Codes of practise in film making

Unions are used to protect employees from being exploited within the workplaceEquity- The trade union which protects actors for example if the production company has no insurance and if an actor gets injured injured equity will protect them and earn them money and take the production company to court.BECTU-  Is the trade union for media and entertainment.The union's Equality and Diversity Committee is a focal point for the union's efforts to encourage more women to participate fully in developing policies and initiatives.Pact- is the trade association representing the commercial interests of UK independent television, film, digital, children’s and animation media companiesPact helps to shape the best possible regulatory and legislative environment for the independent production sector to grow domestically and internationally – the association has a strong record of success in campaigning for producers’ rights. Legal RequirementsInsurance- All productions, international and domestic, need proof of Public Liability Insurance in order to receive permission to film or carry out commercial photography.This insurance covers the legal responsibilities of your production if your activities cause injury to a third party or damage to property.Health and safety- Professional film crews take health and safety issues very seriously. The line of responsibility runs from the Producer to the Production Manager and 1st Assistant Director and finally on to all crew members who have a duty of care which is recognised by law.When filming, people have many things on their minds, things can get rushed, and risks can increase. Even simple things can become dangerous because this is not an ordinary situation. Of course, all of life presents hazards, but if someone is asked to run down a hill repeatedly to get the scene right, for example, the risk of them tripping and falling on their face is increased with each time they do this. 
Working with children
It’s an essential, legal requirement to get a ‘child working license’ for any child under the age of 18 in order for them to be part of a production. This is usually organised by the production in cooperation with the child’s agent, parent or guardian and local authority. It involves all parties providing certain details; the production part must include full details of the production, the child’s role it in and their working hours. The local authority will produce a child license only when they have full details from all parties and are confident that the production is following all child working regulations (such as those listed below). It can take up to 10 working days for the license to be approved so make sure you allow plenty of time between casting and shooting.There are strict guidelines for the amount of hours children can be on set and in front that camera, as well as minimum requirements for rest time and meal breaks. These vary depending on the child’s age, but for an example the current guidelines for a child aged between 5 and 8 can be on set for up to 8 hours, on camera for up to 3 hours, called no earlier than 07:00 and wrap no later than 23:00 (source: BBC Guidance for the Licensing of Children in Productions).

minimum pay If you intend to employ crew, volunteers, unpaid workers or offer work experience opportunities, ensure that you are familiar with the National Minimum Wage regulations and National Living Wage rates.

Copyright

In general, in order to use a copyright work you need to get permission from the copyright owners. This process can be especially long and expensive when dealing with films, since they are complex works involving copyrights of a large number of contributors (music, script, cinematography, etc.)