Safety Bulletins

Review safety guidelines, hazard protocols, and best practices for production activities and equipment use.

Overview

Safety bulletins provide guidance, procedures, and recommended practices related to specific production hazards, equipment, environments, or activities that may arise during filmmaking—and they must be included alongside call sheets when relevant.

Because film production can involve physically demanding environments, technical equipment, transportation, electrical systems, weather exposure, stunts, weapons, animals, and other potential hazards, productions must approach safety proactively rather than reactively. Safety bulletins help crews identify risks earlier, develop safer working practices, and reinforce a culture of shared responsibility around production safety.

How They Work

The safety bulletins we utilize are researched, written, and distributed by the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee for use by the motion picture industry. The committee is composed of guild, union, and management representatives active in industry safety and health programs.

Safety bulletins are recommended guidelines. They are not binding laws or regulations. State, federal, and/or local regulations override these guidelines. Modifications in these guidelines should be made, as circumstances warrant, to ensure the safety of the cast and crew.

A PDF of all relevant safety bulletins must be attached to call sheets. Be sure to download the most recent version of a safety bulletin before attaching one to a call sheet, as the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee does update their bulletins periodically.

All crew are required to read distributed Safety Bulletins prior to commencing the work day. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action, including immediate dismissal from the school.

Download Bulletins

To download the latest versions of the safety bulletins, click here:

List of Bulletins

A list of all the available Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee’s safety bulletins is outlined below.

Safety Bulletins

  1. Recommendations For The Use Of Firearms, Blanks, And Dummy Rounds
  2. Prohibitions And Special Restrictions On The Use Of Live Ammunition
  3. Guidelines Regarding the Use of Helicopters in Motion Picture Productions
    • Addendum A – Helicopter External Loads
  4. Stunts
    • Addendum A – Specialized Activities
  5. Safety Awareness
  6. Animal Handling Rules for the Motion Picture Industry
  7. Recommendations For Diving Operations
  8. Guidelines for Traditional Camera Cars
    • Addendum A – Process Trailer/Towed Vehicle
    • Addendum B – Camera Boom Vehicles
    • Addendum C – Power Line Distance Requirements
  9. Recommended Guidelines for Working In and Around Base Camps
    • Addendum A – Base Camp Inspection Checklist
  10. Guidelines Regarding the Use of Artificially Created Atmospheric Fog & Haze
    • Addendum A – Technical Awareness Sheet
  11. Guidelines Regarding the Use of Fixed-Wing Aircraft in Motion Picture Productions
    • Addendum A – External Load Guidelines
  12. Guidelines for the Use of Venomous Reptiles
  13. Recommended Guidelines When Using Combustible & Flammable Fuels and Associated Equipment
  14. Parachuting and Skydiving
  15. Guidelines for Boating/Watercraft Safety for Film Crews
  16. Recommended Guidelines for Safety with Pyrotechnic Special Effects
  17. Water Hazards
  18. Guidelines for Safe Use of Stunt Air Bags, Boxes or Other Freefall Catch Systems
  19. Recommended Guidelines for the Use of Open Flame on Production
  20. Guidelines for the Safe Use of Motorcycles
  21. Guidelines for Appropriate Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment
  22. Guidelines for the Use of Scissor Lifts (Elevating Work Platforms) and Aerial Boom Lifts (Extensible Boom Platforms)
    • Addendum A – Power Line Distance Requirements
  23. Guidelines for Working with Portable Power Distribution Systems and Other Electrical Equipment
    • Addendum A – Power Line Distance Requirements
    • Addendum B – Basic Electrical Safety Precautions for Motion Picture and Television Off Studio Lot Location Productions
    • Addendum C – Working With 480 Volt Systems
    • Addendum D – Common Motion-Picture/Television Tasks and Associated Personal Protective Equipment
    • Addendum E – Guidelines for Meeting National Electrical Code (NEC) Grounding Requirements for Portable Generators Supplying Portable Equipment in the Motion Picture and Television Industry
  24. California OSHA Safety Requirements for Handling of Blood and Other Potentially Infectious Materials
  25. Camera Cranes
    • Addendum A – Power Line Distance Requirements
  26. Preparing Urban Exterior Locations for Filming
  27. Poisonous Plants
  28. Guidelines for Railroad Safety
  29. Guidelines for Safe Use of Hot Air Balloons
    • Addendum A – External Load Guidelines
  30. Recommended Guidelines for Safely Working with Edged, Piercing, and Projectile Props
  31. Safety Awareness When Working Around Indigenous Wildlife
  32. Los Angeles County Approved Film Production Food Services
    • Addendum A – Los Angeles County Approved Film Production Food Services
  33. Special Safety Considerations when Employing Infant Actors (15 days to Six Months Old)
  34. Guidelines for Working in Extreme Cold Temperature Conditions
    • Addendum A – Wind Chill Chart
  35. Safety Considerations for the Prevention of Outdoor Heat Illness
  36. Recommended Guidelines for Safely Working Around Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) a.k.a Drones
    • Appendix A – Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Rules & Regulations
  37. Vehicle Restraint Systems – Seat Belts & Harnesses
  38. Guidelines For Inclement Or Severe Weather
    • Appendix A – Lightning Safety
  39. Safety Guidelines for Using Foam(ed) Plastics in Set and Prop Construction
  40. Guidelines for Non-Camera Utility Vehicles
  41. Recommended Guidelines for Safely Working On and Around Gimbals
  42. Guidelines for Alternative Driving Systems
  43. Recommended Guidelines for Free Driving
  44. Guidelines for Working Safely with Radiofrequency (RF) Transmitters
  45. Guidelines For Long or Successive Takes

Procedural Guidelines

  1. Special Procedures For Minors Performing Physical Activities

Informational Fact Sheets

  1. General Code of Safe Practices for Production
  2. Extended or Successive Takes
  3. Guidelines for Handling Freshly Painted or Printed Backdrops and Other Graphic Arts
  4. Photographic Dust Effects
  5. Guidelines for Reducing the Spread of Influenza-Like Illness
  6. Protection from Wildfire Smoke
  7. Lithium-Ion Battery Safety
  8. Indoor Heat Illness Prevention: California