SFX

There is a vast range of Special FX that are used during a live production and is a crucial component in enhancing the audiences view in live theatre when thinking about emotion and sensory experience. It can be used for a range of things including:

Fantasy, Realism or just for dramatic impact.

However the benefits of using Special FX also comes with many risk assessments. Lets use Pyrotechnics and fire effects as an example. The benefits of using these include the use of fireworks, Spark effects and flame bars. But there are hazards like Fire spreading if its not controlled properly or Burn injuries if the cast and crew don't rehearse to stay clear. Pyrotechnics also produce smoke so to much inhaling of it can be harmful to the crew and actors. Fire is used to create a sense of realism in live theatre for the audience so to use these properly there need to be precautions. These would consist of fire marshals and extinguishers on site just incase a fire broke out. A clear marking of danger zones backstage and proper licensing and training for operators. Le Maitre LTD is one of the main companies that use pyrotechnics and is widley used in West End shows.

Flying effects are also and good way to show realism but also Fantasy. The use of this has been showed in live theatre showing Wicked or Peter Pan for when a character is flying. There are A few risks for this like falling from a height if there is human error or if the rigging is faulty. Not only can it endanger there actor but also the people below so some precautions to this would be having regular inspections or doing rehearsals with full safety gear. Having a harness back up is also needed. 

The smallest effects also need risk assessments. For example. Blood Effects. Mainly seen in horror or thriller genres in theatre like Sweeny Todd or Carrie, these effects have risks like Slipping Hazards due to blood falling on the floor Or staining the actors costume if not managed right. The precautions for this would consist of having a controlled release mechanism or and easy to clean stage surface. 

Surround sound and Sound effects have a capability of damaging someone's ears or cause a startle response if to loud. Precautions for this are warning signs and sound level monitoring.

Make up Effects are used in all theatre to help with lighting on actors. The benefits of this are to help with how the audience see the actors. The risks of make up effects are having an allergic reaction or having an extended prep time. The precautions put in place to help prevent this are as follows, Patch tests before a full application or having scheduled breaks and full hydration for actors. 

All of these Special FX follow the Health and safety a work act 1974. This is the core UK legislation for not just actors but all employers and all workplaces. This requires employees to guarantee the safety of all employees but also audiences for the theatre or concerts. 

The management of Health and Safety at work regulations 1999 ensures that a risk assessment is always carried out especially for high risk activities like SFX. Control measures must be implemented to reduce all risks. An example would be for a fog machine, You have to check the quality of air and any respiratory issues for the cast and audience.

After meeting with the director for the brief of the film I was doing the special FX for but also acting in we discussed that due to it being a college personal project we were limited on a little to no budget. The venue was less of a venue that had to be booked or bought as it was decided to do the film within a house. The type of production/Film is a Psychological Horror- Thriller. The main SFX needed for this was a Fake head called the smile. An entity that only comes out at night and just smiles at its victims. To get this desired effect i started with a hairdressing practice head that was no longer needed at college. I then worked on how to give it a smile and creepy face for the desired effect. I used clay to put a mold around the head and then started to mold the sculpture. The hardest part was getting it all in proportion. The clay was very difficult to work with but due to having a little to no budget it had to do the trick. After shaping the mouth and jaw i called it a day and continued the next day. The desired effect for this head was to stand 7 floor tall in a room and mainly just be able to to see the face slightly lit up. The only Potential effects to help with this would be lighting. Starting up on the Second day the head had a lot of cracks in it where air had pushed all the clay in the cracks. Decided to put a light layer over all of it to help keep it strong and get rid of all of the cracks that are visible to the camera. Once finishing the head it was time to figure out how it was going to stand up 7 feet tall. This was a very difficult decision because we had limited budget. I managed to buy a curtain pole for £7 that I managed to whittle the end with a knife to fit into the bottom of the head.  I used the bottom of a fan stand to fit the pole in so that they acted as legs. I then went on to put a coat hanger against the curtain pole to act as shoulders for when i put the dressing gown on for a cloak. Once all of this came together it looked really good and then it was time to film and hope it all stayed together.  

The potential Risks of doing this was that the head could have fallen off at any point and broke do to it being dry clay. If this had happened there was no back up plan due to the budget.  The desired effect on the audience was to make it look creepy. 

For the lighting effects needed to show the face but have it slightly dimmed and creepy the method that was used in the end was a wall torch wrapped in a sock. It was perfect and didn't show off to much light. Due to the sock it was much easier to control the amount of light that was showing. It also helped to control the shadows.

The only risk assessment that had to be carried out was making sure before every performance that the head was stood up firmly as to not fall on the actors.

Conclusion:

The special FX plan for the psychological horror thriller project was successful, achieving its goal of creating a disturbing person called Smile. Despite the minimal budget, the imaginative use of materials such as mannequins, clay and household items has resulted in a frightening visual effect. Time management was effective, and the build was clear and there was no delay in shooting. Quick problem resolution has kept the sound structure stable and the creepy atmosphere has been improved with simple but effective lighting installation. Although formal risk assessments were limited, the head's main security concerns were managed through regular checks. This project demonstrated strong creativity, practical problem solving, and a clear understanding of how professional results can be achieved with limited resources. Overall, FX's work improved the horror tone of the film, achieving its goals, and exhibited an impressive level of planning, innovation and execution for production at the university level.