Risk Assessment

A Producer is uniquely responsible for a production legally and runs the risk of being sued or arrested if anything on the production goes wrong. A valuable and essential tool to minimise risks to cast, crew, animals and equipment is a Risk Assessment in which a Producer assesses the potential risks the production may create and determine how they will minimise the hazards. 

Below are excerpts of he Risk Assessment I created for a short film I have Produced recently, Wife and Husband (working title, dir. Chrissie Wood). The template is provided by Sheffield Hallam University.

Copyright 2014 Louise Essam/ Sheffield Hallam University

Copyright 2014 Louise Essam/ Sheffield Hallam University

Copyright 2014 Louise Essam/ Sheffield Hallam University

The biggest, most obscure risk we faced in this film was the use of a dog and we were particularly challenged in that our pre-production period was so short we were not able to go through the circa 28 day registration period for performing animals. On the advice of tutors I sought input from the RSPCA on proper care of a performing animal. We used one of the actor's own dogs so that there would be a familiar person on set and scheduled the day so that the dog could be fetched from home and returned immediately before and after the scene.



Bibliography

ESSAM, L. (2014) Pre-Production Materials ACES faculty, Sheffield Hallam University, unpublished 

Wife and Husband (2014) [Film] Directed by Chrissie Wood, UK, Sheffield Hallam University