Day One
- Lesson1 of 6
- Time45 min
Safety first, on every set
Outcome
Explain what happens at a safety briefing, stop or report anything unsafe, and keep out of stunt, special effects and weapons areas.
Mapped to 2 ScreenSkills checklist lines
- ScreenSkills floor runner / set PA skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Make sure health and safety rules are followed"
- ScreenSkills camera trainee skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Follow risk assessments and health and safety practice, and raise concerns with the head of department"
ScreenSkills checklists are guides, not accreditation. This course is not endorsed by ScreenSkills.
Watch
2 films · about 30 minutes
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More like this: 2nd AC, clapper loader and loading film path · Production sound path · Scheduling and the AD department path
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Before anyone works, the briefing
- Every shooting day starts with a safety briefing, usually from the 1st assistant director (1st AD). It names today's hazards: stunts, special effects (SFX), vehicles, water, heights, animals, weather, and anything else in the risk assessment.
- The risk assessment is the production's written plan for those hazards. You don't write it on Day One; you follow it. It is often attached to, or summarised on, the call sheet.
- Listen for three things: where the nearest A&E is, where the unit medic is, and where the fire assembly point is.
Anyone can say stop
- Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 everyone at work must take reasonable care of themselves and other people, and co-operate with the employer on safety. That includes trainees and runners.
- If something looks unsafe, tell the nearest head of department or the AD team at once. If someone could be hurt right now, say 'stop' loudly. Nobody on a well-run set will punish you for it.
- Report near misses: the trip that didn't quite happen, the case that nearly fell. Near-miss reports are how a unit learns. Reporting is part of the job.
Areas you never enter
- Stunts, SFX and weapons are worked only by the people named for them: the stunt coordinator and performers, the SFX supervisor and crew, the armourer. If you hear 'stunt', 'SFX' or 'armourer' on the radio and you are not involved, stay clear and wait for the AD to call it clear.
- A closed set or a marked rehearsal area means exactly that. Go round, or wait.
- Don't touch another department's kit. Lamps and power belong to the electricians (sparks); rigging, dollies and cranes to the grips; vehicles to their drivers. You are not trained or insured to move them.
Look after your body
- Flight cases and camera bodies are heavy. Ask for a team lift or a trolley. Never lift something you can't see over.
- Wear closed, sturdy shoes, and bring layers and waterproofs. You will be outside longer than you think.
Check
3 questions drawn from 8 · pass mark 80% · safety-critical questions must be right · 3 attempts in 24 hours · new questions each time
Watch the films to open the check.
Do
Hazard spot: Stage C after lunch · 15 minutes
Read the scene. Tick every hazard you would report, then write what you would do about the most serious one, and who you would tell.
You come back from lunch onto a studio stage. A dolly track runs across the floor. A lamp on a stand stands by the set wall, its sandbag on the floor beside it. Cable crosses the main walkway, taped down. Another cable lies loose across the stage door. The fire exit sign is lit. A ladder leans against the set wall with no one near it. Coffee cups sit on a flight case. A sign on the far wall says 'SFX rehearsal 15:00, closed set'. A smoke machine is plugged in by the cyclorama. The unit medic's bag is by the stage door.
How it's marked
- Spots the unweighted stand, the loose cable across the door and the unattended ladder
- Does not try to fix another department's kit
- Names the right person to tell (AD team, or the department that owns the kit)
- Treats the closed SFX rehearsal as off limits
Met or Not yet, with a comment from a trained reviewer. Until accounts open, open the model answer after you submit and mark your own work against it.
Model answer (open after you submit)
Hazards to report: the stand without its sandbag (tell the electricians or grips), the loose cable across the stage door (a trip hazard on an exit route: tell the AD team), the ladder left unattended (tell the department using it, or the AD team), drinks on a flight case (spill on kit; move your own, mention the rest), and the smoke machine (it belongs to SFX; do not touch it, keep clear of the closed set). The taped cable, the lit exit sign and the medic's bag are as they should be. Most serious: the loose cable across the stage door, because it blocks an exit route; tell the AD team straight away.
Reflect
Record
This is everything kept about this lesson. In the pilot it's held by Futures in Film CIC in your account; Screen Sisters CIC sees named records only if you agree. Your data
Moving on doesn't complete a lesson. A lesson is complete when the films are watched, the check is passed and the task is marked Met.