Filmmaking / Directing : Set Safety by Maurice Vaughan

Hi Maurice, i remember in college the lighting is dangerous, there very hot

Usually when we have any new people or any guests we have a short safety meeting at the beginning and tell anyone to watch out for stands, cables and lights. We ask everyone that doesn't need to be in the immediate area to stay back and keep quiet. Usually it works really well, people aren't stupid.

There were just two times, once where we had to have a policy keep quiet, because we were shooting in the middle of the night in down town so everyone had to keep really quiet and stay way back, because we didn't want to anyone to call the cops because we wouldn't have been able to finish everything.

The other time was this music video that we had to shoot in a bikers bar, where there were real bikers, so we had to make a plan to shoot the stuff that we needed at the beginning because we thought that the bikers would get drunk soon and so we wouldn't be able to shoot the stuff were we needed people to cooperate with us.

Lights are much easier these days since they're all LED and less cables.

Hi, Billy Kwack. I didn't know lighting was a safety concern. Thanks for sharing so other filmmakers, cast, and crew can know.

Hey, Vital Butinar. Having a safety meeting at the beginning sounds like a great idea! It makes sense to get the shoot done before people get drunk and rowdy. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Maurice, same here, I didn't know lighting was dangerous too. You need gloves

Electricity, rain, wiring on the ground, live mics? What could go wrong? ;)

Mike Clarke a couple of months ago we were shooting a night scene in fake rain. It was interesting to see how resilient these LED lights are. The gaffer literally put two lights in the rain and they both worked fine. Granted they were made to be soaked. :)

That's great, Dan MaxXx. So, you only allow prop weapons on set?

I've heard of cops being on set as advisors, Dan MaxXx, but I haven't heard of them being there for gun safety. It makes sense though. And I've heard of cops getting called because actors were using prop guns, like in neighborhoods. I'm guessing having a permit would solve that problem.

I have script 3000 dollar

Amirali, takes me back to the evenings of walking through the Souq Bab Al Bahrain.

Dan MaxXx I remember a couple of years ago I was doing a music video with solders in it, we had a bunch of military guys in uniforms with assault rifles running up and down the field and a bunch of smoke everywhere. The producers let the fire department and police know we were shooting and they told us they would disregard calls about possible fires and tell people what was going on.

The cops showed up on set anyway but out of curiosity and I invited them to the video village so that they could see what we were shooting. They were amazed how a couple of layered army guys, a tele lens and some smoke made for a battalion of people.

But all the gun shots were added in post production.

I've been seeing/hearing about more productions adding VFX gun shots too, Dan MaxXx. I don't remember who it was, but a filmmaker said he personally checks guns on set before, during, and after scenes to make sure there isn't any ammo in them. I'm not sure if he was talking about prop guns or real guns. I still think it's safer to go with VFX gun shots though.

Oh of course, that's understandable. In our neck of the woods it's still possible to get a police escorted for free when filming. Sometimes if it's an indy production and you're not closing any sets you don't even need a permit. Even if you do need a permit, it's really cheap and you can close roads. But like I said two different worlds.

That's why there are a lot of commercial things shooting in these areas.

Yeah, Chad Stahleski, Mike Childress. www.gamespot.com/articles/john-wick-director-there-is-no-reason-for-holl...

Firearms are obviously a huge topic and in the midst of an evolution. Adding flares and blood in post is the safest route and becoming the norm, but not the absolute. Some filmmakers still like bkanks and squibs and with a profesisonal team rhere should never, or very rarely, be any issues. That said, we added everything in post on GENIUS, whenever there was gun play. But safety comes in so many forms - from lights and generators to wet streets to unloading and loading trucks and moving heavy gear often around practical locations on top of any stunts or tough-to-get shots. We usually take it day by day and round everyone up each morning for a quick safety meeting to walk through the schedule, point out any potential safety concerns or logistics, remind everyone of where the nearest emergency room is just in case, and what we have on set just in case, and answer any questions anyone may have. It usually takes 10 minutes and it gets everyone in sync for the day and lets the crew know that safety is our #1 concern each and every day.

Safety first! The only dumb question is the one not asked.

It's great to hear you and your team take so many safety precautions, Sam Sokolow. Safety should be the #1 concern on every set. Did you hire security guards?