Location Recce and Risk Assessment

I decided to look at a variety of potential locations and conducted risk assessments at each one before I chose my final location(s). Below I have supplied the documents that evaluate the level of risk my crew and I would receive from filming at any of these locations.

The results from my risk assessment of each potential location indicated that filming at Burrator Reservoir would contain the least amount of hazards for my crew and I. The risk assessment at the other locations had a variety of issues such as unstable floors and being highly remote. It is for that reason that I have decided not to use these locations because I do not have the resources to combat these risks and ensure my crews safety. Now I know that I will be filming at Burrator Reservoir I shall look at all the risks that are involved and then come up with control measures. This is to ensure that these risks have the lowest chance of happening and if they do occur I will be ready to treat them accordingly.

Now I have conducted a thorough risk assessment about where I shall be filming in Burrator Reservoir I shall show and describe to you what this location is like and how suitable it is for filming. This means that I will be looking at aspects such as accessibility, sound, lighting and space. In the video below I have provide a selection of photos and videos of my 2 main locations for my film.

Access: 

All the locations are easily accessible via car. This is because every location is within a 1 minute walking distance of a car park. This is good because if a member of crew or cast receives an injury and needs medical attention then it is very easy for us to transport them to the nearest hospital or for an ambulance to arrive on set. Another good quality about these locations is that they are not visited regularly by the public during spring, which is when I will be filming. This is good as it means that I am able to take advantage of the quiet season and make it appear that the character is isolated and in a remote area with no help, which is a vital aspect of my story. Another good aspect about this location is that it is very close to all the crews home. This is good as it cuts down travel time, which means I will have more time to film. In regards to accessibility, this location is perfect and has 0 faults.

Space:

A great aspect about all of the locations that will be used in my film is that they are all outside. This means that there is plenty of room for the cast/contributors, crew and necessary equipment. However, with these outside spaces comes the issue of weather. I will have no way of controlling the weather, which can create continuity issues. The weather can also cause problems with filming, as severe rain or other extreme forms of weather can interfere with the equipment. Another great aspect about these locations that tie into my plot is that they will need zero set dressing requirements in order to help create the scene. This is because the whole premise of the film is that a guy from the city thinks he can survive in the wild. Since my locations are already fairly remote and do not need to be adjusted in order to look more remote from civilization I do not have to purchase any decorations to help create the scene. This means that the money saved from these expenses can be used elsewhere in my production like paying for my props.

The first location (waterfall) has a very limited amount of positions to film from. In the video at 1:14 I am standing where I will most likely shoot the majority of my shots. This is because this is the safest position for my camera operator to shoot at. There are other positions that can be used, but I will need to ensure the camera operators safety because these spaces to shoot have dangerous factors to consider such as slippery surfaces. The second location does not have this issue as it is a small, flat beach with only a few large stones to avoid. This means I can get a large range of shots and camera movements with ease. Both locations have no immovable objects, such as houses and other man made objects, that could make it difficult for me to illustrate that the character is in the middle of nowhere.  

Lighting:

Since all of my locations are outside this makes lighting particularly challenging to control as a filmmaker. The main issue for filming at these locations during the day is that I am filming during spring, which is typically know for cloudy weather. This makes lightening difficult because the clouds constantly move and changing the amount of sunlight that shines through, thus making it very difficult to have good continuity. There is no way of solving this issue apart from choosing to film only on days when the sky is completely in clouds, which means the lightening remains a bit more consistent throughout the day. 

Another issue regarding lightening during the day is that at my first location (the waterfall) I will be covered in trees. Knowing that I shall only be filming on purely cloudy days this can make it fairly dark to film in. The darkness is only worsened by the trees covering the sky. To help prevent this I shall use large reflective panels made of tin foil to refract as much sunlight I can in order to receive good enough lightening to shoot in. Since I'm filming at locations that have no power ports this means that I can only use self sustaining or non-electrical lighting rigs to help create the scene, which, means I will need to craft some new lighting equipment in order to accommodate to this factor. However, this darkness could be useful because I need a few shots that will help transition the film from day to night. This natural lightening would be perfect to create this transition because I will have a lot more time to film the shots that I'll need than trying to film them during the actual transition from day to night, which is very limited for time (roughly 20 minutes of the lightening that I would require). 

In regards to filming at night the main scene that I need to think about is the tent burning scene. I know for a fact that the tent will not remain a blaze for a long enough time for to shoot all my shots. Since I do not have enough money to buy and burn 2 tents I will just create a fireplace that will be the same size of the tent on fire. This means I can do all the shots I will need of just me looking at the burning tent without the tent being in shot.

Sound:

A great aspect about these locations is that they are all outside. This means that a lot of noises that would cause a problem at indoor locations such as air conditioning and computers (they have a low level hum that, if in use, will affect nearby audio recording). The fact that these locations are all remote (not close to civilization) means that I won't have any human interruptions that could affect my sound. For example, traffic is a common issue as it creates a large quantity of noise pollution. Another issue that I am unlikely to encounter is other people on location such as people who live/work on location that could disturb the shoot.

The main issue with filming at these locations is the wind. As you can tell from the location video above the wind can easily be picked up on my microphone despite the fact that I have a windsock attached to it. This can make it difficult to record the shots that require me to talk. However, I already took this problem in consideration when writing my script. So in my film there is not a lot of dialogue and the film will primarily be slapstick comedy, thus making it less difficult to shoot and hopefully still have an equally entertaining film. For the shots that I require the character to speak I shall film them in an area heavily dense with trees, which will limit the amount of noise pollution from the wind.