I know this has been discussed on many other blogs, but while shooting part of a 3D project in London, from a public right of way several private “security  guards” tried to move us on and prevent us from shooting the exterior of their building. The law in the UK is actually quite clear on this: This extract is from the Met police web site:

“Freedom to photograph/ film

Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.”

In addition there are no laws preventing you from shooting normal people and buildings in the street, there are exceptions for military establishments, buildings covered by the official secrets act and nuclear power stations. But normal office buildings etc can be filmed at will. The security officers were from the Santander Building on Euston Road. We were not on their property and had gone by the book informing Camden council that we were going to be filming in the street, yet still they insisted we move on. For half an hour they obstructed us, behaving as though they had some kind of legal right to stop us filming (which they did not). Had it not been for the pressures of the shoot and the need to go to another location we would have called the police. It is getting harder and harder to carry out your legal right to film in public places. Contrary to popular belief you do not need to obtain a permit to shoot on the public streets of London (with the exception of Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square). Using a tripod is not illegal or a crime, however causing an obstruction is. To move you on for causing an obstruction the police would have to show that you are impeding the passage of others. Clearly if you are a big crew it is wise to contact the authorities before hand to smooth the way and get assistance from the local authority. You do also need to consider that many seemingly public places may be private property and you may not be allowed to use a camera under the land owners terms of access. In this case the only offence you are committing is trespass which is a civil offence so you cannot be arrested. You should leave when asked and your equipment cannot be touched.

Article by Alister Chapman   www.XDCAM-USER.com

Only the other day I was reading Philip Blooms blog “This weekend I was invited by Teodor Stoyanov to do two workshops for an elite group of film makers in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. I went with my friend Dennis Lennie, who was an immense help not just in working out what needed to be taught but as I prolapsed a disc in my back on Thursday and was unable to move for most of the day! It was so bad that I  was going to cancel, but I felt I was getting some mobility back and this engagement had been booked for some time and these people had travelled from all over Bulgaria to come hear me talk and to learn things from me. So I had to go!”

A sore back is the number one health and safety issue with cameramen, it affects 95% of operators by the time they are in their late thirties. I don’t know any cameraman to date who has not suffered or is suffering from a sore back myself included. 

The rot sets in the early days when we are keen to please our employees and carry far too much video kit, broadcasters are notorious for sending you out with kit that is far too heavy for one man to carry… Tripod, DVCPRO Camcorder, spare batteries, lighting kit… if you are lucky the reporter will help you but the norm is to carry two tons of video gear on each shoulder and two hands climbing two sets of stairs… you get the picture and everything is done in a great rush increasing your chances of getting back problems.

When carrying gear you are under the same illusion… carry more saves trips out to the car… so what, why should you feel pressurized to get set up in jig time when a third trip to the car could save you a louping sore back 10 years down the line. Unfortunately sore backs tend to be accumulative in other words you will feel fine for years then the biggie will strike when you least expect it.

When you are young nothing phases you… “I’ll worry about that sore back if it comes in the future” Wrong attitude, once you suffer a sore back you can be out the game for months on end. My friend Alison a BBC reporter has a dickie back and she wishes she had not been so cavalier in her early days in video production. She has been off work for months at a time with a collapsed disc and it also affects her foot causing numbness.

So take a wise older owls advice… Your future is a consequence of everything you carry in the present.

Take more trips to the vehicle

Ask others to help you with the video gear

Don’t overload yourself with equipment

Decide before you get to your destination if you may need a second pair of hands

Think of yourself … not the pittance you are being payed to damage youself

Do not stare at high brightness LEDs, because doing so may cause permanent damage to your eyes.

The optics of our eyes focus visible light onto the retina, which is the light sensitive part of our eyes, similar to the way a magnifying glass can focus an image of the sun onto a piece of paper. Just as the piece of paper might smolder and catch fire, a light that is brightly focused on your retina can cook and thus permanently damage your eye. Exposure to bright white and blue LEDs can also cause permanent damage to your eyes through photochemical action.      

Here is a link to an article about the particular hazards of blue  LEDs:  http://www.mdsupport.org/library/hazard.html#blue

The key factors that determine whether or not a particular exposure to light from an LED causes permanent damage are the wavelength and intensity of the light, the length of the exposure occurs, and the distance from the light source to the eye. 

This danger is most pronounced with the use of the newer high output blue and white LEDs. These are intended to illuminate large areas, and for those designed for direct view applications, to be viewed at a significant distance. These LEDs can be identified by packaging or mountings that are designed to carry heat away from the junction. LEDs without these special thermal management features can also pose a danger when operated beyond their specified maximum current.

Infrared and ultraviolet LEDs can also be hazardous, and when using those, please consult the manufacturer’s data sheets or IEC 60825-1:2001 for guidance with respect to safety. You may find IEC 60825-1:2001 summarized on the web. The standard can be purchased from IEC’s web store http://webstore.iec.ch/.

The IEC specification was written to apply to primarily to lasers , though it also applies to LEDs. A new standard, IEC TR 60825,  is in development that promises that includes a section that is intended to address LEDs directly. You might want to check the web for drafts or summaries of this standard in the future.

The standards mentioned above rely on measurements that can only be made with very expensive specialized equipment, though some manufacturers state the safety classification of their LEDs, under specified operating conditions, in their data sheets.  Take note of these comments on the data sheets for LEDs you may use. In the mean time, play it safe by not staring at any bright LEDs.

My thanks to Geoff Davies of Lucid Optical Services Ltd. (http://www.lucidos.co.uk), for raising the issue of permanent eye damage, and providing the information contained in this section.

I am big on Health and Safety, you become this way when you film H&S induction DVDs and film in hospitals as I do. The eye is a very sensitive organ and looking direct into LED lights is as bad as looking direct into the sun.

High intensity LED lights are in my opinion dangerous to use direct into a persons face, if nothing else they leave a terrible after image at the back of the retina which takes ages to go away. (Talking from first hand experience). 

I use LED lighting all the time but if you follow my advice you will not cause problems…

1. As they are heat free you can use stick on velcro at the back of the barn doors, then it’s a matter of applying spots of velcro onto sheets of diffuser and diffusing the light.

2. 1000W LED lights are great for bouncing light or you could attach a white foam board using simple clips and bounce the light if the roof is not white.

I can’t stress enough how bad LED video lighting is when directed into a persons face without diffusion, manufacturers should be aware of this and supply their lights with diffusion. If you have ever bought a hi intensity LED torch you will notice it comes with a warning not to shine direct into a persons eyes and that’s a warning for ONE LED not ONE THOUSAND LED’s !