Who needs to read this?

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Anyone who works within the art department should read and understand the section on ‘minimum responsibilities’, they should also read sub-chapters / sections that relate the work they undertake.
Roles that have specific responsibilities, or influence, over art department tasks should read the section on ‘planning and guidance considerations’ – this includes funders, producers, directors, production managers, production designers, art directors, line producers, heads of departments, assistant directors and health and safety officers.

Minimum Responsibilities

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Everyone involved with the Art Department:

• is responsible for ensuring their tasks are conducted safely;
• is required to follow the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, as well as all health and safety information, training and instruction they have received;
• should inform the production manager, 1st assistant director (if on set), head of department or health and safety officer if they feel unsafe, observe unsafe behavior, or have a health and safety concern regarding a task;
• must ensure their actions do not harm themselves or others, including visitors and the public; and
• must be aware of what personal protective equipment they are expected to provide themselves and what will be provided by the production.(*1)

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(*1) - Standard personal protective equipment, such as sturdy footwear / work boots and rain jackets, will likely be provided by the worker, unless specified by the Producer / Production Manager.

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Planning and Guidance Considerations and Responsibilities

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Further information for those with responsibilities specific to the Art Department, such as the Art Director, is found in the following section below.

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While the production company is likely to be the primary person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), all PCBUs are responsible for the overall safety of the workplace and those who are influenced by their work, including workers, visitors and other persons on, or in the vicinity, of that workplace.

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Responsibiliies

Funders

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Funders should:

• be assured, through the provision of the production’s health and safety plan, that the funding provided is adequate to provide for competent people to undertake and supervise all work within the art department and appropriate equipment; and
• incorporate health and safety clause/s in the funding agreement.

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Production Company

• In pre-production, production companies (likely to be defined as the primary PCBU) must clearly identify who has control of the various sub-units of the art department, and ensure those people are competent.
• During production, production companies must consult, cooperate and coordinate with other PBCUs on set and subject matter experts, where necessary.
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Producer / Production Manager

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As producers and Production Managers have oversight across the production, they should ensure:

• a competent Art Director / Production Designer, with suitable experience for the size of the project, is hired;
• all workers are aware of health and safety risks on set;
• the number of people hired for the art department is proportional to the size of the project; and
• all workers have appropriate personal protective equipment for risks they will be exposed to.

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The Producer should also:

• work with the Production Designer, or Art Director, and ensure sufficient resources, including budget, are allocated to enable appropriate and safe practices;
• consider how changing deadlines and making set changes at the last minute can lead to fatigue and stress for workers;
• consult and collaborate with the Art Director and Art Department Supervisors to understand how long tasks will take and how deadlines may impact workload and final product;
• ensure hazard identification and risk assessments are undertaken for the Art Department;
• ensure all potential risks on location are eliminated or, if elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimised;
• ensure that emergency and first aid procedures are in place; and
• if hazardous substances are being used, ensure someone on the production set has a dangerous good license and follows the chapter on hazardous substances.

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* Further information on the use of Hazardous Substances can be found in the ScreenSafe technical section “Hazardous Substances”.

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Heads of Department

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Heads of Department, outside of the Art Department, should:

• consult, cooperate and coordinate with the Art Director and others who are also working within or with the Art Department;
• ensure they are aware of, and understand, all identified potential risks associated with the Art Department and how they may impact the work of their department;
• undertake their own hazard identification and risk assessment of their specific departmental activities, as the expert in their particular field of work, and share this information with the Art Director;
• implement controls, ensuring all risks are eliminated or, if elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimised; and
• inform the Production Manager, Art Director and/or Health and Safety Officer of any new or altered risk.

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Assistant Director/s

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In the absence of a Health and Safety Officer, the Assistant Director/s should:

• ensure hazard identification and risk assessments are undertaken for all Art Department activities, and controls implemented;
• ensure that emergency and first aid procedures are followed; and
• ensure personal protective equipment specific for work is provided to, and used by, workers when required.

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Health and Safety Officer

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The Health and Safety Officer should:

• work with the Art Director and other Heads of Department to identify all potential risks;
• conduct a health and safety-specific assessment on each component of the art department before production;
• liaise with the appropriate competent persons to identify and implement appropriate controls for all risks; and
• ensure workers are provided, or advised of, the appropriate personal protective equipment required on the location.

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Responsibilities specific to the Art Department

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All those with specific technical responsibilities regarding the Art Department, such as Production Designers, Art Directors, Construction Supervisors, or persons charged with these responsibilities, should read and understand what is required in this section, as well as the above two sections.

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All those with specific technical responsibilities should have a good understating of:

• the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and associated regulations; and
• potential hazards and associated risks related to the Art Department.

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Production Designer and Art Director

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The Production Designer is responsible for the entire Art Department; they define and manage the visual aspects of the film, work with the Director and Producer to produce a budget and schedule, and direct the team responsible for producing the visual elements.

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The primary role of the Art Director is to realise the Production Designer's creative vision for all the sets and locations that give productions their look and feel, and project manage the work of the Art Department. On smaller productions, the Art Director may also be the Production Designer whose responsibilities are outlined above.

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As Art Directors tends to work across departments it is important they consult, cooperate and coordinate with other people on set who are responsible for the health and safety of themselves and others and who are also working within or with the Art Department.

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Pre-production

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A Production Designer and Art Directors work starts when they are first engaged and receive the script and final schedule, and they should always consider health and safety when:

• looking at scripts;
• allocating budget; and
• developing work schedules.

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Production Designer and Art Directors should:

• consult and collaborate with the each other, other Art Directors, Construction Supervisors and Art Department Supervisors to understand how long tasks will take and how deadlines may impact workload and final product;
• work closely with the Locations Manager so they aware of when locations can be prepared;
• work closely with the Construction Supervisor and HODs during the design phase to ensure safe construction methods are incorporated; and
• consult, cooperate and coordinate with the Gaffer/Head Electrician and reference the electrical chapter for more information;
• consult, cooperate and coordinate with the Cinematographer, Special Effects Supervisor, Visual Effects Supervisor and Key Grip;
• if hazardous substances are being use, ensure someone on the production set has a dangerous good license and follow the chapter on hazardous substances.

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Shift Work and Fatigue

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Fatigue is a high risk within the screen sector, and must be taken into consideration when scheduling shifts for cast and crew. See the chapter on fatigue for more information.

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Design

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In relation to design / concept art, health and safety risks that affect desk bound workers need to be considered, including:

• ergonomics – consider consulting a health and safety expert who can assess your workers set up, and see the chapter on occupational overuse syndrome; and
• fatigue – see the chapter on fatigue.
• risks associated with the set should be assessed at the design stage and eliminated where practicable or adequately controlled using the hierarchy of controls.       * See Risk Assessment - Appendix 2

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Modelling

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In relation to modelling, the following needs to be considered:

• hazardous substances including glue, chemicals and paint; and
• the type of tools crew use.

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Production

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Once filming has started, production designers and art directors should always consider health and safety when:

• managing crew;
• setting work schedules; and
• monitoring the allocated budget.

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During production, production designers and art directors should consider how changing deadlines and making set changes at the last minute can lead to fatigue and stress for workers.

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If there are construction or set decorating problems on set, cost-effective and practical solutions that don’t affect health and safety should be found.

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Set Turnaround

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Health and safety risks associated with set turnaround should be considered, including:

• the impact of weekend and shift work – refer to the chapter on fatigue; and
• the high-pressured environment crew are placed on and how that can lead to stress.

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Onset Art Department

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Health and safety risks associated with onset work should be considered, including:

• how to safely deal with:
• ~ plans that fail at the last minute and require an immediate solution;
• ~ last minutes requests;
• ~ limited planning;
• jerry rigging; and
• set dressing props; and
• environmental issues.

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Post-production

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Strike

After the production wraps (shooting is completed), in collaboration with the location manager and construction supervisor, any remaining sets must be struck and locations cleared, this may include:

• disabling and removing power supply, which should be done under supervision of a registered electrician– refer to the electrical chapter for more information;
• considering how material is stored safely; and
• ensuring crew are briefed on hazards and associated risk they may exposed to during strike.
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Appendix 1

Risk Assessment – Art Department

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Detailed information about how to undertake a risk assessment can be found in Risk Assessment - Appendix 2.

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The risk assessment should set out risks to members of the production team, artists, crew, other contractors, contributors and other parties, and identify appropriate control measures for any sets or scenery, including props.

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Some generic risks found within the Art Department are listed below ; this list is not exhaustive and a health and safety expert should be consulted when undertaking a risk assessment.

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*(need to add the tables as below from .ai files with links)

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