R093 · TA3 Pre-production planning · Lesson 10 of 16
Health and safety in media production: R093 revision
Revision notes for OCR Creative iMedia R093, spec point 3.4.4: what you need to know, the key terms, the mistakes that cost marks, and 5 free exam-style questions with their mark schemes.
What is the difference between a recce and a risk assessment?
A recce is a visit to a location before the shoot to see what it is like: access, power, light, noise, permissions and hazards. A risk assessment is the document that lists each hazard, who could be harmed, how likely and how serious the harm would be, and the control measures that reduce the risk. The recce usually feeds the risk assessment.
Hazards and risks
A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm, such as a trailing cable. The risk is the chance of that harm actually happening combined with how serious it would be. A cable across a busy doorway is a high risk; the same cable taped along a wall is a low one. Producers cannot remove every hazard, but they must reduce every risk to an acceptable level.
Hazards in every phase of production
- Pre-production: visiting unfamiliar locations for recces, travelling with heavy kit, long hours planning at a screen.
- Production: trailing cables, hot lights, heavy equipment to lift, electrical equipment near water, working at height, crowds and traffic, bad weather, stunts, animals, and drones flying near people.
- Post-production: long hours editing at a screen, which can cause eye strain, headaches and back or wrist problems, plus the usual electrical and fire hazards of any office.
Mitigating risks
Control measures work best in order: remove the hazard if you can, reduce it, keep people away from it, then make the work safer with procedures and training. Protective equipment such as hi-vis, gloves or harnesses comes last, because it only protects the person wearing it.
- Tape cables down or run them under cable covers and along walls.
- Let lights cool before moving them, and keep them away from flammable material.
- Use trolleys and two-person lifts for heavy kit, after manual handling training.
- Use battery-powered kit near water, and an RCD on any mains equipment.
- Put up barriers and wear hi-vis when filming near roads, and get permission to film in public spaces.
- Plan a weather contingency: a backup date or an indoor location.
- Have a first aider and a briefed crew on set; for editors, take screen breaks and set up the chair and screen properly.
Risk assessments
A risk assessment is completed before production starts and records, for each hazard: who could be harmed (cast, crew or the public), how likely and how severe the harm is, often combined into a risk rating, the control measures that will be used, and who is responsible for them. Its purpose is to show that the producer has thought through what could go wrong and has acted to prevent it, protecting people and meeting the producer's legal duty of care.
A risk assessment is not a one-off. If conditions change on the day, such as heavy rain or a new piece of equipment, the crew reviews it and adds new control measures. The specification asks what risk assessments are and why they are used; it does not ask you to write one.
Location recces
A recce (short for reconnaissance) is a visit to a filming location in advance. The team checks access and parking for vehicles and equipment, power supply or whether a generator is needed, the natural light at the time of day of the shoot, background noise, toilets and facilities, phone signal, who owns the site and what permission is needed, and any hazards such as uneven ground, water or traffic. Photographs and notes from the recce feed into the risk assessment, the work plan and the storyboard, so the shoot day has no surprises.
Using health and safety in a scenario answer
Section B questions are set somewhere specific: a bakery kitchen at dawn, a theme park during opening hours, a beach in summer. Generic hazards earn little; hazards that belong to that place earn the marks. For filming inside a working bakery, the hazards are hot ovens and trays, wet or floury floors, moving machinery and staff carrying heavy loads past the camera. Matching control measures would be to agree camera positions away from the ovens with the head baker, tape cables down away from walkways, film the mixer only when it is switched off or from behind a guard, and brief the crew on where staff will be moving.
Pair each hazard with one precise control measure, and say who it protects: the crew, the staff or the public.
How it comes up in the exam
Health and safety was worth between 0 and 6 marks on each of the four papers we analysed. Questions ask for hazards when filming in a particular place, a control measure for a named hazard, or the purpose of a risk assessment or a recce. Give hazards that fit the scenario's location and control measures that are specific.
For how the long answers and pre-production documents are marked, see how R093 is marked.
Key terms
- Hazard
- Anything with the potential to cause harm.
- Risk
- The likelihood of harm happening combined with how severe it would be.
- Control measure
- An action that removes a hazard or reduces its risk.
- Risk assessment
- A document listing hazards, who could be harmed, the level of risk and the control measures.
- Recce
- A visit to a location before the shoot to check its suitability and hazards.
- PPE
- Personal protective equipment, such as hi-vis, gloves or harnesses: the last line of protection.
- Manual handling
- Lifting and carrying, which needs the right technique and equipment to avoid injury.
- RCD
- A residual current device, which cuts the power quickly to reduce the risk of electric shock.
Common mistakes
- Using 'hazard' and 'risk' as if they mean the same thing.
- Giving a vague control measure such as 'be careful'. Say exactly what will be done.
- Doing the recce or risk assessment after filming has started. Both come before production.
- Forgetting post-production. Long hours at a screen are a health risk too.
R093 health and safety exam questions with answers
These are questions from SubjectHub's R093 bank, written in the style of the real paper. Try each one, then open the mark scheme. On SubjectHub they are marked automatically, written answers included.
- Question 1 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
What is a recce, in the context of planning a media shoot?
- AA visit to a filming location before the shoot to check it for hazards and plan around them
- BA rehearsal of the cast's lines
- CA legal contract signed by the client
- DA type of camera used for location filming
Show the mark scheme
Answer: A, A visit to a filming location before the shoot to check it for hazards and plan around them.
- Question 2 · Matching[4 marks]
Match each hazard to a sensible control measure.
- 1Trailing cables
- 2Heavy lighting rig
- 3Filming near a road
- 4Hot studio lights
- ATape them down / route along walls
- BBarriers and hi-vis
- CTwo-person lift / trolley
- DAllow cooling time before handling
Show the mark scheme
Trailing cables → Tape them down / route along walls
Heavy lighting rig → Two-person lift / trolley
Filming near a road → Barriers and hi-vis
Hot studio lights → Allow cooling time before handling
One mark for each correct match.
- Question 3 · Short answer[2 marks]
Explain the difference between a hazard and a risk.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm (e.g. a trailing cable) (1); the risk is the likelihood and severity of that harm actually occurring (1).
How the marks are given: 1 mark for each correctly defined.
- Question 4 · Short answer[3 marks]
Identify three things recorded on a risk assessment.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: The hazards identified, who could be harmed, and the control measures to reduce the risk (also: likelihood/severity ratings, who is responsible).
How the marks are given: 1 mark per valid element to a maximum of 3.
- Question 5 · Short answer[2 marks]
A crew has completed a risk assessment before an outdoor shoot, but halfway through the day the weather changes and heavy rain begins. Explain what the crew should do.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: The crew should review and update the risk assessment (1), as new hazards such as slippery surfaces or electrical equipment in the rain may now need new or different control measures (1).
How the marks are given: 1 mark for reviewing/updating the risk assessment; 1 mark for explaining why (changed conditions create new hazards needing new control measures).
Ready for a longer go? The free R093 mini-mock has a Section A and a Section B scenario in the shape of the real paper.