Health and Safety lesson introduction

Health and Safety was what we had to go through to ensure that we knew how to use the cameras before we were in charge. The health and safety lesson included various amounts of skills and instructions that we needed to take on broad, giving us a chance in being able to understand how parts of the camera worked.

Through the lesson we were told rules that were essential about the cameras as listed below:

•   Ensure that the camera is protected from the weather (never leave the camera out in the rain to get wet)

• Treat the camera with care , as if it was your own be sensible and use it appropriately and  sensibly.

•   Always ensure the camera your in charge of is in a safe place.

•    Ensure that you return the camera in college at the time set by the teacher so that other people will be able to film in there lessons.

(Following these rules are important as the camera is our responsibilities meaning if they are not followed we will not be trusted.) 

The most significant rule we had to follow as a group was taking care of the cameras making sure that it was protected (in the rain- it should be in its bag) and kept in a safe place. This was a vital part our group will have to follow as the cameras are worth up to £2,000 each meaning that we will all have to contribute towards.

We also found out that we were not advised to use the zoom in button whilst filming , this was because we were told that it doesn't look effective and is usually hard to use. We were also told not to use this as we were told we should use various amounts of shots such as a close up , extreme close up etc to give a more detailed and interesting effect.

We were first taught how to insert the memory card and battery into their slots A and B. This was vital as we needed to know how to do this otherwise inserting it the wrong way will of resulted us in damaging the card which could result in us loosing the work done or potentially damaging the camera. Whilst we were told this we then took part in an activity were we ensured all members knew exactly how to do it.

We then learnt how to set-up the tripod in which the camera is placed on correctly. The tripod was the stand used to place the camera on this is used to give a more accurate view in filming.  Whilst setting this up we found out it was important that the legs were all equal and straight to avoid getting a wonky/ unbalanced shot. We also learnt the different buttons and functions of the camera when constructing it to the tripod ensuring that it locked into place before we started filming preventing any damage. Once we were told all this we tried it out again ensuring all members of the group knew what they were doing 

We also learnt how to zoom in out and use various functions on the camera. Whist looking at the camera we were told how to turn the camera from auto to manual and vice versa, we also were told how to play back footage once recorded. Within the health and safety lesson we learnt a few shots and how they should be done. One example was an OTS whilst this was shown we had to make sure the camera was at the right angle and not to above the subject insuring the camera was still avoiding a blurred image.

Once we finished the Health and Safety lesson we then took part in an activity which involved us taking various amounts of shots of members in the group, with the different camera shots and rules of the camera then presenting them in a presentation. This aloud us to work independently with the cameras allowing us to reflect upon what we learnt, that overall went well.