Promotional Video: Location Recce & Health and Safety

Address:

Location is only a 10 minute walk from my house fortunately, which means when it comes to filming I will be able to do multiple trips for equipment (if required) and will be able to come/go with full flexibility. Besides the obvious, this is also beneficial incase I don't film enough shots because I can come/go when I need to.

Unit 1:

My client made a vivid expression that they hoped their work space looked neater, but I insisted I need to tour the work space to get a better understanding of what I have to film in. This spiraled however into that they wanted to clean the space that requires filming in, to which I asked 'how long' with no definitive reply; this was discouraging as I am already working on a tight deadline, but also because my client again was being very vague with their answers. I told them that I needed to film by the end of the following week which they agreed to.

Back to the recce however, I learned that getting the shots I envisioned would be harder than expected. Not only was the space between work surfaces quite narrow, but the machinery (for the majority) has something to cover it when it was active; this meant I would have to put more consideration into my shots like reflections and/or light glares. On the positive side, the space has a large work service, which would allow me to get some very high angle shots which would look interesting in the pre-discussed time lapses.

Unit 2:

The second unit across the road houses the larger machines which fortunately means a larger space to work in; it also means it is more hazardous however and more time will be taken into preparation than the first unit. I may even have to come after the unit is operationally closed (after work hours) to prioritise safety. I may also have to arrange certain workers to come activate the machines/use the machines to provide b-roll.

Unlike the other unit, this one is also significantly more 'sectioned' and most of the space is separated with storage; this is also good because it means my filming will be less likely to be in the way of workers on other sides of the unit. It also means if I need to bring external lighting (unlikely) I will be able to focus it on a smaller section each time. Working in a smaller space also means there will be slightly less hazards to focus on at one time, which as a general will provide a more comfortable filming surrounding.

On Location (Convention Hall):

This area I will have to recce on the day because I have no floor-plan nor rough idea of spacing between installations. Instead I think I will decide my methods of filming with the worker's health and safety in priority; I also want to be able to film them without getting in their way/distracting them from their work due to the possible hazardous materials (metal, machinery, heights etc).

I think the best case scenario of this is to film the location when they are on break so nobody is either infront of the structure (which I am filming to promote) nor distracted when working. I should also when filming use a more zoomed-in lens rather than being physically close to again not be in the way of anyone or anything, nor put myself in a hazardous situation either. This could be problematic in terms of focusing and even stability when not using a gimbal and/or tripod (though I shall try to avoid this situation entirely).