OH&S of Oxford After

When visiting Oxford we filmed in locations that were not originally planned, therefore before entering the establishments we needed to consider the health and safety risks.

Unplanned Locations
The Truck Music Store 
This was a small record store and café. so before we all entered the shop with all the equipment two of us entered to ask for permission. when we were granted permission to film in the shop we entered carefully with the equipment and placed it to one side. this kept the equipment out of the way from us, the staff, other customers and saved use trying to maneuver it through the small spaces provided.

Mr Simms Sweet Shop
Mr Simms Sweet Shop was located across the road to where we where. As we had predicted the high traffic flow of Cowley Road, we were careful when crossing; distributing the equipment evenly, making sure no straps were hanging down that we could trip over; and crossing where the road was clear.
Like with the Music Store, we asked permission before lugging all the equipment into the small sweet shop. When we were given permission, we moved all the equipment in and put it to the side, out of the way. In this shop we had to be more careful when moving ourselves and the equipment as there was a lot of items close to the edge of shelves, including glass jars.
We also filmed outside of the shop, both in front of the shop and across the road from it. we tried to situate ourselves out of the way of passing people as best as we could. but the paths were narrow, so we did get in the way. so to avoid this the best we could we sped the process of filming up, so that we were obstructing the pavement for only a short period of time.

Back Alley
This back alley was well lit, so filming down there did not seem dangerous - and turned out not to be. When filming down here we noticed that there was construction work, but it was not being worked on; so the dangers were lessen and we felt that we could film in front of the fencing safely. with this said we were still weary of the construction, staying a safe distance away and not leaning against the surrounding fence.
to begin with there were no other people down the alley way, so we were free to film freely and place or equipment were needed. as the minutes passed people started to use the alley, so we had to become more cautions where we placed ourselves and the equipment.

Unexpected OH&S of Planned Locations 
The Turf Tavern 
When we arrived at the Turf Tavern it was a small hidden pub so we had to straight away be weary of the equipment causing and damage to the surroundings and of ourselves getting in the way. We didn't not come across and aggressive people there and we occurred no accidents, from slipping, like thought. however there was an open fire outside the tavern, initially we stayed away but I though that we would be able to get some nice footage from this. so before I started filming the fire, I established a safe distance, where the camera and my hands would hot get too hot and made sure that the camera strap was securely around my neck, as I planned to film above the fire.
By considering theses things I was able to prevent any damage to the camera and and burns to myself.

Jericho

We never made it to Jericho so there was not rick of the canal. however we did film from a bridge of another canal, so the rick of equipment lose was still present. to avoid this before filming over the bridge, once again, we made sure the straps were securely around our necks. 

Overall

We did not attain any injuries or damage to the equipment. this is due to the ahead planning, not only before visiting Oxford  but also before enter shops and new locations where in Oxford  by researching the areas we were planning to visit we were able to predict OH&S issues that may not have been an issue when filming in Nuneaton  the high density of bikes for instance. also by considering each location separately  as a pose to Oxford as a whole, we were able to expand our awareness and be more prepared for any health and safety problems that may have occurred. 

OH&S of Oxford Before

Each location that we are planning to visit in Oxford will present different health and safety issue. To be prepared for these I have made a separate OH&S list for each location.


General OH&S
Manual Handling - we will be caring heavy equipment for an extended period of time. to prevent any back, neck of limb strain we need to make sure that we regularly rest and rotate the equipment among the group, so that not only one person is left carrying the heavy tripod (for example) for the duration of the scout.


The Turf Tavern 
Slipping - Even thought this could happen in any scenario I feel that because the turf tavern in a pub there will be a higher risk of spilt drinks. So when we are at this location we will need to be more aware of this.

Violence - Also due to the fact that it is a pub, their may be people there that have high alcohol levels. so we will need to be weary of these people, making sure that any violent situations that arise are reported to the manager straight away. also we will have to be careful of the equipment around them, in case they cause any damage to them from being too close.

Cowley Road
Main Shopping Area and Road -  Cowley Road has a high level of road traffic and pedestrian traffic, with limited space. When we are out filming on this road we should
                 - be aware of other people, and stay as much out of there way as possible. this will avoid conflicts, damage to the equipment and injure to ourselves and others.
                 - be aware of cars. we may need to cross roads when venturing down Cowley Road. If this is require we should take care when crossing the road, no only because of the dense traffic flow but also as we are carrying a lot of heavy equipment that may hinder the process of crossing the road.
                  - be aware of bikes. Oxford has a high density of bike users, so when crossing the road we need to watch for bikes as well as cars.

Jericho
Community Area - Jericho is a very community orientated area, so when we visit this location we need to make sure not to unset the locals. be as polite, quiet and quick as we can, with disturbing the area.

Canal - Also the Oxford Canal runs through Jericho. This will produce some nice footage and if we do plan to film near the canal we need to be sure not to get to close, so we don't fall in; make the ground is stable before setting up any equipment, so we don't loose our footing; and make sure all the equipment we are using it secured to our persons.

Low Key Lighting

Why Practise Low Key Lighting?

We decided to practise some low key lighting as we had not really had much experience or previous practise with studio lighting; also we were able to observe and correct OH&S issues in our own studio. 

Brief: To practise low key lighting and demonstrate that we are able to identify and handle OH&S issues on set. 

·      Equipment Used

·      Canon 500D

·      Tripod

·      Small barn doored studio light 

·      Back Drop 

·      Extension cord

·      Experience

            When filming low key lighting I found it very fun. I was comfortable in my environment, as everybody there were aware and knew what we were doing (because they were all participating as well). I also enjoy the footage that we ended up with and how we were able to experiment with the miss en scene more freely than we were able to do when on location. even though this does not completely fit in with new wave techniques, -such as natural lighting, real location and people used and innovative camera movements, to name a few- we did you innovate equipment and cheaply constructed equipment that we didn't have but needed, like a darker back drop made from large pieces of card being taped together; also by compiling all of this footage we were able to practice editing technique, like the Kuleshov effect.

         Footage analysis

  

Lighting

When we were filming the footage of Sammie and Will at the table the small studio light was to bright and lit the scene to much, not only defeating the object of lows key lighting but also the white back drop could be seen and this also took away from the effect. To deal with this problem we used a phone light to reduce the amount of light present and we placed it on the table behind the bowl in the subjects face, this help to light the subject only and not the surroundings like was happening before. 

This clip shows how the small studio light over lit the     This clip shows how we adjusted the barn doors on
scene. Even though a shadow was present on the          the studio light so that the amount of light and the
subjects face the rest of the set and background was     focus of the light was a suitable amount and point in
to bright. Also a shadow is seen behind the subject,      the correct place, in this case on the left side of the  so the positioning of the light is known. I feel the                     dolls face. even though closing the barn doors the
shadow ruins the effect of low key lighting as does        and the light source was reduced that was still a lot of
the back drop being seen.                                           light present, and once again the positioning of the
With this said the creases in the back drop are not        light source is known from the shadow on the back
visible as the aperture is high to only the subject in        drop. the aperture here is the same as before so the
the fore ground is in focus.                                           creased on the back drop are no noticeable; even                          .                                                                           more so because the ISO is the same as before, (a .   .                                                                                   .          low ISO) the back drop is darker so the crease are  . .                                                                                   .            seen even less.
  

Back Drop

 To begin with we had a plastic back drop that was meant to be used for filming and photography like we were practising  however this back drop was to heavy for the stand and kept falling off the roll and causing the stand to become unstable. we fixed this by use a lighter white sheet that we found in the studio. this stayed up fine and did a good job as a back drop, but the sheet was creased and made some shots look unprofessional. when we wanted a white back drop we increased the aperture so that the background was not in focus and the creases were not seen in the shots. 

      Even though the white sheet worked as a back drop, in some shots it caused the scene to be too bright and the low key lighting effect was not accomplished. we tested different ISO settings to see if altering the amount go light entering the camera would make any difference, but this didn't work. So to concur this problem we taped together some black card that we found also in the studio and held them behind the subject when we were filming. this helped to darken the surrounding and helped improve and emphasis the low key lighting effect that we were trying to accomplish. 

 In this clip you can see how the black back drop causes the table cloth and bowl colouring to pop more and stand out. 

  OH&S on set 

       There where a few health and safety problems that arose but we were able to quickly and safety adjust and remove these problems to make the environment safe for the crew.

       The first OH&S was the back drop falling. this was dangerous not only as it was heavy and could fall on to the subject we were filming sat in front of the back drop but also because it caused the stands that were hold the back drop up to be very unstable and liable to fall also. we mended this problem by removing the heavy back drop from the studio and replacing it with a lighter back drop, that didn't fall of the stands or cause hem to become unbalanced in anyway. 

       The second problem was the cable from the extension cord not being secured down. We taped the cable down to the floor and around the chair leg that the cord was on. By doing this any excess cable, that could be tripped over, was removed from the equation in turn removing any dangers from the set, reducing any  harm that to a crew member may come across.

      Finally heat from the studio light was a problem. Most studio lights get very hot when left on for any period time, as we only used a small studio light the amount of heat produce was less than that of a larger studio light, but still needed to be taken into the OH&S account. We made sure that all crew members were aware of the heat from the light and when the light was not in use any more it was switch off and left to cool before packing it away;  this not only decreases the risk of injury and burns to the crew but also prevents and chance of a fire if the light were to be packed away into its bag before completely cooled. 

Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)

              Occupational Health and Safety  (OH&S) is are strict guidelines concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goals of occupational safety and health programmes include to foster a safe and healthy work environment. these regulations are present in any industry. the guidelines vary from industry to industry based on the different types of hazard in that particular working environment. 
              Due to the variety of locations where filming may take place the OH and S guidelines different vastly, with each location having different health and safety requirements; each each location has its own OH&S check-list. 

OH&S problems when on a studio set: 

- Cables and wires may be incorrectly placed and not secured down to avoid tripping. this could cause damage to equipment and potential harm to crew member. If this problem arises the cables should be taped to the floor or covered to prevent tripping. 

           

           




 - Liquids around the set (i.e. drinks) - damage to equipment if spilt, also risk of slipping if spilt on floor. if this problem occurs the split should be clearly labelled with a wet floor sign, mopped up, and the sign should stay in the same place until the floor is completely dried. 

             







- Equipment not being set up properly - again, causing damage to equipment and risk of harm crew member. any damage to equipment can be avoiding by weighing it down; to stabilise them and prevent them tipping or being knocked over a sandbag should be used on the equipments foot. 

            

            

- Heat from studio lights - crew member could get burnt if over heated lights are not handle properly as well as risk of fires if in a studio. the lights should be left to cool by crew before transporting them to another location to avoid any burns. to avoid fires the lights should be monitored and checked frequently, but as there is still a risk a fire extinguisher should be present on set and every crew member instructed how to operate it. the crew should also have a fire drill in place, in case the fire becomes out of hand. 

OH&S problems when on location: 

- Harmful and unsanitary objects like broken glass, needles etc. . To avoid any accidents the location should be swept and any harmful objects removed safety.  

           

       
     




- Violence, gangs and criminals in area may pose a threat. So to prevent any harm to the crew or damage to the equipment the area should be either secure or security present on location. to prevent anything violent happening more, planning of shots should be done before so that the filming process is quick and the crew can leave the area as soon as possible. 

   

           


 - Theft and/or damage to equipement. The same precautions that should be taken when violence, gangs or criminals are an issue, should be taken to stop and damage to or theft of equipment. 

  

               


 - Uneven and unstable ground. If your location in on a hill side for example, all areas should be checked and double checked, to make sure that the area is safe to work on and a perimeter should be establish so that the crew know where o and where not to walk. 

All of these must be considered and assessed before any shooting begins, it allows an assessment of the risks and solutions to be carried out to prevent any problems being occurring.