4.1 Health and safety practice
Health and safety is essential to ensure that everyone involved of the production is kept safe, particularly due to the amount of high risk scenarios and hazards that film production often involves. Key safety issues include the use of electricity and the large amount of wires on set – trip hazards – and also issues arise in the use of stunts and dangerous shots. We completed risk assessment forms beforehand, and were all sure to stay on guard for any hazards on set and be careful around equipment and each other.
4.2 Explain why copyright is important in the film industry
Copyright is legal right that protects the use of your work once your idea has been physically expressed. Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Copyright law exists to protect the rights of the owner of a body work and provides guidelines for the users of such work. All forms of an original idea that are physically manifested, such as songs, films, and books are covered by copyright. Using copyrighted material without permission risks copyright infringement, which can lead to serious consequences – fines, or, in the worst case scenario, incarceration. Either use material that is not protected by copyright, or get permissions from the appropriate source to use the work – often fees or deals can be utilised for the use of copyrighted material in film – or look to see if Fair Use is applicable to your work. In terms of our film production, we were unable to use copyrighted music for the soundtrack.
Issy, your work for this section is brief but sufficient for achieving section 4 Understand film industry working practices and legislation. This section is now complete.