Risk Assesment

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect your business too if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you have to go to court. You are legally required to assess the risks in your workplace so that you put in place a plan to control the risks.

The risk assessments of the party scene were few but were easy to avoid. The first risk was when we set up the crane shot this was a risk due to the fact it had previously been raining so the balcony was very slippery and handling a heavy piece of equipment like a crane was quite dangerous however it was easily manageable as two people set up slow and carefully and avoided all risks.  Other than this there wasn’t too much risk only others were the use of party poppers in which people could have hit other people in the eye yet this was very unlikely and did not happen.

In the torture scene the risks were that when Clare was tied up that we made sure that the rags were not on too tight which would cut the blood circulation. Also in the makeup there was a use of wax which gave a blood effect and Clare had to avoid this touching her hair as it would stick to it.  This was taking care due to extreme precaution and this was easily avoided.

The risk in the field and wood scene were also minimal excluding the possibility of it raining and all the equipment getting wet which would have been very costly however it was easily avoided as we planned it when it was not raining using the weather forecast.

The Classroom scene only had only one risk which involved which was the scene in which Sophie who played Zara when she threw the table and chair in one of the shots. This was avoided as the cast and crew kept a reasonable distance.

In conclusion all the risk in these four scene were miniscule however if not taking seriously could have had some consequences, however we did take the right step and method to avoid all possible problems and throughout the production no one was injured and no equipment was damaged.

 Explosion shoot

Risk Assessments

There are always risks on set, whether it’s cables from lighting or tripping hazards, some scenes have more risk than others, so extra precautions have to be in place to make sure it’s a safe environment for both the actors and crew to be in.

Explosion

As we filmed a real explosion we had to think carefully about the safety for all the people involved. As the explosion was going to be made by an licensed and experienced militia company who have all the relevant legal and safety checks we are sure that everything would go to plan as expected. Ted Lewis and his Lancashire Militia team have been performing re-enactments all over the UK for many years and Ted also makes explosions for professional production companies which have included him blowing up helicopters, blowing up houses and doing run-away explosions. Ted and I planned out the explosion beforehand, talking about what would be possible in the safest environment. For instance, when Grace falls onto the floor, there would be cushions/padding for her to fall onto so she wouldn’t hurt herself. She would also start running from a ‘safe point’ where she will not get hit by the flames and blast of the explosion.

Having worked with Ted previously, I have seen and signed the necessary health and safety documents to work with him and he helped us do this explosion as a favor to me as I have filmed his re-enactments before during his ‘UK Pirate Re-enactment Tour’.