Risk Assessment
Our filming locations are based in and round London: local skate parks, on the streets and other places associated with the skateboarding sub-cultutre. The use of these locations means that there are many risks, particularly in skate parks as skateboarding is a dangerous and accident prone sport.
A risk assessment makes sure that each person responsible when on location has considered the safety of everyone involved in the filming from the contributor, the crew to the general public.
Location 1 & 4 - Slam City Skates Stores (Bethnal Green and Covent Garden):
Our interior locations are in a skate store, so there could be other risks apart from the one's mentioned above, since they mainly regard our exterior locations. For instance, there is the danger of the store being overly crowded by customers; as you can see the space within the Bethnal Green store isn't particularly big and will be even worse if there are lots of customers in there. Boxes of merchandise may also be on the floor from stock deliveries; a potential high risk if we trip over them while holding thee camera.
There is also the additional seat in the middle of the space towards the back of the store, which could be another risk when having to film, since it's in the way.
Overall, a crowded store would be the biggest issue as it means less space for us to place our camera in order to film; we plan to place the camera and tripod in more spacious areas to avoid accidents o right in front of the desk, which may not be possible if the store is packed full of customers.
Location 2 & 3 - Skate Parks (highest risk):
As stated in the table above, there are many risks that come with filming in exterior locations like a skate park. From actors falling over after attempting a trick, to us dropping the camera when trying to track them. Another risk that has come about since gaining new equipment is the use of the 'Go Pro', which can be attached to your head and chest with a mount, strap and screw. This poses as a high risk as we have to make sure that it is screwed in securely on the mount before we start filming. This will be
especially key if we decide to strap the 'Go Pro' on a skateboarder in order to achieve a POV (point of view) shot.
The main risk of injury in these skate parks will be due to the various ramps, slopes and railings that are present in both Lloyds Park and Southbank. In particular, the ramps in Southbank Skate Park aren't fixed to the group and are thus movable, meaning that the skateboarders have to be extra careful when performing certain tricks on these. The nature of skateboarding is very daring, so skateboarders are probably used to falling over and injuring themselves, no matter how experienced they are. In case of any injuries we will, as stated in the table, have a small first aid kit and our mobiles on hand for calling an ambulance if we witness anyone hurt while capturing our observational footage.
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By Ashley Fontaine
In doing this risk assessment, we were able to know all the possible risks/hazards that may occur in our filming locations. We will have a first aid kit and phone on hand in case of any accidents.