety describes any action that can be taken in order to prevent accidents from happening. This can go from assessing the risk level of a certain situation, to preparing and installing countermeasures, to informing and instructing people of a certain hazard as well as the required measures against it.
Seems pretty straightforward, eh?
But What Does this Entail Practically?
Usually, in order to ensure that Health and Safety is well taken care of, a production would require a Health and Safety Policy, as well as a Risk Assessment in place. According to the Health and Safety Executive, this requires the following four steps (in order):
Defining responsibilities and duties
Having a system for managing Health and Safety
Assessing an managing hazards and risks
Reviewing the process and procedures for managing risks
Practically, this would entail that the people responsible as well their exact duties have been identified and informed (1), that a coherent management system has been put in place, which can entail hiring or consulting a trained specialist (2), that hazards have been assessed in their possibility of becoming a risk and countermeasures been established both in real life as well as in writing (3), and that this entire process – including the application of countermeasures – is monitored and adjusted if required (4).
Number 3) on the list above is now where the abovementioned risk assessment comes in. According to Moving Image Education, this process itself requires three steps, which are:
Typical Hazards
Some typical hazards to look out for in our context of film production would fall under the following categories:
weather conditions
tripping hazards
electricity
fire hazards
hazards related to water
traffic
stunts
hazards surrounding the use of weapons
non-standard camera handling
hazards involving the public
and, naturally, many, many more
Usually, the detection of hazards, as well as putting the relevant countermeasures in place, is subject to common sense. However, in regard to the countermeasures taken, it is deemed that these should be of ‘reasonable practicality’.
But What Does Reasonably Practicable Mean?
According to FilmSourcing, this means that you are usually required to do the following:
“Determine the kinds of risks caused by your work
Consider their likeliness
Take appropriate – aka: proportionate – action
Implement industry standard practices that are effective
And involve your staff”
Thus, good planning, excellent communication and cooperation amongst the crew, but also towards the cast are needed in order to ensure that everyone is one the same page. This in turn requires clear and unambiguous communication patterns. Since this is an important subject, Health and Safety should naturally never be subject to budget issues or cuts.
Despite Health and Safety being one of the key responsibilities of the 1stAD both in pre-production but especially on set, no other member of cast and crew should ever completely neglect Health and Safety issues, as everyone on set is required to speak up in case they notice something going awry.
Even if it requires spoiling a take.
Whilst, in our case, it will primarily be the job of our student producer Chloe to ensure that the required Health and Safety procedures are met, there is nothing that suggests that I cannot pitch in and speak up on possible issues that I might pick up specifically due to my role as student cinematographer.
My Research: NFTS, BBC, and BECTU
Having stated this, I conducted a bit more research on the issue and found information in the Health and Safety Policy of the National Film and Television School from 2014, especially in the sections ‘Production Risk Assessment Guidance’ and ‘Production Safety Handbook’.
Interestingly enough, whilst there were individual sections for:
Student Directors
Student Producers
Production Managers and
First Assistant Directors or Floor Managers,
there was no section for e.g. cinematographers, which I found remarkable. Since cinematographers are Head of Department (HoDs) of not only the camera department but also the lighting department, I figured that Health and Safety responsibilities as well as risk assessments would also apply to cinematographers, especially in regard to the technical equipment. That this did not seem to be the case with the NFTS surprised me.
Thus, I decided to have a deeper look into matters to see whether this is a general standard or whether there might actually be information about Health and Safety available – especially in regard to the camera and lighting departments.
Sadly, my first place to go, BBC, did not help as much as I’d thought, when their website search engine repeatedly did not know how to progress my requests:
Thus, I ventured further and decided to have a look at the online resources of BECTU. Whilst their regular, paying members are allowed to have access to their newest Health and Safety resources, non-paying student members have sadly been exempt from this, as I was not allowed to access the latest resource.
However, not giving up, I actually found some information about the Health and Safety regulations in regard to the camera and lighting departments in – what they call – craft cards.
Health and Safety Guidelines for Camera and Lighting Units
The relevant craft card for my purpose at hand looked at seven key areas in which hazards could occur and offered advise at how to avoid them turning into a risk:
Cameras
Cranes and Grips
Working at Heights
Electricity
Lighting
Noise
Working Time and Stress
Camera
Regarding camera equipment, I would be tasked to ensure that only trained and ‘competent’ personnel is operating it. In case of using pedestals, I would thus e.g. be tasked to lock the pedestal before every lens swap or before taking off the camera. I would furthermore be required to only use stable tripods that are intended for the use of film camera both in size as well as in weight
Cranes and Grips
Before operating jibs or heavier equipment – such as track and dolly – I would furthermore be required to inspect the setup and its parts before and after every use and assembly to ensure it is in proper working condition. I would furthermore have to ensure that anyone using cranes and bigger equipment was trained and qualified to do so. Which will be getting more interesting later on, when I will really be ending up using cranes for my shots.
Working At Heights
Any situation that could entail me or my crewmembers falling more than two metres or 6 foot would entail our producer to get hold of ‘appropriate work equipment’ such as platforms that come with guard rails and can also hold camera equipment, warning signs for the public, etc. Luckily, this won’t be the case for our project.
Electricity
Here, it will be of utmost importance to only let qualified and certified personnel work on electrical circuits. Cables must be well insulated as well as grounded, and must not pose any tripping hazards or remain coiled up or near a heat source.
Lighting
Much like with Camera, and Grips, lighting equipment and its individual parts need to be inspected before and after every use and assembly for its working condition. It is only allowed to go onto appropriate rigs, scaffolds, and/or stands, and the lights, as well as their additional equipment such as barn doors, need to be secured by a safety chain. Since lamp bulbs are likely to shatter due to the heavy usage of equipment, it is furthermore paramount to ensure that these lamps are behind a mesh to limit the risk of people being hit by hot glass shards
In regard to lighting, and what I did not consider hitherto, was the fact that strobe light might trigger epileptic seizures with photosensitive people and that there has been identified a ‘dangerous’ frequency at about 17 flashes per second!
Noises
Any noise level that is at or above 85db on an average of eight hours requires the producer to provide protective equipment, when being requested. With average noise levels of about 90db or more during the same period OR with especially loud noises in the region of 140db, the producer is required to provide ear protection and everyone is required to wear it.
Working Time and Stress
As a filmmaker in the UK, you are by law entitled to “rest breaks, daily breaks with a minimum of 11 hours in between each shift, and weekly breaks” of either 35h per week or 59h for a fortnight.
My Learning and Application
Within this craft card, albeit it being very short, were useful reminders of what I might have to look out for in relation to my task at Poppie’s, especially in regard to the fact that I will have responsibility for Adam working as a 2ndAC under me.
Looking back at the conducted research and the intended refresher of what Health and Safety entails, I did not learn anything drastically new that I did not know previously as well. Whilst I was surprised that there was a rather reduced amount of Health and Safety guidelines in respect to a cinematographer’s field of work out there – I really expected it to be much more, regarding their technical responsibility on set.
However, from a legal perspective, I do also understand that having too many appointed Health and Safety representatives in place might rather be counterproductive as this might – in case of an accident – beg the question of who would have the final responsibility. Appointing too many responsible people could rather create chaos, misunderstandings, and assumptions, leading to neglect in regard of the implementation of countermeasures due to errors in communication.
In response to my research today, I have decided to do the following on set:
I will not only inform cast and crew about my lighting setup, but
also remind them to be mindful of camera setups and
remind them to be mindful of grip equipment.
I will upload my lighting plans to the VLE ahead of time to ensure access
I will keep cast and crew informed about any tripping hazards due to cables and
I will ensure to store equipment out of the way for cast and crew
I will ensure that I plug in equipment of no more than 2KW in total in each respective circuit.
I will ensure to keep equipment away from liquids and possible spillage.
I will furthermore ensure to charge the V-Locks in a dry area and
I will ensure to instruct my camera assistant Adam to do all of the above as well
Furthermore, since I do own a First Aid Certificate as of last month, I will be able to assist in a casualty in case this should be required. Because of this, we will furthermore have a first aid kit on set.
For now, I believe, I am ready.
References:
BECTU (2019) Health and Safety [online] https://www.bectu.org.uk/get-involved/health-and-safety [Accessed on 25 February]
BECTU (2018) Health and Safety Craft Cards: Camera units [PDF] https://www.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/library/91 [Accessed on 25 February]
BECTU (2018) Health and Safety Craft Cards: Working on location [PDF] https://www.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/library/96 [Accessed on 25 February]
BECTU (2008) Health and Safety Handbook [PDF] https://www.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/library/77 [Accessed on 25 February]
British Film Commission (n.d.) Regulations [online] http://britishfilmcommission.org.uk/guidance/regulations/ [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
Cambridge Dictionary (2019) Health and Safety [online] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/health-and-safety [Accessed on February 2019]
English Oxford Living Dictionaries (2019) Health and Safety [online] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/health_and_safety [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
Farber, S. (1988) Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego, and the Twilight Zone Case Arbor House Publishing: Gettysburg
Filmsourcing (n.d.) Filmmaking Health & Safety – Keeping Your Cast and Crew Safe [online] Images taken from: https://www.filmsourcing.com/filmmaking-health-safety-keeping-your-cast-and-
crew-safe/ [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
Health and Safety Executive (n.d.) Film, TV and Broadcasting [online] http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/film.htm [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
Johnson, T. (2014) U.S. Department of Labor Cites ‘Midnight Rider’ Production for ‘Willful and Serious’ Safety Violations [online] https://variety.com/2014/film/news/midnight-rider-death-osha-violation-1201283204/ [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
Moving Image Education (n.d.) Health and Safety [online] https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/production/the-production-department/health-and-safety [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
National Film and Television School (2014) Health and Safety [PDF] https://nfts.co.uk/sites/default/files/u102/Documents/Governance/Health_Safety_Jan_2014.pdf [Accessed on 25 February 2019]
Small, R. (2000) Production Safety for Film, Television and Video Routledge: London and New York