AI Masterclass video script: Health and safety cartoon animation: Reporting Near-Misses(First draft!)

Richard Duszczak

5d • Work in Progress

Scene 1: The Distraction

Visual: Hazardous Harry is walking through the warehouse, head down, scrolling through his phone. He has one earbud in.
Narrative: Safety begins with awareness. Harry is currently at 0% awareness.

Scene 2: The Near-Collision

Visual: A forklift rounds a blind corner. The driver honks, but Harry doesn’t hear it. The forklift swerves and screeches to a halt, inches from Harry.
Narrative: A "Near-Miss" occurs. No blood, no broken equipment, but a massive potential for disaster.

Scene 3: The "No Harm, No Foul" Fallacy

Visual: Harry looks up, startled, then chuckles. He gives the forklift driver a "thumbs up" and continues walking while texting.
Narrative: Harry treats the incident like a funny story. By not reporting it, he ensures the hazard remains a secret.

Scene 4: The Observer

Visual: Safety Sarah is standing nearby. She isn’t laughing. She watches Harry walk away and then looks at the blind corner.
Narrative: Sarah knows that luck isn't a safety strategy. She recognizes the "Silent Warning."

Scene 5: Securing the Scene

Visual: Sarah talks to the forklift driver to ensure they aren't shaken up. She places a temporary orange cone near the corner to force others to slow down.
Narrative: Sarah takes immediate action to protect the next person who walks by.

Scene 6: The Paperwork (The "Sarah" Way)

Visual: Sarah is at a safety kiosk or on a tablet. She is filling out a simple form.
Narrative: She isn't "snitching" on Harry; she is reporting the location and the lack of visibility.

Scene 7: The Investigation

Visual: The Safety Manager joins Sarah at the corner. They use a tape measure and realise the shelving is stacked too high, blocking the view.
Narrative: Reporting a near-miss triggers a "root cause analysis." They find out why it almost happened.

Scene 8: The Engineering Fix

Visual: Maintenance workers are seen installing a large convex mirror and painting bright yellow "Pedestrian Crossing" stripes on the floor.
Narrative: Because of Sarah’s report, the environment is physically changed to prevent human error.

Scene 9: The Next Day

Visual: Harry walks toward the same corner, again distracted. This time, he sees the flashing reflection of the forklift in the new mirror and stops well in advance.
Narrative: The system Sarah put in place saved Harry from himself.

Scene 10: The Safety Hero

Visual: Sarah and Harry at the break room. Sarah is pointing at a "Days Without Accident" sign that just ticked over to a new high number. Harry finally looks sheepish and puts his phone away.
Narrative: Reporting near-misses is how a team moves from "lucky" to “safe.”

I have to be honest and say AI helped with this script. For all my 44 years as a freelance cartoonist I've never been much of a writer and always felt more comfortable illustrating other peoples ideas. Now with AI I can finally do both!😃

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